Autumn Statement: Politicians divided on what it does for North Devon

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement has been hailed as one that will ‘will help every hard working person in North Devon’ by North Devon’s MP.

Selaine Saxby says it is a ‘turning point for our economy’ as she welcomed cuts to National Insurance contributions, plans to get people back into work and making NI savings for the self-employed, as well as a guarantee of the ‘triple lock’, which will see the State Pension increase by 8.5 per cent next year.

But her local rival, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Ian Roome, said the tax cuts ‘would not touch the sides’ and has been critical of the Government’s lack of investment in local health services as well as failing to deliver on promises to fund a new hospital in North Devon.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled his Autumn Statement today (Wednesday) with a raft of measures that included cutting employee National Insurance contributions from 12 per cent to 10 per cent.

He said these will take effect from January and save someone on an average salary £450.

Ms Saxby said: “Today the Chancellor announced 110 welcome measures for business investment and growth whilst the headline personal tax cuts will help every hard working person in North Devon.

“Overall, I warmly welcome this statement which shows the economy is moving in the right direction, but one statement was never going to fix every issue or address everyone’s concerns.

“There is more to do on many fronts, for the country and for North Devon, but we should all welcome that the economy has now turned a corner and these and today’s Statement brings positive changes and benefits to our local businesses and our wallets.”

But Ian Roome accused the Government of being 'content with local health services crumbling' after the Autumn Statement failed to provide additional funding for local health services.

"This Conservative Government seems completely content to sit back and allow North Devon's local health services to crumble,” he said.

"They are either so out of touch they cannot see how many people are struggling to access healthcare, or they simply do not care.

"The Autumn Statement was an opportunity to get people off NHS waiting lists and allow them to return to work so we can rescue our flat-lining economy.

"Instead we got empty promises, stale nonsense and a tax cut that's not even a drop in the ocean compared to what people have already paid."

The Autumn Statement in detail

Jeremy Hunt has promised to ‘tackle waste’ in public spending which is projected to save £19billion.

He said forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) show the economy will grow by 0.6 per cent this year and 0.7 per cent next.

It is now 1.8 per cent larger than it was before the pandemic, according to the official figures, he said.

Inflation is expected to fall to 2.8 per cent by the end of 2024.

The Chancellor has abolished ‘class 2’ NI for self-employed people earning more than £12,570 from April, with eight per cent to be paid on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 - a one per cent cut.

Mr Hunt said he was making the biggest set of welfare reforms in a decade and will get a further 200,000 people into work.

People claiming benefits will face mandatory work experience if they do not find a job within 18 months.

As pre-announced, the 'national living wage' will increase by more than a pound an hour from April to £11.44. It will also be extended to 21-year-olds.

Benefits will be increased by 6.7 per cent and there will be tougher requirements for those who claim them to look for work.

Mr Hunt says he will raise the local housing allowance next year, which has been frozen since 2020, in a measure worth £800 for some households.

There will be a ‘full expensing' tax break - allowing companies to deduct spending on new machinery and equipment from profits - made permanent.

The 75 per cent business rates discount for retail, hospitality and leisure firms in England extended for another year.

All alcohol duty will be frozen until August 1 next year.

Duty rate on tobacco products increases by two per cent above RPI (Retail Price Index) inflation; hand-rolling tobacco rises 12 per cent above RPI.