Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement to offer boost to struggling British workers by raising National Living Wage and banning rip-off rental fees
STRUGGLING workers labelled 'Just About Managing' by the Prime Minister will today be handed a vital leg up by Philip Hammond.
The Chancellor will use his first Autumn Statement mini-budget to raise the National Living Wage while banning rip-off fees slapped on rental properties.
He will also share out £1.4billion to make it cheaper to rent, signal a £1billion U-turn on cuts in benefits to poorer workers, freeze fuel duty by scrapping a planned 2p-a-litre rise and invest £5billion in infrastructure to boost Brexit Britain.
The moves follow Theresa May’s pledge on the steps of Number 10 to help hard-up workers.
Minimum wages will go up 30p an hour to £7.50. The rise is 10p lower than some expected because average wages have steadied. But it still means a £600-a-year pay rise to full-time workers who do a 38-hour week.
Banning letting agent’s fees will ease the squeeze on 4.3million households in private housing. The middle men hit renters with an average up-front charge of £337 on top of the full rent they have to pay to landlords.
Last night the National Landlords Association warned agents would pass on the cost and rents could rise.
But Campbell Robb, boss of charity Shelter, said: “Millions of renters in England have felt the financial strain of unfair letting agent fees for far too long.”
Other popular moves that the Chancellor will unveil today include:
- A £1bn U-turn on cuts in benefits to poorer workers. Mr Hammond will reverse some of George Osborne’s £3.4bn axe to Universal Credit
- £1.4 billion to make it cheaper to buy or rent a house, shared between three current schemes - Affordable Rent, Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy. Local councils can bid for the cash pot and decide which of the three it is best to spend the money on, with the Treasury estimating it will see 40,000 more affordable homes built
- Fuel duty will be frozen again for another year when he scrap a 2 rise in the hated tax on pumps
- A £5bn infrastructure package to boost the economy after Brexit, including new road building and broadband
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Mr Hammond’s decision to reverse some of predecessor George Osborne’s £3.4billion cuts to Universal Credit, revealed by The Sun yesterday, will help three million working households.
Treasury officials say a couple with two children where one parent earns £30,000 would benefit by £425, while the figure would be £170 for a single parent on £15,000 with one child and no housing costs.
Former Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who led the fight against the cuts after resigning from the Cabinet over the issue in March, welcomed the move.
The former Tory leader told The Sun: “Putting money back into Universal Credit is a very welcome U-turn, and I’m very pleased Theresa and Philip have listened to us.”
Another Tory MP who was prepared to rebel against the cuts, Heidi Allen, added: “I’m absolutely delighted, it’s a small step but I know it’s an expensive step”.
BALANCING ACT
PHILIP Hammond will today pledge to balance Britain’s books despite grim new official projections that state debts are ballooning again.
The Chancellor will lay out the state of the nation’s finances in the Autumn Statement mini-budget for the first time since the Brexit referendum.
He will abandon predecessor George Osborne’s rule to get rid of the deficit by 2020.
But at the same time, Mr Hammond will promise to eradicate it “over a sensible period of time in a way that allows space to support the economy”.
Experts expect him to turn on the spending taps for big infrastructure projects to give the economy a temporary boost.
Forecasts by the independent Office of Budget Responsibility are expected to see growth halved because of Brexit uncertainties, and a £100bn hole opening up in state finances by the next general election.
Despite borrowing spiralling off target in the summer, Mr Hammond was handed an unexpected boost yesterday.
It was revealed that the Government borrowed a lower-than-expected £4.8 billion last month - with state coffers boosted by strong tax takings from business.
But he is still expect to overshoot the OBR’s deficit target by £10bn by the end of the financial year next April.
A Treasury spokesman said: “As the Chancellor has made clear, the government is committed to fiscal discipline and will return the budget to balance over a sensible period of time, in a way that allows space to support the economy as needed.
“The Chancellor will present his fiscal plans at the Autumn Statement.”