A look at the Spring budget and what it means

There were some changes in the budget aimed at making the rising cost of living easier on people across the country.

A year long cut to fuel duty was announced along with scrapping VAT on energy efficiency measures and an increase to national insurance thresholds. No changes to pensions, benefits and additional support for energy bills were not announced.

We’ve outlined the changes below:
 
Fuel duty
Fuel duty has been cut for the first time since 2011, and will be reduced by 5p per litre as of Wednesday 23 March, the Chancellor announced in the Spring Statement.  In March alone, petrol prices have risen by 13p and diesel prices by 21p. This means for an average 55 litre car someone will save £3 each time they fill the tank.
 
Energy bills
The cost of energy bills is one of the main worries of a lot of households at the moment with the energy price cap rising to £1,971 on 1 April – an increase from £1,277.
Rishi Sunak did not introduce any further measures on energy bills in the spring statement, but said he will scrap VAT on energy efficiency measures such as solar panels, heat pumps and insulation installed for five years.
 
Income tax and national insurance
One of the biggest changes was to the national insurance contribution threshold which was raised to £12,750.
This is how much people will be able to earn before income tax or National Insurance is paid.
This means if someone is earning £14,500 a year, they’ll be around £335 a year better off than they are right now. Someone earning £50,000 will pay around £105 more tax this year compared to last.

Household support fund
The Treasury is doubling the household support fund with an extra £500m which it said will help ensure the most vulnerable families continue to get support with their food, energy and water bills. The fund will be distributed by councils in England who can help people through, for example, small grants to meet daily needs such as food, clothing, and utilities. Cash was made available to Local Authorities in October 2021.
What people will be entitled to will depend on the criteria set by your council, so it’s worth checking with them how it’ll be managed and how to apply if you need to.

Benefits/universal credit
There was no additional support announced for those on state benefits like Universal Credit.