The budget was the big focus in Parliament this week and the Chancellor had a difficult task. Whilst the deficit – the difference between what we earn as a country and what we spend – has reduced by two-thirds we still don’t have much spare cash. As anybody with credit card debt will understand when you run up debt you have to pay interest. In the UK, the interest we are paying is almost £50 billion – more than we spend on schools or NHS staff. Luckily interest rates are low at the moment….
The NHS was given additional funding as it struggles to cope with ever increasing patient numbers and a (thankfully!) ageing population. There was also an extra £350 million to anticipate additional needs this winter. Extra funding was made available for nurses pay rises, although as most of us who use the NHS know, this can never be enough for the service they give.
There was also a rise in the national living wage and the minimum wage for young people, which should help a little, alongside the raise in the personal tax allowance which means everybody only starts to pay tax on earnings over £11,850 per year. Fuel duty stays the same and pubs were given a boost with a discount on business rates and freezing of duties on wine, spirits, beer and most ciders – seems the Chancellor was getting into the Christmas spirit!
The main thrust was investment in future technologies which, if we get it right, will provide many highly paid jobs for the future – particularly for young people who have grown up surrounded by technology. The Chancellor also announced the end of stamp duty for first time buyers buying flats or house up to £300,000 which will be helpful for anybody saving up for their first home.
Closer to home I attended the Loxwood Flood Forum which was set up after almost 20 homes were completely flooded just before Christmas 2013. The devastation this causes cannot be underestimated and some people suffered such catastrophic damage that they were not able to move back into their homes for a year. Residents alongside WSCC, CDC, the Environment Agency and Southern water are focussed on trying to prevent this happening again. Progress is slow, too slow for anybody watching nervously out of their window during heavy rainfall, however there are a number of proposals to track the source of potential floods and operation watershed is still in action and has provided some short-term support to improve the situation. Luckily, we have had a relatively dry winter to date but we cannot rely on this and more action must be taken and soon. A workshop to discuss the proposals from the environment Agency will be held in January.