How budget announcements will affect the voluntary sector.
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak’s has given his Budget address. In areas affecting Wales, he pledged:
- An additional £360m per year to Welsh Government
- £55m for the Mid Wales Growth Deal
- Statutory sick pay from day one to all employees who self-isolate following coronavirus. Businesses of 250 staff or less will get this refunded. The self-employed will find it easier to access benefits.
- Those receiving Universal Credit will not be required to attend Job Centres during the coronavirus outbreak.
- To roll out high speed broadband to hard to reach areas across the UK
- To create a Treasury office in Wales
- The National Insurance threshold will increase from £8632 to £9500.
Finance Minister Rebecca Evans criticised the Budget statement for not addressing her key asks: funding for flooding repairs, rail infrastructure, and research and development. Arguing that austerity has not ended, she said the budget is down nearly 4% in real terms on 2010-11 and had it grown in line with GDP, it would be £3.5bn higher.
Whilst this is a step in the right direction, austerity is not over and this Budget barely takes us back to the funding levels we were at almost a decade ago.
— Rebecca Evans (@wgmin_finance) March 11, 2020
It was disappointing that there was silence from the Chancellor on European funding and making good their promises of ‘not a penny less’ for Wales.
— Rebecca Evans (@wgmin_finance) March 11, 2020
The Chancellor also pledged to suspend business rates for one year for businesses with a rateable value of under £51,000. Business rates are devolved to Wales. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called for Welsh Government to replicate this decision in Wales.
We’re calling on the Welsh Government to match the UK Government’s decision to suspend business rates for small businesses.
We cannot allow small businesses in Wales to be disadvantaged by today’s announcement by the UK Government. https://t.co/igEVIRJgS0
— Welsh Liberal Democrats (@WelshLibDems) March 11, 2020