SPENDING REVIEW 2021 HEADLINES

The government spending review for 2021, came in the wake of the huge expenditure and borrowing in response to the Covid pandemic.

Whilst the size of the £280 billion bill to date, with £55 billion more to come in 2021 was confirmed, how the UK will now pay for that and what potential tax rises lie around the corner, remained unspoken and was left until the 2021 budget.

Read the full statement here.

SUMMARY DOCUMENT

ECONOMY

Economy to retract this year by 11% and not return to pre-Covid levels until Q4 2022

Borrowing is £394 billion this year, highest in UK history

Underlying debt will be 95.7 % GDP in 2025/26

UNEMPLOYMENT

7.5% unemployment projected by the second half of 2021 - 2.6million people

PUBLIC SECTOR

Pay rise for 1 million frontline NHS workers

Pay freeze for all public sector workers, barring frontline NHS staff

Public sector workers earning under £24,000 will be guaranteed a £250 pay rise

National living wage rise to £8.91 an hour

Departmental spending up £14.8 billion in cash terms compared to 2020/21.

£24 billion spending in defence over three years

MINIMUM WAGE

Minimum wage increase to around 2 million people.

National Living Wage up by 2.2% to £8.91 an hour

Extend this rate to those aged 23 and over

A full-time worker on NLW will see their annual increase of £345 next year.

LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Levelling up:- a fund of £4 billion to fund local infrastructure projects for which a local area can bid with the backing of their MP, all to be delivered before the end of this parliament,

£100 billion capital spending next year

Publishing a new national infrastructure policy

Launching a new infrastructure bank based in the north of England

Houses £7.1billon - and simplified planning system

Broadband for 5 million homes

OVERSEAS AID CUT

UK's overseas aid budget cut to 0.5% of national income, down from the legally binding target of 0.7%.