Chancellor Gideon's Autumn Statement

First topic message reminder :

Often referred to as a mini-budget or budget-preview, the insufferably faced Gideon has today made/released his autumn statement (probably thankful of doing so it such strong economic tailwinds), and the Beeb has put it left-leanings aside the provide the following summary:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25232742

ECONOMIC GROWTH
Growth forecast for this year increased from 0.6% to 1.4%, for next year revised up from 1.8% to 2.4%
Revised figures from the Office for National Statistics show that GDP declined by 7.2% in 2008-09, not 6.3% as previously thought

GOVERNMENT BORROWING
The UK's "underlying" deficit - a measure that excludes the acquisition of the Royal Mail pension scheme and the effects of quantitative easing - has been revised down by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to 6.8% this year, and to 5.6% next year.
It is then expected to fall to 4.4%, 2.7% and 1.2% in the subsequent financial years.
The OBR predicts there will be a small cash surplus in 2018-19.

BENEFITS AND PENSIONS
State pension age to increase to 68 in the mid-2030s and to 69 in the late 2040s. In April 2014, the state pension will rise by £2.95 a week.
Overall welfare spending to be capped.
Anyone aged 18 to 21 claiming benefits without basic English or Maths will be required to undertake training from day one or lose their entitlement. People unemployed for more than six months to be forced to start a traineeship, take work experience or do a community work placement or lose benefits.

TAXES AND ALLOWANCES
From April 2015, capital gains tax will be imposed on future gains made by non-residents who sell residential property in the UK.
Employer National Insurance contributions to be scrapped on 1.5 million jobs for young people.
The personal income tax allowance to rise to £10,000 from April 2014, and then from 2015-16 to increase by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation.
Business rates in England and Wales to be capped at 2% rather than linked to RPI inflation, with some retail premises in England to get a discount. Businesses moving into vacant properties will have their rates cut by 50%.
From April, a new tax relief is to be introduced for investment in social enterprises and new social impact bonds.

JOBS AND TRAINING
Unemployment benefits claimants down 200,000, with forecasts for unemployment down from 7.6% this year to 7% in 2015.
Unemployment expected to fall further to 5.6% by 2018.
Total number of jobs to rise by 400,000 this year and 3.1 million jobs predicted to be created by 2019.

TRANSPORT
Petrol taxes stay frozen - planned rise of 2p per litre for next year scrapped.
Regulated train fares to rise in line with inflation, not at 1% above RPI as planned.

EDUCATION AND FAMILIES
An additional 20,000 apprenticeships to be funded over the next two years.
All pupils at state schools in England in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are to get free school lunches from next September, at an estimated cost of £600m a year.

HOUSING
Councils to sell off the most expensive social housing and rundown urban housing estates to be regenerated.

INFRASTRUCTURE
Tax allowances aiming to encourage investment in shale gas to cut tax on early profits by 50%.

OVERSEAS AID
Pledge to spend 0.7% of national income on international development to be met without increase to aid budget.


His overall theme was very much one of cautionary optimism and he has not proposed tax breaks in this parliament term however the first budget surplus this millennia may bring forward that prospect.

Thoughts?

I'm fully aware the benefits she receives are due to the child, the child though has no actual issue with access to the house and spends most of the week stopping over at grandparents or with his dad, of which neither has flattened gardens or £20k people carriers, to a casual observer you'd be hard pressed to see any disability with him and it's only if asked to run it would become apparent.

Hero wrote:I'm fully aware the benefits she receives are due to the child, the child though has no actual issue with access to the house and spends most of the week stopping over at grandparents or with his dad, of which neither has flattened gardens or £20k people carriers, to a casual observer you'd be hard pressed to see any disability with him and it's only if asked to run it would become apparent.

then report it to tthe benefit department if you think his disability doesn't warrant the benefits. The issue you will have is that a doctor has to confirm that the child has the said disability and thus needs easier access to the house/transportation. it is your word against a doctors.

Hero, do you know how the 42k breaks down, even roughly?

Isn't the average household income something like 25k? How come someone possibly be getting 42k along with a free house and free car which is probably another 20k pa on top of that.