Fall budget 2021: the key points at a glance

Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled the contents of his budget in the House of Commons.

It is defining the government’s fiscal and spending plans for the coming year.

Here is a summary of the main points.

State of the economy and public finances

Inflation in September was 3.1% and is likely to increase further, reaching an average of 4% over the next year, according to estimates.
The UK economy is expected to return to pre-Covid levels by 2022
Annual growth is set to rebound 6.5% this year, followed by 6% in 2022
Unemployment is expected to peak at 5.2% next year, lower than the 11.9% previously forecast
Wages have grown in real terms by 3.4% since February 2020
Debt as a percentage of GDP is expected to decline from 7.9% this year to 3.3% next year
Debt as a percentage of GDP will therefore drop to 1.5% in the following four years
The government is expected to restore its commitment to spend 0.7% of GDP on foreign aid by 2024-25

Universal credit tapering will be reduced by 8% by 1 December, taking it from 63% to 55%
Corporate rates will be maintained and reformed
The expected fuel tax hike will be canceled out among the highest pump prices in the past eight years
£ 24 billion has been allocated to housing: £ 11.5 billion for up to 180,000 affordable homes, with brownfield sites set aside for development
Each department of Whitehall will receive a real increase in total spending, totaling £ 150 billion over the course of this Parliament
A 4% tax will be applied to real estate developers with profits over £ 25 million to help create a £ 5 billion fund to remove unsafe coatings
Funding will increase on average by £ 4.6bn for the Scottish Government, £ 2.5bn for the Welsh Government and £ 1.6bn for the Northern Ireland Executive
There will be £ 2.2 billion more for courts, prisons and probation services
Tax breaks for museums and galleries will be extended for two years, until March 2024
Funds for basic science will rise to £ 5.9 billion annually by 2024-25

Schools will receive £ 4.7 billion more by 2024-25
There will be nearly £ 2 billion in new funding to help schools and universities recover from the pandemic
Funding for schools to return to 2010 levels in real terms: an equivalent cash increase per pupil of over £ 1,500
£ 300 million will be spent on a ‘Start for Life’ parenting program, with an additional £ 170 million pledged for childcare by 2024-25
A UK-wide math program will be established to help improve basic math skills among adults

Flights between UK airports will be subject to a new reduced Air Passenger Duty fare from April 2023
Financial support for British airports to be extended for a further six months
Starting April 2023, a new ultra long haul belt will be introduced in Air Passenger Duty for flights of over 5,500 miles

A planned increase in the duty on spirits, wine, cider and beer will be canceled
Simplifying alcohol taxes over 140 years will see the number of tax rates drop from 15 to six
Stronger red wines, fortified wines and high proof ciders will see a small increase in their rates
Fares on many low-alcohol beverages including rose wine, fruit ciders, spirits, beers, and low-alcohol wines will decrease
All sparkling wines will now pay the same duty as still wines of equivalent strength
A new lower duty rate on draft beer and cider will reduce the rates by 5%