Summary

  • Plans include a new £2bn scheme to create thousands of job placements for young people

  • The chancellor announces a temporary change to stamp duty - immediately increasing the threshold to £500,000

  • Temporary cut to VAT on food, accommodation and attractions from 20% to 5% is announced

  • Chancellor announces new job retention bonus for employers who bring back furloughed staff

  • But Labour says the chancellor has "put off big decisions" and should have announced a "back to work Budget"

  • A £2bn "green homes grant" to help make homes more energy efficient is also unveiled

  • “Eat out to help out” vouchers that will give diners 50% off their meals out, with conditions, for August

  1. SNP: UK needs 'more ambitious' packagepublished at 13:34 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Alison ThewlissImage source, HoC

    The SNP's Alison Thewliss says the chancellor should be "more ambitious" in his stimulus plans for the economy.

    She warns against withdrawing the furlough scheme "prematurely" - quoting analysis that it would cut GDP by 2.5%.

    She says the government should have support measures "no less" than a £80bn package announced in Germany.

    The chancellor says Scotland has received £4.6bn of support during the coronavirus pandemic.

  2. What will the chancellor do for businesses with debt?published at 13:32 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    House of Commons
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    Mel StrideImage source, HoC

    Chair of the Treasury Committee Mel Stride praises the chancellor's plan as "thoughtful, creative and bold".

    But he warns that many businesses are emerging from the crisis with "significant levels of debt".

    He says it is those same businesses who will need to kickstart the economy by investing in jobs and asks the chancellor what solutions he has to make sure they are not held back by debt.

    The chancellor agrees that he does not want debt to be "a drag" and says he is currently looking at proposals.

  3. I make no apology for ending furlough - chancellorpublished at 13:28 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Back to the chancellor's reply to Labour, Rishi Sunak said government support for companies will bring conditions on executive pay and climate commitments.

    He says the UK has decarbonised its economy faster than "almost any European country".

    He says he will "make no apology" for winding down the government's furlough scheme for subsidising worker wages.

    But he says ministers remain committed to protecting jobs - including through the jobs bonus scheme announced earlier.

  4. Stamp duty holiday: where is the lending?published at 13:26 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    sale signsImage source, Getty Images

    Unsurprisingly, estate agents like Martin Bikhit are pleased with the stamp duty holiday. But more first-time-buyer-friendly mortgages would be helpful, he says. Lenders including Nationwide have cut back on big mortgages for new buyers.

    Quote Message

    We expect mortgage lenders to have a surge in inquiries over the coming weeks however with a few high loan to value offerings being paused due to post lockdown demand there may not be the tidal wave the government hoped for. Coupled with near record low interest rates, the news provides a much welcomed boost, particularly for first time buyers in London who will see the greatest impact of the holiday, although the reduced mortgage offerings by lenders means that we may not see the impact from the outset.

    Martin Bikhit, Managing Director of estate agents Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Kay & Co

  5. Watch: chancellor announces stamp duty changespublished at 13:25 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

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  6. Sunak: We are choosing to help most vulnerablepublished at 13:23 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

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    Responding to Anneliese Dodds, the chancellor says he has sought "a broad a coalition as possible" on his economic package.

    He says the government is targeting support at the "most vulnerable".

    He says social distancing requirements have impacted the consumption-driven UK economy "more than others".

    But he says government action has been "bold and decisive".

  7. Watch: Labour's response to chancellor's new jobs schemepublished at 13:22 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

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  8. Dodds: Government can't escape responsibilitypublished at 13:21 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

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    Concluding her speech, Ms Dodds tells the government it can't escape its responsibility.

    She urges ministers "to finally sort out test track and isolate, to prevent additional unnecessary unemployment and to build the green jobs of the future".

    "This is the moment when our country needs the government to help Britain through," she says.

  9. Watch: chancellor announces VAT cutpublished at 13:19 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

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  10. Dodds: It has taken the Conservatives ten years to catch uppublished at 13:18 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

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    Anneliese Dodds warns that the benefits claimant count is on course to top 3 million people in June - the highest record since 1986.

    This must not be worsened she said.

    She notes that the Kickstart Scheme is very similar to the Jobs Future Fund - implemented by a Labour government and cancelled by the Conservatives.

    "It has taken them almost 10 years to catch up," she says.

    She urges the government to "recognise the challenge faced by old job seekers who are facing unemployment for the first time".

  11. Furlough mathspublished at 13:14 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    Simon Jack
    BBC Business Editor

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  12. Dodds urges chancellor to make furlough scheme flexiblepublished at 13:14 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    "If delivered properly these measures should help," Ms Dodds says.

    However she asks how the government will ensure that money from the retention bonus will not go to employers who were already planning to bring workers back to work.

    She also asks what he will do for those companies who are unable to operate despite the £1,000 bonus.

    And she urges the chancellor to make the furlough scheme more flexible and adopt a sector by sector focus.

  13. Watch: Chancellor announces new Job Retention Bonuspublished at 13:13 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

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  14. Labour: Chancellor 'has put off big decisions'published at 13:11 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has started her response to the chancellor's statement.

    She says the chancellor has "put off" many "big decisions" until the autumn.

    She says the chancellor should have announced a "back to work Budget" today.

    Earlier, the chancellor said the government will produce a Budget and Spending Review in the autumn.

  15. Who will benefit from the UK stamp duty cut?published at 13:08 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    Reality Check

    Stamp duty, the tax on buying land or properties, is being temporarily cut in England and Northern Ireland.

    From now until 31 March it will only be charged on properties costing £500,000 or more.

    Previously it was charged on properties costing £125,000 or more, except for first-time buyers, who paid nothing up to £300,000 and then a reduced rate up to £500,000.

    So this will be a tax cut for first-time buyers looking for property over £300,000 and other buyers going for anything over £125,000 (there are different rules for people buying second homes).

    The Halifax says the average price paid by a first-time buyer was £231,455 - so the average first-time buyer would not benefit.

    Figures from Zoopla suggest that at the moment 16% of sales in England were exempt from stamp duty last year – they reckon that would have been 89% if anything up to £500,000 had been exempt.

    You can read more about the stamp duty holiday here.

  16. Sunak: We need to embody value of endurancepublished at 13:06 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    Rishi SunakImage source, HoC

    The chancellor wraps up his speech by telling MPs "this has never just been a question of economics, but of values: I believe in the British people’s fortitude and endurance."

    "And it is that value, endurance, more than any other, we need to embody now," he says.

    "We will not be defined by the crisis but our response to it."

    He says the government's plan is "a plan to turn our national recovery into millions of stories of personal renewal."

  17. Sunak announces 50% meals discountspublished at 13:05 British Summer Time 8 July 2020
    Breaking

    Rishi Sunak announces the government will give everyone 50% off meals in participating restaurants during August.

    He says the discount will go up to £10 per head for adults and children, and apply Monday to Wednesday.

    He says the scheme will help people "Eat Out to Help Out" the hospitality sector.

  18. Chancellor announces VAT cutpublished at 13:01 British Summer Time 8 July 2020
    Breaking

    Chancellor and PMImage source, HoC

    Rishi Sunak says the hospitality sector has been particularly badly hit.

    He therefore promises to cut VAT on food, accommodation and attractions.

    "VAT will be reduced, from next Wednesday until January 12th, from 20% to 5%," he says.

  19. Apprenticeship cash: retraining reform neededpublished at 13:00 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    apprenticesImage source, Getty Images
    Quote Message

    With a recession looming, these measures will provide crucial support for young people and their careers. However, the world of work is changing fast. With many jobs evolving as a result of AI and automation, it’s more important than ever to ensure workers can reskill for new careers. Under current rules, firms can only access apprenticeship funding to upskill employees in existing roles, not retrain them for new ones. Unless the government builds greater flexibility into the apprenticeship rules, many firms will struggle to transform their workforce for the future.

    Steve Collinson, HR boss at Insurance firm Zurich

  20. Our correspondent: Chancellor's focus on jobspublished at 12:59 British Summer Time 8 July 2020

    Nick Eardley
    Political correspondent

    As expected, the chancellor is focussing significantly on jobs.

    He’s just announced a number of schemes designed to try and stop unemployment spiralling in the coming months.

    Ministers have made clear they won’t be able to save every job – they’ve been saying it for months.

    But it’s also significant that the chancellor said he would not accept unemployment as inevitable.