However local MP writes to Chancellor over self-employed NI contributions.
North Warwickshire and Bedworth’s Member of Parliament Craig Tracey has welcomed measures set out by the Chancellor in the Budget, which he has described as ‘sensibly offering support where it is needed’ for the pub trade and NHS.
The social care system cares for over a million people which puts pressure on the NHS. The Government has already delivered more than £7 billion extra spending power to the system over the next three years and is ensuring local authorities work more closely with the NHS.
Craig Tracey MP says that this Budget goes further to support Social Care and NHS:
“By committing additional grant funding of £2 billion to social care in England over the next three years, with new measures to support more joined-up working in the worst-performing authorities, I am encouraged that the Government is responding to calls for further support to Social Care.
“Alongside that, the Government will make a further £100 million available immediately for up to 100 new triage projects at A&E in English hospitals in time for next winter.
“This will provide immediate benefit to our NHS, and stands alongside our commitment to deliver a £10 billion real terms increase in annual NHS finding by 2020. We are investing more in our NHS than any of our opponents said they would.”
Mr Tracey also highlighted The Chancellor’s announcement on Business Rates – an issue which had concerned the local MP:
“There was a lot of discussion before the budget about how the business rates recalculation impacts on certain businesses, especially pubs. Although generally across our area most local businesses would actually benefit.
“I think that supporting pubs is really important, they are a significant part of our communities and too many are forced to close across the country each month.”
However the Chancellor Phillip Hammond announced a package of measures to support pubs stating:
‘We have listened to the concerns raised by business about the effects of the business rates revaluation. The Government has already committed to a £6.7 billion package to cut business rates, and £3.6 billion in transitional relief.
‘But we will go further with a £435 million package, meaning businesses coming out of Small Business Relief will have their increases capped at £50 per month in 2017-18; all pubs with a Rateable Value of under £100,000 – 90 per cent of all pubs – will see a £1,000 discount on their 2017 Business Rates bill; and local authorities will receive a further £300 million to target individual hard cases in their areas.’
Meanwhile Mr Tracey has written to the Chancellor to express his concerns regarding changes to National Insurance contributions for the Self-Employed. The MP wrote that although he ‘appreciates that those who will be required to pay more will be those over a significant threshold whilst those lowest earning self-employed will actually pay less – the latter is very welcome’, he has misgivings of rising NI for those higher earners without a new manifesto commitment. Mr Tracey also stated that hard-working self-employed people put their faith in the Conservatives as the Party for Business and asked the Chancellor to ‘look again’ at the policy.
The Office of Budget Responsibility provided upbeat forecasts for the Budget including:
- The UK economy is forecast to grow by 2 per cent in 2017, up from 1.4 per cent forecast in November.
- Real wages are forecast to rise in every year to 2020-21.
- The deficit is forecast to fall to 2.6 per cent of GDP in 2016-17, and to 0.7 per cent in 2020-21 – the lowest in over two decades.
- Debt as a proportion of national income is forecast to begin falling in 2018-19 – the first fall since 2001-02.
The Conservative Party stated that “this is a Budget that puts stability first, ensuring we keep our economy strong as we leave the European Union”.