The Chancellor presented his last budget before the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.

This at a glance budget summary gives you the rundown of the key announcements and updates. Headlines include the abolition of PFI contracts, the introduction of a new 'Digital Services Tax', a £675m 'future high streets fund' to regenerate local retail centres, and a £695m package to support skills and apprenticeships - a key theme of this edition.      

Big Picture

  • 2018 growth forecast upgraded to 1.6% from 1.3% last year.
  • Economy predicted to grow 1.6% by 2022.
  • 3.3 million more people in work since 2010
  • Public borrowing in 2018 is £11.6bn lower than forecast in March, representing 1.2% of GDP.
  • Borrowing forecast down to £19.8bn by 2023/24.
  • Deficit down from almost 10% to less than 1.4%, falling to 0.8% by 2023/24
  • National Debt peaked in 2016/17 at 85.2% of GDP – falling to 74.1% of GDP in 2023/24.
  • An extra £500m will be put into a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario, and HMT will maintain a £15bn ‘safetycushion’ for a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

Public Services

  • Chancellor underpinned the £20.5bn for NHS over next 5 years.
  • A 10 year plan for the NHS will be published shortly, which will include a new Mental Health Crisis Service.
  • Departmental spending allocations will be settled next year.
  • HMG will shortly publish a Green Paper on the future of social care.
  • £650m of grant funding will be available for English Authorities in 2019/20 for social care.
  • £400m in year bonus for schools to buy equipment and services.
  • Additional £420m available to local highway authorities to tackle pot holes and minor repairs.
Technology and Innovation

The Chancellor referred to the Budget Red Book for the detail, but highlighted:

  • £1.6bn new investment to support a Modern Industrial Strategy
  • £150m for fellowships
  • Expanding the National Productivity Investment Fund to over £38bn by 2023/24.
Infrastructure
  • Establish a Centre of Excellence to manage current PFI contracts.
  • Abolished future PFIs.
Business

Package of measures “to stimulate business investment”, including:
  • Increasing annual investment allowance to £1m for two years.
  • Increase UK Export Finance direct lending facility by up to £2bn
  • Open E-passport gates to Chinese/American/Japanese/Australian business visitors.
  • Extra £200m funding to British Business Bank to replace access to European Investment Fund if needed.
  • Chancellor will introduce a “UK Digital Services Tax” by 2020, targeted at ‘Tech Giants’ and thosefirms earning at least £500m a year in global revenues.
High Streets
  • £675m co-funding to create a future high street fund “for councils to transform their high streets”.
  •  All retailers in England with rateable values of £51,000 or less will have business rates bill cut by a third – saving business up to £8,000 annually.
Housing
  • £500m increase for Housing Infrastructure Fund taking it to £5.5bn to unlock a further 650,000 homes. 
  • The British Business Bank will deliver a new scheme providing guarantees to support up to £1bn of lending to SME housebuilders. 
  • HMG to provide £653 million by 2021-22 for strategic partnerships with nine housing associations to deliver over 13,000 homes. 
  • Homes England to publish a new five-year strategic business plan on 30 October 2018. 
  • Report on build out rates published today (29 October) which includes recommendation for reform of the planning system – HMG will respond to this “in the New Year”.
Skills
  • Apprenticeship Levy contributions from small firms to be halved from 10% to 5%.
  • HMG to make up to £450 million available to enable levy paying employers to transfer up to 25% of their funds to pay for apprenticeship training in their supply chains. 
  • HMG to provide up to £5 million to the Institute for Apprenticeships and National Apprenticeship Service in 2019-20, to identify gaps in the training provider market and increase the number of employer-designed apprenticeship standards available to employers. 
  • HMG to allocate £100 million for the first phase of the National Retraining Scheme (NRS).
  • HMG to fund £20 million of skills pilots. 
  • HMG to provide £38 million of capital funding to support implementation of the first three T levels in 2020 across 52 providers. 
  • Chancellor said there was a total package of £695m to support apprenticeships. 

Regional 

  • Increasing the “Transforming Cities Fund” to £2.4bn
  • Additional £90m to trial new forms of transport, including on demand buses. 
  • Launched a competition on proposals for business led development corporations. 
  • Funding ten new University Enterprise Zones. 
  • £115m for Digital Catapults in the North East and South East.
  • £37m additional funding for Northern Powerhouse Rail 
  • £10m for a new Manchester pilot for the self-employed to acquire new skills. 
  • A new Special Economic Area in South Tees 
  • £20m for the “critical” central section of East West Rail between Oxford and Cambridge. 
  • £12m investment in fishing technology and safety over the next three years. 
Tax 

  • Fuel duty frozen for the ninth consecutive year. 
Wages 
  • National Living Wage will rise to £8.21 

A full list of the Treasury’s Budget documents including the Red Book are available here.