Chloe and Lisa have welcomed the Autumn Statement, echoing the Chancellor’s argument that it is only by working through the Conservatives’ long-term economic plan that we can achieve prosperity and security for families in Norwich.
The new forecasts for the British economy in the Autumn Statement shows the Government’s long-term economic plan is working:
- Deficit will be halved this year
- British economy expected to grow by 3 per cent this year
- Employment up and unemployment down – with over half a million new jobs forecast this year
The Chancellor set out the next steps in his long-term economic plan in the Statement:
- We will overhaul stamp duty so that 98% of stamp duty payers pay less tax when they buy their home. Of people who pay stamp duty in the East of England, 99.0% will pay the same or less.
- We will continue to back businesses to create jobs in all parts of the country - with action on business rates and more help for the high street. 180,000 properties in the East of England will benefit from these business rates measures.
- 137,000 properties will benefit from the cap on business rates, with savings worth £10m.
- 64,000 small businesses will benefit from the extension to Small Business Rate Relief, with savings worth £44m. 43,000 of these businesses will pay no business rates at all.
- 29,000 properties will benefit from the £1,500 discount for retail properties.
- We will abolish the jobs tax on apprenticeships for people under 25 to help more young people get the skills they need. Around 45,000 apprentices in the East of England stand to benefit from a reduction in their employer’s NICs.
- We will raise the personal allowance, and higher rate taxpayers will also benefit – a down-payment on our promises to raise the personal allowance to £12,500 and the higher rate threshold to £50,000 in the next parliament. In the East of England, this will lift 40,000 of the lowest-paid people out of income tax altogether in 2015-16. 2.35 million people will see an average real terms wage boost of £95.
- We will cut tax for families by abolishing the air passenger duty paid for children. This will save a two child family travelling from Norwich, Southend, Stansted or Luton Airports £26 on the cost of economy short-haul flights and £142 on the cost of economy long-haul flights.
- And we will support savers by letting husbands and wives inherit their partner’s ISA and keep its tax free status.
As part of the National Infrastructure Plan announced earlier this week, 14 Strategic Road Network projects will be built, while around £174m of Government funding from its 6-year floods programme is supporting at least 120 projects in the East of England.
The Government supports the key recommendations of the Norwich in Ninety Taskforce, led by Chloe. The Chancellor said that Chloe has “put East Anglia and Norwich on the map” and that she ran a brilliant campaign for better rail services.
It has also been announced that Norwich will benefit from the continuation of the Cycle City Ambition scheme, providing capital funding for better cycle infrastructure.
Chloe welcomed these measures as good news for hardworking taxpayers in Norwich: “This is excellent news for hardworking families in Norwich. The fundamental reform of stamp duty will cut taxes for the overwhelming majority of people trying to buy a house here – and the personal allowance rise and change to the ISA rules back people who want to work hard and save.”
Chloe, who founded and runs the Norwich For Jobs campaign which has helped fifteen hundred local young people into work, also welcomed the cut in taxes when a business takes on an apprentice.
Lisa said: “This Autumn Statement confirms the Government’s long-term economic plan is working. This matters to families here in Norwich because it’s only with a strong and healthy economy that families here can have economic security for the future. We must carry on working through our plan and stay on course to prosperity.”