George Osborne provided the 2016 budget today.
George Osborne provided the 2016 budget today.
David Cameron described this year’s Budget is a ‘pro-enterprise, pro-infrastructure, pro-devolution budget that fully sums up what this government is all about – transformation.’
This is George Osborne’s eighth budget since he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2010.
According to Osborne the UK economy is set to grow faster than any other economy in the world and employment is at an all-time high. However the outlook for the global economy is weak.
Growth is forecast to be 2% this year, 2.2% in 2017 and 2.1% in 2018, 2019 and 2020 assuming the UK stays in the EU. The inflation target for 2017 has been revised to 1.7% from 1.8%.
It’s a relatively good budget for drivers, with a freeze in fuel duty and a 50% tax reduction for producers impacting the cost of fuel at the pumps.
An increase in insurance premium costs is expected due to the rise in insurance tax premiums of 0.5% announced today with the additional funds attributed to boosting flood defences.
On a positive note there is a freeze in fuel duty for the sixth consecutive year, a cost that currently accounts for three-quarters of the cost of fuel to drivers.
Driving costs look to stay marginally similar until April 2017 when the tax system will be overhauled as mentioned in the 2015 Budget.
The M62 is set to expand to four lanes; meaning congestion in Northern England is likely to be eased. The discussion of a tunnel under the Pennines from Sheffield to Manchester that will avoid delays caused by bad weather over the Pennines was announced. Further work in the north has been proposed with an allocation of £75m for the A66 and A69 northern arteries.
Driverless car trials on UK roads have been approved for 2017 and a new road between London and Dover is to be developed at a cost of £15m dedicated to technology-focused cars where car-to-car and car to x communications will be trialled. However there was no investment in driverless car legislation announced this year.
A £50m Pothole Action Fund has been allocated for 2016–17 meaning no more need for the Pothole Robin Hood, as well as as a £130 m repair fund for roads and bridges affected by storms Desmond and Eva that hit in the early part of this year and caused untold damage to the road and transport infrastructure.
It was announced that in Bristol there are to be trials of comparative fuel price signs by Spring 2016 on the M5 motorway meaning drivers will be open to more choice.
