Keep updated with us on the Autumn Statement

The top 5 hit

1. Fuel duty rise cancelled, saving car drivers £130 and van drivers £350 a year
2. A total of £23bn to be spent on innovation and infrastructure over five years
3. No plans for further welfare savings in this Parliament
4. Insurance premium tax to rise from 10% to 12% next June
5. Promise to abolish Autumn Statement, with a Budget in the autumn from next year, along with a "Spring Statement" from 2018  

14.34 - Higher borrowing forecasts are due to Brexit

14.20 - Pound and FTSE fall

13.58 - Employee benefit schemes 

13.45 - Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell response 

13.55 - Autumn Statement to be abolished - will now be Autumn Budget 

13.38 -Tax Benefit Cut

13.31 - Fuel Duty Frozen

"In total this saves the average car driver £150 a year, and the average van driver £350 a year," he says.

This is amounts to a tax cut worth £850m next year, the chancellor adds. 

The government is committed to removing disguised tax benefits for employees in the previous budget, says the chancellor - and now the self-employed and employers won't be able to use the VAT flat-rate scheme inappropriately, Mr Hammond adds.

"We will abolish the tax advantages linked to employee shareholder status in response to growing evidence that it is being primarily used for tax planning purposes by high-earning individuals," he says.

There will be a new penalty for implementing tax avoidance scheme that is challenged and defeated by HMRC.

He adds: "There is understandable public concern that the pitch is tilted in favour of large multinational groups, which are able to use cross-border structures to manage their tax liabilities."

The government will implement a restriction on tax relief for corporate interest expenses, and reform relief for historic losses, he says.

13.29 - Personal allowance protected 

raised to £12,500 and threshold for higher tax rate to £50,000. The amount people earn before the start paying income tax will rise to £11,500

13.25 - National Living Wage

The National Living Wage will increase from £7.20 to £7.50 in April next year, the Chancellor confirms.

"That’s a pay rise worth over £500 a year to a full-time worker," he says. The NLW has replaced the minimum wage for workers aged over 25.

13.24 - Corporation tax and business rate relief 

Philip Hammond confirmed that corporation tax will be reduced to 17% as planned.

He is also giving small businesses in rural areas a tax break worth up to £2,900 per year by increasing the Rural Rate Relief.

The chancellor adds that the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid will announce business rates relief for other companies later today.

13.22 - North and Midland to recieve a productivity boost

Economic growth in the UK "has been too concentrated in London and the south-east", Chancellor Philip Hammond says, adding we must drive up the productivity performance of our regional cities.

"Today we publish our strategy for addressing productivity barriers in the Northern Powerhouse; and give the go ahead to a programme of major roads schemes in the north."

He announces funds for local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) between local authorities and businesses: "We are investing in local infrastructure in every region of England. I can announce the allocation of £1.8bn from the Local Growth Fund to the English regions: £556m to Local Enterprise Partnerships in the North of England, £542m to the Midlands and East of England, and £683m to LEPs in the South West, South East and London."

He announces devolution measures including a new "City Deal" for Stirling, and says London "will receive £3.15bn as its share of national affordable housing funding to deliver over 90,000 homes".

13.22 - No further plans for welfare savings

13.14 - £7.6 million repairs granted for Wentworth Woodhouse

13.04 - What we know so far (Via BBC)

• Ban on upfront fees charged by letting agents in England
• National Living Wage to rise to £7.50 from April next year
• Reduction in the rate at which benefits are withdrawn from people when they start work
• Reforms to compensation for whiplash to cut the cost of motor insurance
• Broadband - chancellor pledges more than £1bn for broadband and 5G
• Comic relief will receive £3 million from the Tampon Tax Fund
• Tax on insurance increased by 12%

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The state of the economy

The chancellor promises "fiscal headroom" to support the economy through Brexit

Office for Budget Responsibility growth forecast upgraded to 2.1% in 2016, then downgraded to 1.4% in 2017 

OBR forecasts growth of 1.7% in 2018, 2.1% in 2019 and 2020 and 2% in 2021

Government no longer seeking a budget surplus in 2019-20 - Mr Hammond says he is committed to returning public finances to balance "as soon as practicable"

Employment grew fastest in north-east of England in past year

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Public borrowing/deficit/spending

Debt will rise from 84.2% of GDP last year to 87.3% this year, peaking at 90.2% in 2017-18

OBR forecasts borrowing of £68.2bn this year, then £59bn in 2017-18, £46.5bn in 2018-19, £21.9bn in 2019-20 and £20.7bn in 2020-21

£23bn to be spent on innovation and infrastructure over five years

£2bn per year by 2020 for research and development funding

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Housing - confirmed funding

A £2.3bn housing infrastructure fund to help provide 100,000 new homes in high-demand areas

£1.4bn to deliver 40,000 extra affordable homes

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Welfare

No plans for further welfare savings in this Parliament

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Transport/infrastructure

£1.1bn extra investment in English local transport networks

£220m to reduce traffic pinch points

More than £1bn for digital infrastructure

11.35 - Higher Personal Allowance

According to consumer credit report firm Clearscore a  higher personal tax allowance tops an Autumn Statement wishlist, a poll of 2,000 people aged 18 to 55 resulted in the following.

1. Increase personal allowance (45%)
2. Reduce VAT (42%)
3. Increase the state pension (41%)
4. Reduce taxes for people of a similar group (35%)
5. Increase the minimum wage (34%)

10.25 - Ban on Letting Agent Fee's

Neil Wilson, analyst at ETX Capital has commented on the decision to ban charging fees to tenants as a "hammer blow to embattled estate agents", whose shares opened lower this morning.

He said,

"Passing on the cost to landlords could drive down fees by improving competition, although estate agents claim they make no money from fees, Estate agents have suffered since the Brexit vote – shares in Foxtons are still trading down around 30% from their pre-referendum level amid falling client activity."

Alan Ward, chairman of the Residential Landlords Association has warned tenants that they could be the ones to suffer as a result of this  reform, as it may result in a rents rise.

He said “Agents’ fees have to be paid by somebody. If any extra fees are passed on to landlords, tenants will end up paying them forever as market rents will increase," he says.

The Chancellor said:

"In the private rental market, letting agents are currently able to charge unregulated fees to tenants. We have seen these fees spiral, often to hundreds of pounds. This is wrong. Landlords appoint letting agents and landlords should meet their fees."

He added: "We believe that a market economy is the best way of delivering sustained prosperity for the British people... but we will not be afraid to intervene where there is evidence of market failure." 

More to follow..

The annual Autumn statement is today ( Wednesday 23/11/16) and significant issues are set to be addressed, one in which is the UK's property market, the outcome which will be outlined by the Chancellor Philip Hammond is unknown, and is thought to go either way.

Many of the policies that George Osborne had put in place from when he was the chancellor, have been eliminated by Hammond including one of the break through policies the Help to Buy mortgage scheme which will end at the end of this year.

As had been predicted by Osborne the UK housing market has not been as hard hit by Brexit as had initially been thought. However first time buyers are still hit hard as it is proving increasingly hard to get on the property ladder, and even though houses are continuing to be built across the country despite not being the demand for it.

The other sector hit is the rental sector as it faces tougher rulings, changes to mortgage tax relief that will be coming in to affect in 2017.

There have been calls for changes to help landlord and changes to stamp duty to enable first time buyers and those who are moving on to the second step of the property ladder.

A poll last week carried out by The Yorkshire Building Society displayed that first time buyers believed that not having to pay stamp duty would make buying a home easier. The building society claims that the results of the poll are clear evidence that the stamp duty needs to be altered and encourages the government to make the changes. The Yorkshire building society has estimated that the first time buyer would be saving around £3,791 and in London £13,171.

It is thought further changes will be announced concerning the property market on Wednesday, stay tuned..

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