Budget 2026: How Chancellor's speech could affect West Midlands residents

John Healey has given his first Budget today less than four months after taking office as the UK Chancellor.

He made a broad range of announcements on key issues such as fuel duty, domestic energy bills and personal savings.

Here, we break down some of the major talking points which could affect you and your day-to-day spending.

Council Tax Rebate

Households in bands A to D will receive a £100 council tax rebate alongside £100 million of further funding for local authorities to provide targeted support to households acutely impacted by rising energy bills. This will be delivered by local councils from January.

Gas Standing Charges

Watchdog Ofgem has been asked to abolish gas standing charges on domestic energy bills in Great Britain, aiming for delivery by the end of 2027 or as soon as possible after then.

The government is also committing to reform electricity standing charges and will set out details next year.

ISA Accounts

The Lifetime ISA (LISA), used to support retirement or the purchase of a first house, is being replaced by a new First Time Buyer ISA which is expected to launch in April 2028.

The Chancellor promised to end the LISA penalty for those buying houses that cost more than £450,000.

A plan to restrict the amount someone could put into a cash ISA annually has also been scrapped. Therefore, the annual ISA savings limit of £20,000 can be put entirely into a cash ISA or spread across different types of ISAs as a saver so wishes.

Work will also take place on a new ‘Starter ISA' aimed at making investment more accessible.

First-Time Buyers

The Chancellor announced a Your First Home Scheme for first-time buyers which will be available from next spring as an equity loan scheme, funded by £4.7 billion of government-backed lending.

It is set to give first-time buyers an equity loan worth 20 per cent of the value of a new-build property as long as they put up a 2.5 per cent deposit.

Fuel Duty

The current freeze on fuel duty of 5p will be extended until July 2027 in a move aimed at lowering the impact of increasingly high petrol and diesel prices on motorists.

Prices at the pumps have been affected by global events including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. This is the 16th consecutive year that fuel duty has been frozen.

Mileage

People who use their car for work will see the higher mileage rate climb from 25p to 35p per mile.

A separate increase to the standard mileage rate introduced earlier this year has also been made permanent.

Minimum Wage

The national minimum wage will increase by 3.9 per cent from next April.

This will see the rates hit £13.21 per hour for those aged 21 and over (up from £12.71) while the minimum wage for 18 to 20 year olds will be £11.27 (up from £10.85).

Under 18s and apprentices will receive from £8 to £8.31.

Paternity Leave

The government is extending parental pay to more than 160,000 additional parents, including self-employed dads, partners and adopters who have previously missed out, from April 2029.

Those who are recently employed or unemployed or with a broken or irregular pattern of employment and do not qualify for statutory paternity or adoption pay will also benefit providing they have sufficient work and earnings history.