The Autumn Budget was presented to Parliament on 22 November 2017, setting out economic forecasts and the government's taxation and spending plans.

Office for Budget Responsibility economic forecasts included in today’s Budget statement put this year’s growth at 1.5%, down from the 2% predicted in the Spring Budget. Growth is then expected to fall to 1.4% next year, 1.3% in each of the two following years before rising to 1.5% in 2021 and 1.6% in 2022.

Borrowing is forecast to fall in every subsequent year from £39.5bn in 2018/19 to £25.6bn in 2022/23, with public sector net borrowing forecast to fall from 3.8% of GDP last year to 2.4% this year, then 1.9%, 1.6%, 1.5% and 1.3% in subsequent years, reaching 1.1% in 2022/23.

Other announcements include the following:

  • £44bn in overall government support for housing to meet target of building 300,000 new homes a year by the middle of the next decade
  • councils given powers to charge 100% council tax premium on empty properties
  • £400m to regenerate housing estates and £1.1bn to unlock strategic sites for development
  • a new homelessness task force
  • a £1.5bn package to address concerns over the controversial flagship welfare reform programme universal credit
  • rises in business rates to be pegged to CPI measure of inflation, not higher RPI, a cut of £2.3bn
  • £2.8bn in extra funding for the NHS in England
  • £10bn capital investment fund for hospitals up to 2022
  • further devolution of powers to Greater Manchester
  • £1.7bn city region transport fund, to be shared between six regions with elected mayors and other areas
  • a lifting of the £35m VAT liability on Scotland’s police and emergency services.

The government has also set aside £3bn over the next two years to help Whitehall prepare for 'every possible outcome' of Brexit.

For more information see the Treasury website.

CIPFA is currently closed, webchat will be available from 03/01/24 from 09:00 - 17:00.