London will benefit from investment in transport, business and technology, as the Chancellor set out his plan to reward the hard work of the British People.
This year’s Budget provides a comprehensive plan to support the heath service, our high streets, and ensure working people have more money in their pocket.
Today’s announcements for Croydon include:
- Overall investment in public services will increase in real terms over the next five years. Public spending will increase overall by 1.2 per cent in real terms each year, with precise plans to be set out at the Spending Review.
- Funding the Prime Minister’s NHS commitment. We have fully-funded the cash settlement that was set out in June – which equates to £20.5 billion more in real terms by 2023-24, and an average real growth rate in the NHS’s budget of 3.4 per cent a year.
- Fulfilling our promises on income tax one year early, so people keep more of what they earn. We will raise the Personal Allowance to £12,500 and Higher Rate Threshold to £50,000 one year early, saving a typical basic rate taxpayer £130 compared to 2018-19 and £1,205 compared to 2010-11. Nearly 1 million fewer people will pay the higher rate of income tax.
- Supporting our councils with an additional £1 billion of funding. We will support councils with £650 million for social care, £84 million for children’s social care programmes over five years and £420 million for potholes this year.
- Backing high streets by cutting business rates by a third for two years. Rates will be cut by a third for retailers with rateable value under £51,000, saving up to 90 per cent of all shops up to £8,000 each year.
- Investing an additional £1.7 billion per year to benefit working families on Universal Credit. We will increase the work allowance – the amount families can earn before losing benefits – by £1,000, worth £630 per year to those households.
- A 2 per cent Digital Services Tax will ensure large digital firms pay a fair share of tax to support our public services. From 2020, large social media platforms, search engines and online marketplaces will pay 2 per cent on revenues linked to UK users.
Mario Creatura, Prospective MP for Croydon Central, said:
‘The Chancellor has set out how the hard work of the British people is paying off, our careful fiscal management and solid economic recovery means that austerity is coming to an end.
‘We have seen a significant upgrade to our public finances, underscoring the strength of the economic recover. Conservatives demonstrating once again that they are the only party of solid financial management.
‘Now we turn our eyes to the future, meaning more support for our great public services, help for household budgets now, and investment for the long-term to deliver higher living standards as our economy grows.’
Key regional statistics in London:
- Employment: There are 967,132 more people in employment in London since 2010, meaning more families with the security of a regular wage since.
- Unemployment: The level of unemployment in London has fallen by 41 per cent since 2010.
- Tax cuts: Cut tax for over 4 million people in London since 2010, helping people to keep more of their own money.
- National Living Wage: There are 166,000 people in London having a pay rise in 2018 thanks to the National Living Wage, helping to boost the pay of the lowest paid.
