The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, looking casual in socks and sandals as he works on his budget speech. All photos: HM Treasury
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, looking casual in socks and sandals as he works on his budget speech. All photos: HM Treasury
The Treasury released pictures of Rishi Sunak making final preparations for his speech in a Downing Street study.
The Treasury released pictures of Rishi Sunak making final preparations for his speech in a Downing Street study.
Food for thought? A can of Sprite and a Twix chocolate bar on Mr Sunak's desk before he delivers the budget.
Food for thought? A can of Sprite and a Twix chocolate bar on Mr Sunak's desk before he delivers the budget.
The Chancellor performs a final run-through with his staff.
The Chancellor performs a final run-through with his staff.
A casual eve-of-budget photoshoot has become part of the traditional choreography of the day.
A casual eve-of-budget photoshoot has become part of the traditional choreography of the day.
In a grey jumper, white socks and black sandals available for £95 ($131) from Palm Angels, Rishi Sunak works on his speech.
In a grey jumper, white socks and black sandals available for £95 ($131) from Palm Angels, Rishi Sunak works on his speech.
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer presents his budget speech to members of his staff.
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer presents his budget speech to members of his staff.

Business

Autumn budget highlights: fuel price rise binned, NHS boost and minimum wage up

'The National' explains the key points after Chancellor Rishi Sunak sets out post-pandemic vision for Britain

Neil Murphy
Neil Murphy

October 27, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has outlined his vision for a post-pandemic Britain by delivering his budget for 2021 in Parliament on Wednesday.

Mr Sunak said his measures were intended to place greater focus on "higher wages, higher skills and rising productivity”.

Here are the main policy changes outlined:

Investment

– The Chancellor said core science funding will rise to £5.9 billion ($8.1bn) a year by 2024-25, a 37 per cent increase.

– Before the statement, £7bn in transport funding was announced for areas including Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and South Yorkshire for projects, from tram improvements to introducing London-style infrastructure.

– A £6bn package to help tackle National Health Service backlogs and invest in technology was also trialled before Wednesday's statement.

– Meanwhile, £3.9bn will go towards decarbonising buildings, including £1.8bn to support tens of thousands of low-income households.

British Chancellor Rishi Sunak stands outside No 11 Downing Street with his budget box. EPA
British Chancellor Rishi Sunak stands outside No 11 Downing Street with his budget box. EPA

Tax and duty

– A planned rise in fuel duty will be cancelled because of petrol pump prices reaching their highest level in eight years.

– Flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be subject to a new lower rate of air passenger duty from April 2023.

– Mr Sunak confirmed a levy on property developers with profits over £25 million at a rate of 4 per cent to help create a £5bn fund to remove unsafe cladding.

Government

– Every Whitehall department will receive a “real terms rise in overall spending” as part of the Spending Review, the Chancellor said, amounting to £150bn over this Parliament.

– Devolved administrations will be given the “largest block grants” since 1998, with an increase to Scottish Government annual funding of £4.6bn, £2.5bn for Wales and £1.6bn for Northern Ireland.

– An extra £2.2bn has been announced for courts, prisons and probation services, including £500,000 to reduce the court backlogs.

– £300m will go towards 'A Start for Life' parenting programmes, with an additional £170m by 2024/25 helping to pay for childcare.

Employment and benefits

– Independent forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility has scaled down its estimate of the scarring effect of Covid-19 on the economy from 3 per cent to 2 per cent, Mr Sunak told the Commons.

– The OBR has downgraded its unemployment forecast due to the coronavirus pandemic from 12 per cent down to 5.2 per cent.

– The minimum wage will increase to £9.50 an hour next year, up from £8.91.

– The Universal Credit taper rate will be cut by 8 per cent from no later than December 1.

Businesses

– A new 50 per cent business rate discount will apply in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, with eligible businesses able to claim a rebate on their bills of up to £110,000.

Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017

Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free

Fixtures - Open Men 2pm: India v New Zealand, Malaysia v UAE, Singapore v South Africa, Sri Lanka v England; 8pm: Australia v Singapore, India v Sri Lanka, England v Malaysia, New Zealand v South Africa

Fixtures - Open Women Noon: New Zealand v England, UAE v Australia; 6pm: England v South Africa, New Zealand v Australia

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

While you're here:
MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Manchester United v Barcelona, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

HIJRA

Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy

Director: Shahad Ameen

Rating: 3/5

Evacuations to France hit by controversy
  • Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
  • Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
  • The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
  • Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
  • It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
  • Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
  • Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Transgender report
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Updated: October 27, 2021, 4:22 PM`