Autumn Statement: BBC experts on six things you need to know
- Published
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced the government's tax and spending plans to try and get the economy growing as the cost of living soars.
What came out of the Autumn Statement will affect your take-home pay and household budget.
BBC News has experts dedicated to helping audiences navigate the cost of living crisis. We asked them what you need to know.
If, and when, you get a pay rise, the chancellor has given you something else to consider.
In all likelihood, any increase in your salary before 2028 will mean a greater proportion of your income is taxed.
At present, you start to pay income tax on annual earnings of more than £12,570, charged at 20%. You then pay income tax of 40% on earnings over £50,270 a year, then at 45% on earnings above £150,000.
Those earnings levels, known as tax thresholds (which are slightly different in Scotland), were already frozen until 2026 under previous policy.
Now that freeze will continue until 2028 for the first two bands.
On top of that, the 45% tax rate will be paid on income above £125,140, rather than over £150,000, from next April.
The government's official forecaster says that between 2021-22 and 2027-28, there will be 3.2 million more people paying income tax as a result of this policy. An extra 2.6 million will be paying tax at the higher, 40% rate.
More from Kevin: What the Autumn Statement means for you
If you're scratching your head wondering how you're going to find an extra £500 from April to cover the bills for the same energy usage as this year, don't panic - there are things you can do when the energy price cap rises.
Some extra pots of help were announced in this Autumn Statement. If you're not on the electricity grid, or use oil central heating there's another £100 of help coming your way this winter.
Councils have also been given extra cash in the Household Support Fund to give out to people in the most need. Many councils have already dished out their current funding, so it's worth checking with your council in the coming weeks to see if you're eligible for any help.
The cost of living payments that people on means-tested benefits got this year are increasing next year too, to £900. That's £250 more than this year's payments.
The other thing you can do to stop your bills increasing in April is to cut your usage.
It might seem impossible to make any more savings in your house, but use the summer months to your advantage. Doing what you can to prepare and insulate your home, air-drying clothes and cutting the central heating could really save you money to help cover the higher rates next autumn.
To the relief of millions of families, the chancellor has confirmed that most benefits and the state pension will rise in line with inflation in April - that's 10.1%.
In cash terms, this amounts to £600 per year for the average family receiving universal credit, and an extra £870 annually on the state pension. But putting up payments like this won't make people better off in real terms, especially as lower income families have seen their costs going up more than average.
And there is an important caveat. Housing benefit remains frozen at 2020 levels - a problem for those in privately rented accommodation, as their rental costs soar.
The chancellor has given a record boost to benefits and the state pension, but many won't really feel they're better off.
If you are in work and getting universal credit to top up your earnings you could be asked to see a work coach from September next year.
The chancellor says he wants to help people to increase their working hours and lower their reliance on benefits.
This could apply to you if you're on the benefit and your household income adds up to between 15 and 35 hours a week at the National Living Wage, which is currently £9.50.
Employers are crying out for staff - there are more than a million vacancies - so you can see why he wants to do this. But what if you've decided to limit your hours because you can't afford the extra childcare?
The chancellor didn't make clear if families would be helped with extra childcare costs. And he didn't explain if benefits would be stopped or reduced if you don't up your hours.
Rising global energy prices are making the country as a whole poorer. In fact the extra we are collectively paying is equivalent of the funding for an entire second NHS.
Households are already feeling the impact of that through inflation, but it's set to continue, with incomes falling by the largest amount since records began in 1956.
Household incomes are forecast to fall by 7% in the next few years, that is the equivalent of £1700 per year on average, and that is after the support given by the government. And the number of unemployed is expected to rise by more than 500,000.
Even if inflation, the rate at which prices increase, has now peaked, the impact on ordinary households has not.
The increase in pensions, benefits and tax credits, in the minimum wage for over-23s, and in targeted energy support for eight million low income households will help.
But people like Sarah, a volunteer I met at a food pantry in Gloucestershire, told me this week that no-one she knew was switching on their heating, helped by the so far mild weather. There is concern about what happens if winter weather arrives in earnest.
There is one glaring omission in the government's tax and spending plans - how much support businesses will get towards their energy bills next year.
The Autumn Statement document shows the cost of capping unit costs for business until April next year is £18bn - but it shows a cost of zero for the following year.
The chancellor said discussions about future business energy support were ongoing but with only four months to go, many business owners, faced with decisions now on leases, staff and equipment will find that level of uncertainty a major deterrent to future investment and will want answers soon.
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- Published18 October 2022
