Yahoo Finance What time is Rishi Sunak's mini budget today - and what will he say?
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to unveil further measures to combat the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday. He is expected to give a statement from Downing Street at around 12:30pm today.
Mr Sunak, who has been in his role since February, has authorised some of the biggest increases in spending by a Chancellor in recent history, via policies such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Many methods of re-invigorating the economy have been touted, with a few confirmed by the Treasury. What could we see from Wednesday's statement?
Funding for traineeships
The Telegraph has reported that the Government would pay businesses £1,000 per trainee hired to incentivise firms to offer work experience to 16- 24-year-olds, which was confirmed by the Treasury.
The money will be capped at 10 jobs per employer, or £10,000. The move is part of a £111 million fund to triple the number of trainees, as part of a move to combat youth unemployment.
The Institute of Directors' Joe Fitzsimons, said: "Revamping our skills systems will be one of the key challenges as we emerge from coronavirus. It’s great to see the Treasury taking action to help small firms play their part in upskilling the workforce."
Arts funding
The Government announced over the weekend that there would be a £1.57 billion bailout of the arts and cultural sector to ensure prominent institutions do not collapse. As part of the move, £880 million would be given in direct grant funding, as well as £270 million in loans for Arts organisations.
A further £100 million is to be given to national museums and English Heritage, as well as £120 million for other heritage projects. In accordance with the Barnett formula, an additional £188 million will be given to the devolved administrations.
Playwright James Graham was supportive of the Government's announcement, commenting that he was "so relieved that Oliver Dowden, DCMS and the Treasury recognise this is a prize worth saving”.
Rail Bailout
According to a report in The Times, rail companies are set to see extensions to their emergency contracts, which are set to expire on September 20.
An extension to the emergency contracts could cost as much as £10.5 billion.
More help for jobseekers
The Treasury has also announced that the number of work coaches at job centres is set to double as Mr Sunak tries to accelerate the process of finding work for the unemployed. Numbers will jump from 13,500 to 27,000 at a cost of £800 million.
A Treasury spokesman said of the announcement: “The longer someone is out of work, the harder it is to return.
"Doubling the number of work coaches will ensure those in need are given immediate support to get back on their feet and into a job."
Stamp duty holiday
Home buyers will on Wednesday be offered an emergency stamp duty holiday as the centrepiece of the government's coronavirus recovery plan to be unveiled by Rishi Sunak.
The Chancellor is expected to raise the threshold for the tax and temporarily exempt the first £500,000 of any property price to boost the economy and save buyers up to £15,000.
Whitehall sources indicated on Tuesday night that the temporary stamp duty “holiday”, likely to last between six months and a year, will apply to all home purchases under £500,000, cutting a maximum of £15,000 off the cost of moving home. It would save £2,460 on the £248,000 cost of the average home.
Employment assistance
Mr Sunak will unveil an unprecedented scheme called Kickstart, to create hundreds of thousands of jobs for people aged 16 to 24 by directly paying their wages for six months.
The £2 billion fund, which will apply to the 500,000 young people currently claiming Universal Credit, will be used to pay them the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours per week, which can be topped up by employers to give them a better hourly rate or more hours.
Employers will also receive £1,000 to cover their own administrative costs.
The first jobs will begin in the autumn and the scheme will run until December 2021, though it is likely to be extended if it proves a success.
National Insurance holiday
The Telegraph wrote that a National Insurance holiday was being considered by the Treasury as part of the economic statement, and that such a move could create between 595,000 and 892,000 jobs, according to Tax Payers' Alliance analysis.
The Institute of Director's Tej Parikh backed the move, saying: "Supporting jobs must be the Chancellor's number one priority for this statement. He should help firms hire and retain staff by cutting employment tax. A National Insurance holiday could provide a useful tool to do so."
Green jobs
The Government announced a £3 billion increase in green investment on Monday evening, as part of a move to create jobs in low carbon industries. The plan will see homeowners receive vouchers of up to £5,000 to fund energy-saving improvements to their property, and £1 billion going towards retrofitting public buildings to reduce carbon emissions.
Luke Murphy, Head of the IPPR Environmental Justice Commission, said the announcement was a "welcome first step" to achieving a green economic recovery, however if this was the sum of the Government's ambitions it would be "well short of what is needed both for job creation and to get the UK on track for net zero".
