NCF Briefing: Autumn Statement 2023
Following the delivery of this year's Autumn Statement by the Chancellor earlier this afternoon, NCF has spent some time producing a summary and responding to the statement. This mailing has been sent to our main contacts, our policy and public affairs network, finance and HR forums and our regular briefing mailing list. You can find a link to our response and further information below.
Our Response to the Autumn Statement
Earlier today, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement to Parliament. As expected, the statement focused on economic growth - '110 measures' for growth to be exact - and measures to get people who long-term unemployed or sick back into work.
While there are a number of welcome measures in the statement, such as the unfreezing of the Local Housing Allowance, the expansion of VAT relief on energy-saving materials for buildings used for charitable purposes, and the increase of the living wage (we are calling for this increase to be fully funded), there are a number things missing.
What is most notably missing from the Chancellor’s ‘110 measures for growth’, is any mention of adult social care and its untapped potential to unlock economic growth, empower individuals and communities and support unpaid carers and those accessing social care into the workforce. If he was instead to think social care first, then the huge growth potential being created around tech in care, opportunities for further apprenticeships and the development of the care workforce would be obvious. Meanwhile, the announcements about welfare and Work Capability Assessment reforms risk achieving exactly the opposite of the intended outcome. It risks increasing the health inequalities and exclusion from the labour market experienced by many of those receiving care and their unpaid carers. A better way to enable more people to return to the workforce is to invest in direct and tailored support for them and their potential employers, and support longer-term population health and wellbeing measures, which well-resourced social care provides
Our full response to the statement can be read here. Please share far and wide.
The Autumn Statement - A Summary Briefing
We have produced a summary briefing of the key announcements in the Chancellor's statement which we believe are relevant to members. This can be found attached.
Overall, the Chancellor has delivered around £21bn in tax cuts, while government departments are set for £19.1bn in real term funding cuts. It should also be noted that the £10bn worth of National Insurance cuts are dwarfed by the £45bn of already announced NI/income tax threshold freezes. Tax will rise overall, not fall, despite the narrative in the government’s announcements.
Do also note that as part of the Chancellor's statement, the government published its response to the Work Capability Assessment consultation as well as a response to the Occupational Health consultation: