“This was a calm, level-headed Budget, aimed at tackling the most obvious problems facing the country and the most immediate barriers to growth. In the wider context, there is still much more to do – we are still increasing personal and corporate taxes, living standards are still being squeezed, inflation is still extremely high and there is still perilously little wiggle room in the public finances. Under those circumstances, the Chancellor played the hand he was dealt about as well as he could have.”
“The new funding for childcare may be a crowd-pleaser but is unlikely to get many more women back into work. There are not swathes of women unable to work because of expensive childcare, and in fact, we already have higher numbers of mothers of young children in work than the EU or OECD average. Ultimately, these taxpayer handouts will primarily benefit middle class families where the mother already works. Extending the provision of ‘free hours’ but providing low payments to providers could result in a shortage of available places. A better approach would be targeted child allowances or providing vouchers, which parents can top up, while leaving providers to set prices in line with local conditions.“
“ It’s refreshing to see the Chancellor trying to address our catastrophic childcare crisis with increased choice for parents, reforms to child:staff ratios, and additional funding for suppliers. However, it is important to remember that these ‘free hours’, which won’t hit parents’ pockets fully for over two and a half years, are anything but free. A lack of planning reform and the inaccessibility of the Skills Fund is keeping costs high for childcare providers, meaning both parents and the taxpayer are left paying extortionate sums for easy but unaddressed fixes. ”
“Despite looking good on the surface, under the bonnet this Budget is full of problems for taxpayers.The chancellor has identified a number of structural weaknesses in the UK economy and has rightly focused on fixing them. But yet more spending increases in coming years will further frustrate households, whose rising tax bills are contributing to the biggest drop in living standards since records began. While forecasts are heading in the right direction, taxpayers still face funding the cost of government crisis for years to come.”
Centre for Social Justice – Andy Cook, CEO – “The post-Covid explosion in working-age welfare is…a huge waste of potential“
“Britain faces an epidemic of economic inactivity. CSJ research indicates that some 700,000 people are languishing on sickness benefits but would like to work. The post-Covid explosion in working-age welfare is costing the country a staggering £13 billion extra per annum. Even worse, it is a huge waste of potential. Many of these people are suffering from a variety of physical and mental health problems that hold them back from seeking a job. Universal Support – the long-forgotten “sister” to Universal Credit – was specifically designed to help those in this group who want to work get back into the workforce. The CSJ has long campaigned for the rollout of Universal Support and we are delighted that the Chancellor has now taken decisive action to begin that process.”
Joseph Rowntree Foundation – Rachelle Earwaker, Senior Economist – “The difficult years are far from over”
“The Chancellor has made some steps towards tackling some of the issues which have affected families on low incomes over recent years, but we have to be clear – the difficult years are far from over. It will take a much more fundamental shift for our economic and political system to provide the good jobs, social security system and homes that we all need. Inflation may have stopped escalating, but with food prices rising at over 16 per cent this year and 2021-23 seeing the largest successive two year inflation increase since 1979-81, many families are seeing no evidence of the Chancellor’s reasons for optimism… The glaring omission from the speech of any action to tackle the housing crisis…”
“This was steady stuff from the Chancellor, designed to reassure the markets and the public of Conservative economic competence after the turmoil of 2022. We’re now forecast to avoid a technical recession this year, but economic growth and living standards remain dampened for the foreseeable future. Tax and public debt levels are expected to stay historically high throughout the decade. This is no roaring twenties. But some brightness is beginning to show. Inflation will fall rapidly by the end of the year. The Energy Price Guarantee will be extended until the Summer, after which bills will drop considerably…The Budget today makes solid steps towards both, adopting several Bright Blue policies.”
“This was a Budget to bring back trust – reassuring and optimistic, providing support now and fostering growth in the future. It balanced fiscal security and creating better conditions for prosperity. A solid start, but there’s still an electoral and delivery mountain to climb...Today’s Budget was about confidence and certainty: for markets, businesses, investors and voters who abandoned the centre right last year. The foundations are now well laid, but there is so much reform still to be done. Britain needs to be more prosperous than it is today.”
“Today, the Chancellor has announced some important measures to encourage people back into work and help boost the economy. Having proposed that the Chancellor cut the “Doctor’s Tax”, we welcome the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance and the increase in the Annual Allowance, which will help our most qualified medics stay in the NHS, without being hit by a punitive tax charge. The childcare package…will help parents avoid having to give up work to look after their children. We welcome the Government’s loosening of restrictions on children-staff ratios in England… This is a good start and there is further scope to look at how this issue is managed by many of our continental neighbours in Europe, where childcare costs remain significantly lower…”
“There is a weighty challenge to realising the Chancellor’s ambition of building 12 potential Canary Wharfs across the UK. Tax breaks and subsidies are all well and good, but critical to Canary Wharf’s success was bold planning policy – building quickly at density. In 1990 the first tower built was the 244m Canary Wharf skyscraper at One Canada Square – then Britain’s tallest building for two decades. This is the sort of ambition we need to see if this policy is going to be a success, but one that recent governments have failed to realise at scale.”