BUDGET HEADLINES: WE WILL RECOVER
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivered his second Budget on 3 March declaring that “we will recover”. The key fiscal event, which had been delayed from the Autumn due to the pandemic, centred on a £65bn three-part plan designed to continue supporting British people and businesses through the pandemic, ‘fix’ the public finances once recovery begins and lay the foundations for the future economy.
ECONOMIC FORECASTS:
The Chancellor began his statement by revealing the latest forecasts produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) which provide hope of “a swifter and more sustained economic recovery” than previously expected. The economy is now forecast to grow by 4% this year and by 7.3% in 2022, which means it will regain its pre-pandemic level by the end of Q2 2022, six months earlier than November’s forecast implied.
In terms of public finances, the OBR expects government borrowing to rise to a peacetime record of £355bn in 2020/21 in order to fund the government’s economic support measures. As the economy re-opens and emergency fiscal support is withdrawn, borrowing is forecast to fall back to £234bn in 2021/22. The Chancellor did not set any new fiscal targets in this Budget, though he did acknowledge that tax rises would be needed in the coming years to help repair the public finances.
COVID-19 SUPPORT MEASURES:
Prior to Budget day, Mr Sunak had already announced a number of coronavirus support measures including an extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, further support for a greater proportion of self-employed workers and details of the Restart Grant and traineeship schemes. During his speech, Mr Sunak reiterated that he “will continue doing whatever it takes to support the British people and businesses through this moment of crisis”, before confirming details of the various initiatives that will see total fiscal support rise to over £407bn over this year and next: SFFS Economic Review_Feb 21 SFFS Simply Wealth Spring Budget_Mar 21