George Osborne’s Autumn Statement 2011 – as it happened
Tuesday 29th November 2011, 12:25PM GMT.
13.18: That’s it – the chancellor sits down as Ed Balls begins his response.
13.16: The 3p rise in fuel duty in January has been cancelled.
13.15: Good news for train travellers – he caps rail fare increases at RPI + one per cent.
13.12: There will be an extra £1.2bn for education of which £600m will be spent on 100 new ‘free schools’.
13.10: The chancellor says the OBR predicts that unemployment will be 8.1 per cent at the end of this year, rising to 8.7 per cent next year before falling to 6.2 per cent by the end of the forecast.
13.08: The government is aiming to cut health and safety rules – particularly for samll firms.
13.06: There will be new time limits for planning applications.
13.05: He announces that he aims to make it easier for firms to compete for public contracts.
13.04: £1bn extra money for Regional Growth Fund in England.
13.03: He says all options remain open for a new airport hub with the exception of Heathrow expansion.
13.01: M6 is among a number of roads in the Midlands that will see improvements.
13.00: Toll halved on the Humber Bridge. Investment on Tyne & Wear Metro brought forward.
12.58: He announces 35 new road and rail schemes.
12.57: There will be a 50 per cent discout for tenants in social housing wanting to buy their own homes.
12.56: Money from the sale of council houses will be put into new building projects.
12.55: The chancellor says the government is going to reinvigorate the ‘right to buy’.
12.54: There will be a one per cent reduction in the cost of borrowing for small and medium-sized businesses.
12.52: The chancellor announces that the Enterprise Guarantee Scheme is to be extended. He claims that this will help small businesses to get loans.
12.51: Bank levy increased:
12.50: The rise in state pension age to 67 will be brought forward to 2026.
12.49: Benefits will be uprated at 5.2 per cent next April.
12.47: Basic state pension will rise in line with the ‘triple lock’ by £5.30 to £107.45 next April.
12.44: The chancellor calls for the unions to call off tomorrow’s strikes.
12.42: Public sector pay freeze which comes to an end next year. After that pay rises will be capped at one per cent for the following two years.
12.40: National debt will peak at 78 per cent of GDP in 2015.
12.39: ‘Crisis in Europe has made the case for cuts even stronger’.
12.37: Debt interest forecasts by 2015 are set to be £22bn less than previously expected.
12.35: He says that the OBR have warned that the previous ‘bust’ was much deeper than previously thought meaning that it would take longer to come out of. But he says they do not forecast a recession.
12.32: He states that OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) are now forecasting 0.9 per cent growth for this year followed by 0.7 per cent next year. The previous forecast for this year had been 1.7 per cent.
12.31: The chancellor gets to his feet. He starts by warning about the crisis threatentening the Eurozone and promises to do all he can to safeguard the UK’s economy.
Live minute-by minute updates as the chancellor George Osborne delivers his Autumn Budget statement.
Don’t forget to leave your comments and thoughts on how the statement affects you and your family.
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great so the workers are again hit while the life long scroungers are rewarded – when are we going to wake up in this country and say enough is enough!
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A 5.2% increase for people on social security ..yet a 1% pay freeze for public sector workers? Something doesn’t add up there.It pays to be on the dole then perhaps?
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we not all scroungers m8ty i been made redundant twice in 3 yrs sent off for 150 jobs in 9 months and had just 6 interviews so dont class everybody the same………….
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No Rob I would say there are people who do struggle and work hard to try to find a job,but on the other hand there are those who are rubbing their hands together.5.2% increase on some of the benefits paid out will be a nice bit of fag and booze money for some and a life line to others.
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“12.42: Public sector pay freeze which comes to an end next year. After that pay rises will be capped at one per cent for the following two years.”
This is a disturbing sign of weakness. Hard-pressed productive workers can’t afford to keep subsidising these people.
Perhaps the councils could stay on strike until the debt’s been cleared and everyone would be happy?
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Not so wise monkey
I worked in the private sector and work in the public sector – I know where I was better off; the public sector isn’t just aout councils
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So i see the workers are being robbed to pay for the spongers again. How about the rich contributing a bit more for a change.
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So teachers, having had their pay frozen for 3 years, now face a cap of 1% for the next 2? So over 5 years an increase of 2% despite ANNUAL inflation being double that? What a joke. I I almost forgot the extra £100 I will be paying into the pension scheme shorty…and don’t let me forget the reduction in my final pension…. Muppets.
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DaveyC45
Grow up man. Give your job up for the needy and stop winging about 5.2% of approx £60/week
Live and let live
You selfish being, you certainly lack humanity
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Jonb
Forget it man. You and I both know that tax evasion is the preserve of the rich ! What has been done about that? Nowt! is it 5.2% of 60 pounds. No, of course not it is millions.
How many businesses are putting their profits into companies offshore?
What about rich people who are non-domicile here? There money goes off shore.
get real man!
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For all of those which are saying scroungers will benefit most please take into account this:- Benefits is NOT just JSA or dole it is Income Support which anyone earning but on a low wage can get, it includes Tax Credit benefits which anyone who works can get. I work and my wife works albiet part time at the moment but are applying for better paid and better hours than we have. We are greatful of the increase of 5.2% on the barriers we face with the benefit side of our income easpecially when we are facing higher outgoings because of things like fuel costs. Also please remember that this country sees approx 33% of the population live on or below the bread line and the west midlands is one of the hardest hits areas.
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