Autumn Statement: Hunt cuts National Insurance rate but tax burden still rising

1. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has unveiled the government's tax and spending plans, and independent forecasts for the economy
2. National Insurance paid by employees will be cut from 12% to 10%, taking effect from 6 January
3. Hunt also made permanent a tax break for businesses that allows them to save on corporation tax by investing
4. But even with the cuts, the tax burden is still on track to reach a post-war high by 2028, says the Office for Budget Responsibility
5. The OBR also forecasts that the economy will grow slower than expected - 0.7% next year instead of the 1.8% previously forecast
6. NI is currently charged at 12% on earnings between £12,571 and £50,271 - and 2% on anything above that
7. Labour says the tax cut will not "remotely compensate" for hikes already in place
8. Separately, the state pension will increase by 8.5% from April 2024, while universal credit and disability benefits will rise by 6.7%
9. Welfare recipients who do not get a job within 18 months will have to do work experience - those who don't look for work for a six-month period will have benefits stopped

Still want to read more?

We're closing this page now, but there's lots more to read. Our summary below is just the tip of the iceberg and teams across the BBC have been digging into the detail all afternoon.

The key lines:

For anyone looking for a general overview, here's the main story from the BBC Politics team.

We've written an at-a-glance summary here of the major announcements in the statement.

Our colleagues in BBC Business have taken a detailed looked at a tax break for firms who invest in new technology or equipment.

We've also written a round-up of the gloomy growth predictions issued by the government's official economics forecaster and taken a look at changes to the benefits system.

Expert analysis:

The BBC's cost of living correspondent Kevin Peachey has taken a consumer-focused look at what this means for your finances.

There's also economics editor Fasial Islam's analysis of the UK tax burden remaining at a 70-year high, despite the cuts.

And here's a detailed explainer on the changes to National Insurance and income tax.

Thanks for joining us. Today's page was written by Adam Durbin, Malu Cursino, Dearbail Jordan, Ben King, Tara Mewawalla, Kate Whannel and Sam Francis. It was edited by Owen Amos, Heather Sharp and Sam Hancock.

Here's what we've learned today

Jeremy Hunt opens Autumn Statement 2023 promising 'work to be done'

We're wrapping up our coverage of the Autumn Statement shortly, so here's a summary of today's key developments:

Tax cuts, pensions and benefits:

The chancellor stood up in the House of Commons, announcing a host of measures in what he called an "Autumn Statement for growth". The biggest surprise was a cut in the main rate of employee National Insurance from 12% down to 10%, from January.

He announced that a tax break for businesses - known as "full expensing" - would be made permanent, confirmed the minimum wage would rise to £11.44, and froze alcohol duty to August next year.

Universal credit and other working-age benefits will rise by 6.7% and pensions by 8.5% - both more generous than had been suggested in the run-up to the statement. But there will also be changes to the benefits system bringing tougher sanctions for claimants judged to be not doing enough to find a job.

Gloomy economic forecasts:

But alongside his statement, came the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)'s assessment of his plans - and the wider state of the economy.

It said the amount of tax being raised is on track to reach its highest level in 70 years by 2028, as well as forecasting that the economy will grow - and inflation will fall - more slowly in the next couple of years than it had previously anticipated.

What has the response been?

In an interview with the BBC, Hunt acknowledged people were "feeling bruised" by the UK's financial troubles and said the government promised to reduce the tax burden on families when it could.

Labour criticised the plans, saying a 2% national insurance cut would "not remotely compensate" for tax rises already put in place by the government, that economic growth had "hit a dead end" and that the announcements left working people "worse off".

The Lib Dems said the UK was “suffering from the biggest reduction in living standards since the 1950s” and the Autumn Statement was "a big deception".

Charities welcomed the increase in benefits, but raised concerns about the impact of sanctions on the sick and disabled.

Charities weigh in on chancellor's statement

Tara Mewawalla

Live reporter

What does this mean for those on the lowest incomes and the charities working to help them? Here's a flavour of the comments we've been hearing:

National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)

The NCVO said it was "disappointed" that "chronic underfunding" of public services had not been addressed, and without increases to grants and contracts, some charities would be forced to close or reduce services.

This short-term decision making will cost the taxpayer more in the long-term."

The Trussell Trust

Helen Barnard, director of policy at The Trussell Trust, said some of today's announcements would "ease some of the pressures" driving people into poverty - but increases to benefits were not sufficient.

We know that even with this boost universal credit will not meet the costs of the essentials. People on the lowest incomes are still facing significant challenges."

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation praised the chancellor's decisions to end the freeze on Local Housing Allowance and uprate benefits, but criticised moves "exposing more people to [benefits] sanctions".

Taking away the threat of an across the board cut to benefit rates offers some relief as we head into another difficult winter... The chancellor has recognised how far behind actual market rents housing benefit has fallen."

'If work isn't available, people will continue to struggle'

Colletta Smith

Cost of living correspondent

Ahead of the Autumn Statement I'd been to meet mums on low incomes who told me uprating benefits in line with inflation should be one of the chancellor’s priorities.

They've now sent me their thoughts on today's Autumn Statement.

May Fairweather

May Fairweather, a mother from Stockport, says she was pleased to see a rise in the National Living Wages, with those aged 21 to 22 eligible for the first time, as age "doesn't make life less expensive".

"But if the work isn't available, or if hours are reduced to keep the employer's wage bill the same, people will continue to struggle," she says.

She says her biggest concern remains the changes to benefits and fitness-to-work rules.

"The government seem to believe that working from home is a panacea to all ills, and that anyone not finding suitable work rapidly must just not be trying hard enough. That's simply not accurate and shows how little contact they have with real low-income people."

Faith Angwet

Faith Angwet, from London, who is currently looking for work, said after the statement that it was "frightening" to hear there wouldn't be any further help from the government with energy bills this winter.

She welcomed the increase of the Local Housing Allowance for families living in private accommodation, but said food prices remain a concern, adding:

The punitive measures of taking away benefits from jobseekers who do not conform with job placement schemes will only increase the risk of poverty for the already vulnerable disabled population."

Why cut National Insurance, not income tax?

Dharshini David

Chief economics correspondent

Why cut the main rate of national insurance contributions (NICs) rather than that of income tax? After all it makes a less catchy headline.

There are two possible reasons why the chancellor may have opted to go down this route.

Firstly, it's cheaper - around a £5bn cost to the Treasury for each one percentage point cut in NICs, whereas it's £7bn for a penny off the basic rate of income tax.

The second is that NICs of that sort only apply to employees, not earned income of all sorts, which includes the likes of pensions or interest on savings.

So, it tallies with the chancellor's theme of "making work pay".

A timeline: Recent ups and downs of National Insurance

One of the main headlines today has been the cut to the main rate of employees' National Insurance cut - from 12% to 10% - but hang on a minute, hasn't it gone up and down a bit already in the past couple of years? Here's a quick recap:

• As chancellor Rishi Sunak proposed a National Insurance rise by 1.25% - raising it to 13.25% - to fund the Health and Social Care Levy in his Spring Statement in March 2022
• The rise was designed to support the NHS and social care, in the wake of the pandemic, and to be in place from April 2022 and April 2023
• But once Liz Truss became PM, she and then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the reversal of this policy ahead of their mini budget - which led to political and economic turmoil for other reasons
• Her then-chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, stepped down and Jeremy Hunt took on the role
• Hunt then U-turned on many of the financial decisions made by his predecessor - but the scrapping of the National Insurance rise continued, keeping it at 12%
• And now, it has been lowered even further to 10% - effective from 6 January

Will there be a knock-on effect of scrapping class 2 NI?

Kevin Peachey

Cost of living correspondent

Rachel Henderson asks whether low-income, self-employed people can still pay voluntary National Insurance (NI) contributions to keep their state pension entitlement topped up?

We have had quite a few questions along these lines. The scrapping of class 2 NI for the self-employed has left some worried that they will lose the credit they get to claim pensions and benefits.

The chancellor said that there will be no effect on access to benefits, although the exact mechanism for that is yet to be outlined.

Those on very low incomes will still be able to make contributions at the same rate as now.

What about inheritance tax and the savings allowance?

Kevin Peachey

Cost of living correspondent

Martin Izett says he didn’t see or hear anything about Inheritance Tax and asks if the planned cut was indeed scrapped?

Is the prospect of cutting Inheritance Tax dead or just resting? It was certainly an idea which was doing the rounds over the weekend, but did not come up in the speech or in the Treasury's Autumn Statement documents.

You can read my explanation of how the tax works here.

Expect some renewed speculation in the run up to the Budget in the spring, but for now it remains unchanged.

Meanwhile, Richard Price asks: Has there been any change in the savings allowance?

This has become much more of an issue since interest rates, and therefore savings rates, have increased.

There was no change in the Autumn Statement to the amount you can get in interest from savings before getting taxed.

The allowance remains at £1,000 a year for basic rate taxpayers, and £500 a year for higher rate taxpayers

Will people in Scotland miss out on NI cuts?

Kevin Peachey

Cost of living correspondent

Let's get back to the questions you've been sending in about the Autumn Statement, and what it all means.

Alastair Band wants to know if the measures brought in today include Scotland - or if people living there will have to wait for their own Budget in December. Specially, he asks, will the National Insurance change affect Scots?

The devolved government in Scotland does have some power over personal tax. For example, there are different income tax bands in Scotland.

However, National Insurance is a UK-wide tax, so the changes coming in January will be the same wherever you live in the UK.

Tax burden highest since war - and rising

Despite today's tax cuts, the tax burden - the amount the government raises in taxes relative to the size of the economy - is set to rise to a post-war high of 37.7% by 2028.

Inflation has seen the government's tax take increase. That's because salaries have been rising but the levels where you start paying different tax rates have been frozen. Corporation tax, charged on company profits, has also risen from 19% to 25%.

Cuts to National Insurance (NI) and business taxes have given some of that back, but not all of it.

That's why today's forecast of the tax burden is higher than the forecast from March - and rising every year.

An inconvenient truth for a government that believes in low taxes.

BBC

Hunt says he is 'not ideological' with public money

BBC

In his interview with Chris Mason, Jeremy Hunt says he and the prime minister are “not ideological” with the public purse strings.

"When faced with a once in a century pandemic, we did spend,” Hunt says. The government also stepped in with an energy cap freeze during the cost-of-living crisis.

But as the nation emerges from the pandemic, the focus shifts, he argues. "In normal times we want to bring the tax burden down,” he says, adding his goal is “to bring down taxes in the long term”.

Challenged on his decision to freeze tax thresholds - pulling more people into higher tax bands as wages rise with inflation - Hunt says the government has doubled the National Insurance and income tax thresholds since 2010.

He adds that the move to freeze them was taken as part of "very difficult decisions to pay for support in the pandemic and energy crisis".

Watch: Hunt challenged on claim economy is growing

During his interview with the BBC, the chancellor was challenged on his claim about a growing economy, after predictions of a recession.

"All the talk today of tax cuts - living standards have fallen by more than at any point since records began and the tax burden is still going up every year," Mason puts to Jeremy Hunt. "That's the blunt truth, isn't it?"

Hunt says borrowing has been brought down and inflation cut by half, adding this is “just a start”.

Watch the exchange below:

Jeremy Hunt challenged on claim economy is growing

Hunt says families 'bruised' by years of financial problems

We're temporarily stepping away from your questions to hear from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who's given an interview to the BBC's political editor Chris Mason.

In it, he admits people are "feeling bruised" by the financial troubles of the last few years.

An unprecedented series of geopolitical crises means the UK has had “to put up taxes,” Hunt says, adding: "I’ve never shied away from that."

Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found Hunt has overseen the highest UK tax levels since records began 70 years ago.

"But we promised when we are in a position to reduce the burden on families we would," Hunt says, which is why his Autumn Statement increased the triple lock on pensions, cut National Insurance and overhauled working age benefits for the poorest families.

I'm on benefits, will my rent be covered?

Kevin Peachey

Cost of living correspondent

Tim Barns from Loughborough asks if his rent will be covered by the Local Housing Allowance?

This is quite a complicated subject, but an important change was made in Jeremy Hunt's speech.

The Local Housing Allowance helps those on benefits to pay their rent bill to a private landlord.

It has been frozen at the same level in cash terms since 2020, even though rents have risen sharply.

Now it will be reset locally at a level which would cover rent for the cheapest 30% of properties, or part of the rest. It depends on your circumstances.

Charities welcomed the move but said plenty of people would still be struggling.

Are there any changes to child benefit rules?

Kevin Peachey

Cost of living correspondent

Matt Podge has written in to ask: Aren't they going to do anything regarding the threshold for the High Income Child Benefit Charge? Seems that the £50k threshold is unchanged since the charge was introduced 10 years ago. If they're using inflation as a guide, this should be closer to £65k now.

If you or your partner earns more than £50,000, your child benefit starts being gradually withdrawn, so by the point you earn £60,000, you don't receive any child benefit at all.

Matt correctly points out that this level has been the same for 10 years, and nothing has changed today.

The system means people tend to pay some of this back through the tax system, so more have needed to fill in a self-assessment each year.

Some Conservative MPs have called for the whole thing to be scrapped, arguing it is a barrier to work.

Explained: What the OBR is

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is not a name likely to inspire burning curiosity in most people but it is actually incredibly important.

The OBR is an independent body which basically marks the government's homework whenever the Treasury makes a big announcement - such as today's Autumn Statement or the Budget.

It regularly checks official tax and spending figures and provides a degree of confidence for those who want to invest in the UK and lend the government money.

How important it is? Just ask Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng.

Last year, during their brief stints as prime minister and chancellor, they decided to bypass the OBR when Kwarteng announced £45bn of unfunded tax cuts during his mini-budget.

Spooked markets weren't sure how these tax cuts were going to be paid for because the OBR hadn't crunched the numbers. So government borrowing costs, which directly impact mortgage rates, soared. It meant people who were refinancing their mortgages at the time faced paying a higher rate.

• Read more here

Is there support for rising prices and bills?

Kevin Peachey

Cost of living correspondent

Chris says even if inflation comes down to 2% it means prices are still going up. What does he say to people who have use their life savings to keep their head above water?

Chris has nailed the point about rising prices. A falling inflation rate means prices are still rising, but at a slower rate than previously.

Last October, inflation peaked at more than 11%. The Office for Budget Responsibility suggests it will fall to its target of 2% in April to June 2025 (remember, a bit of inflation is a good thing, otherwise things grind to a halt).

People have indeed been using savings to pay higher prices and bills. Citizens Advice says more people have received crisis support this year than last.

Ministers say support is being given to those on low incomes through a higher minimum wage and a 6.7% rise in benefits in April. You might notice, there’s been no promise of further cost-of-living payments beyond the spring.

We're answering your questions

We've been hearing from lots of you, wondering about how the changes announced in today's Autumn Statement will affect your finances.

Our cost of living correspondent Kevin Peachey is beavering away answering them. Stay with us as we bring you his answers.

Fears among disabled people are palpable

Nikki Fox

BBC News Disability Correspondent

This past week, I’ve been sent a whole heap of comments from various disability charities, and I’ve read some passionate posts on social media.

The fear leading up to today’s announcement from disabled people, their families, and those who are long-term sick or have mental health difficulties, has been palpable.

Here’s why…

Welfare reforms have been in the government’s sights for a while.

This week the prime minister described the more than two million working age people out of work as a “national scandal”.

And back in the Spring, Hunt set out reforms to scrap the controversial Work Capability Assessment system used to consider whether disabled people can claim benefits.

Overall, the message is clear - look for work or get your benefits slashed.

Charities have described the plans as “disastrous”. And many disabled people fear they will be forced into work - regardless of whether they can or not.

There was some good news though, Universal Credit and other working-age benefits will increase by 6.7% from April - more generous than previously thought.

What's happening with changes to benefits?

PA Media

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said most working-age benefits will rise by 6.7%, in line with September's inflation rate.

At the same time, he announced reforms which aim to reduce the number of people out of work because of long-term sickness or disability - currently 2.6 million.

Due to be introduced from 2025, the changes, including stricter fit-to-work tests and jobseeker support, mean people with mobility and mental-health problems will be told to look for work they can do from home.

Hunt said the government would spend £1.3bn over the next five years to help nearly 700,000 people with health conditions find jobs.

Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, called the Autumn Statement "a backwards step for the UK, which people with mental health problems will feel sharply" with changes to assessments "brazenly motivated by a desire to save money".

James Taylor, director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said the Autumn Statement was a "missed opportunity to set out how disabled people can thrive".

• You can read the full story here.