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What the Pre-Budget Report means for Southampton

December 10th 2009

Alan Whitehead has welcomed the help for pensioners and local businesses announced today in the Pre-Budget Report.

The government announced a 2.5% increase in the basic state pension, an extension to the increase in Winter Fuel Payments to help pensioners with their heating bills during winter, as well as a raft of measures to boost the local economy.

Dr Whitehead said:

“The above-inflation increase in the basic state pension is well-deserved and welcome help for pensioners in Southampton.  I am also pleased that the government has agreed to keep Winter Fuel Payments at the increased level for another winter.  That increase is worth £50 for each pensioner household, and £100 for over 80s.” 

Dr Whitehead also welcomed the help for small businesses in Southampton and the south-east.

“The tax rate freeze for small businesses, the ongoing action to encourage lending by banks, and help with deferring tax bills, can and will make a real difference to cities like Southampton.  Local businesses have already benefited substantially from the tax deferral scheme and I am encouraged that the scheme has been extended.

As a long-term campaigner on carbon reduction and fuel poverty Dr Whitehead especially welcomed the many green initiatives contained in the PBR:

"I am extremely pleased to see that the Government will not allow the fight to reduce the UK's carbon output to take a back seat despite difficult economic circumstances. They realise as I do that saving carbon also means saving money and is especially relevant for the most vulnerable in our society."

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Pre-Budget Report Detail

Help for pensioners

The Pre-Budget Report:

• Increases the full basic state pension by £2.40 to £97.65 a week in April 2010.
• The increase of Winter Fuel Payments £250 for over 60s households (an increase of £50) and £400  for over 80s households (an increase of £100) has been extended for another winter
• Increases the full couples pension by £3.85 to £156.15 in April 2010.
• Boosts the pension guarantee – from April 2010, a single pensioner will be guaranteed an income of £132.60, a rise of £2.60, while a couple will be guaranteed £202.40, a rise of £3.95 a week.
• Extends the increase in Cold Weather Payments to £25 a week to this winter.

Help for families

The Pre-Budget Report:
• Guarantees every young person out of work for more than six months with a job, training or college place; and a new Better Off in Work Credit to make work pay (the guarantee currently kicks in after 12 months)
• Freezes the standard interest rate for Support for Mortgage Interest Payments (SMI) for a further 6 months to help those who have lost a job or income stay in their homes
• Starts the national rollout of the Money Guidance scheme to give financial advice to over 1 million financially excluded in the 12 months from March 2010
• Increases the the child element of the Child Tax Credit by £20 above earnings indexation
• Increases above inflation other benefits and tax credits normally linked to the Retail Prices Index. These benefits will be increased by 1.5 per cent. RPI is currently running at 0.8%.

Help for Southampton businesses

The Pre-Budget Report:

• confirmed that the Business Payments Support Scheme would continue as long as it is needed. The scheme has helped more than 160,000 companies employing over 1.2 million people to defer paying more than £4 billion in tax. In Southampton alone it’s helped 650 companies to defer £12m worth of tax.  Over the South-East region, it has helped over 36,560 businesses defer £656 million in tax.
• announced that the lower rate of Small Companies Corporation Tax would remain frozen for another year until April 2011. This will save £500 million for 850,000 small and medium-sized companies across the country, supporting them during the recovery.
• announced that the Prompt Payment Initiative would continue. The scheme has ensured almost £73 billion of payments are made within a 10-day target since June 2009, helping businesses to plan their cashflow.
• confirmed that the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, which helps small businesses to access finance, would continue for another year. Offers totalling £1 billion have been made to 9000 SMEs nationally.

Green measures

The PBR confirmed:

• At least £180m in public and private investment in low-carbon schemes.
• An additional £200m for energy efficiency schemes, with extra 75,000 households helped by the warm front scheme.
• A new scrappage scheme to help up to 125,000 homes replace inefficient boilers, and changes to be made to the climate change levy, company car tax and fuel benefit charge.
• From April, people with a home wind turbine or solar panels who send power back to the national grid to receive an average tax-free payment of £900 a year and electric cars to be exempted from company car tax for five years, with a 100% first year capital allowance for electric vans.
• A doubling in government commitment and finance for carbon capture and storage demonstration projects.

 

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