Budget 2021: Key points at-a-glance - BBC News

Reuters

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled the contents of his Budget in the House of Commons.

Setting out the government's tax and spending plans for the year ahead, he announced new measures to help business and jobs through the pandemic and to support the UK's long-term economic recovery and a series of tax-raising plans to help rebalance the public finances.

Here is a summary of the main points.

Coronavirus support

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• Furlough to be extended until the end of September
• Government to continue paying 80% of employees' wages for hours they cannot work
• Employers to be asked to contribute 10% in July and 20% in August and September
• Support for the self-employed also to be extended until September
• 600,000 more self-employed people will be eligible for help as access to grants is widened
• £20 weekly uplift in Universal Credit worth £1,000 a year to be extended for another six months
• Working Tax Credit claimants will get £500 one-off payment
• Minimum wage to increase to £8.91 an hour from April

• Sunak vows to 'protect jobs and livelihoods'
• Universal credit £20 top up extended for six months
• How long will the £20 universal credit boost now last?
• What extra help will the self-employed get?

State of the economy and public finances

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• UK economy shrank by 10% in 2020
• Economy forecast to rebound in 2021, with predicted annual growth of 4% this year
• Economy forecast to return to pre-Covid levels by middle of 2022, with growth of 7.3% next year
• 700,000 people have lost their jobs since pandemic began
• Unemployment expected to peak at 6.5% next year, lower than 11.9% previously predicted
• UK to borrow a peacetime record of £355bn this year.
• Borrowing to total £234bn in 2021-22

• Sunak hails 'swifter and more sustained' recovery

Taxation

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• No changes to rates of income tax, national insurance or VAT
• Personal income tax allowance to be frozen at £12,570 from April 2022 to 2026
• Higher rate income tax threshold to be frozen at £50,270 from 2022 to 2026
• Corporation tax on company profits to rise from 19% to 25% in April 2023
• Rate to be kept at 19% for about 1.5 million smaller companies with profits of less than £50,000
• Stamp duty holiday on house purchases in England and Northern Ireland extended to 30 June
• No tax charged on sales of less than £500,000
• Ten ways the Budget will affect you
• Tax on company profits to jump to 25%
• When has the stamp duty holiday been extended until?

Health and education

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• £1.65bn to support the UK's vaccination rollout and £50m to boost the UK's vaccine testing capability
• £19m for domestic violence programmes, funding network of respite rooms for homeless women
• £40m of new funding for victims of 1960s Thalidomide scandal and lifetime support guarantee
• £10m to support armed forces veterans with mental health needs

The arts and sport

Reuters

• £400m to help arts venues in England, including museums and galleries, re-open
• £300m recovery package for professional sport and £25m for grassroots football
• £1.2m to help stage delayed Women's Euros football tournament in England in 2022

Business, digital and science

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• Tax breaks for firms to "unlock" £20bn worth of business investment
• Firms will be able "deduct" investment costs from tax bills, reducing taxable profits by 130%
• Incentives for firms to take on apprentices to rise to £3,000 and £126m for traineeships
• Lower VAT rate for hospitality firms to be maintained at 5% rate until September
• Interim 12.5% rate will then apply for the following six months
• Business rates holiday for firms in England to continue until June with 75% discount after that
• £5bn in Restart grants for shops and other businesses in England forced to close
• £6,000 per premises for non-essential outlets due to re-open in April and £18,000 for gyms, personal care providers and other hospitality and leisure businesses
• New visa scheme to help start-ups and rapidly growing tech firms source talent from overseas
• Contactless payment limit will rise to £100 later this year

• Business rates holiday extended to June
• Contactless payment limit will rise to £100

Alcohol, tobacco and fuel

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• All alcohol duties to be frozen for second year running
• No extra tax on spirits, wine, cider or beer
• Fuel duty to be frozen for eleventh consecutive year
• Tobacco duties to rise by inflation plus 2%

Environment, transport, infrastructure and housing

• New UK Infrastructure Bank to be set up in Leeds
• It will have £12bn in capital, with aim of funding £40bn worth of public and private projects
• £15bn in green bonds, including for retail investors, to help finance the transition to net zero by 2050

Nations and regions

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• £1.2bn in funding for the Scottish government, £740m for the Welsh government and £410m for the Northern Ireland executive
• 750 UK civil servants to be relocated to new Treasury campus in Darlington
• £1bn fund to promote regeneration in a further 45 English towns, including Middlesbrough, Preston, Swindon, Bournemouth, Newark, West Bromwich and Ipswich
• £150m for community groups to take over pubs at risk of closure
• First eight sites announced for freeports in England: East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe and Harwich, Humber, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth, Solent, Thames and Teesside

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2021-03-03 15:54:30Z
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Budget 2021: 10 ways Rishi Sunak's speech affects you - BBC News

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With lives and livelihoods still at risk, Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Budget is focused on short-term support for people's jobs and finances.

But there are signs of what will happen next and how this will affect the money in your pocket.

1. Paying the wages of those on furlough

Although it was announced in advance, like many other key measures, the extension of furlough is significant for millions of people.

The scheme - which pays 80% of employees' wages for the hours they cannot work in the pandemic - has been extended until September.

Young and lower-paid people have been among the most likely to have been furloughed during the pandemic.

While this is designed to protect their jobs from redundancy, many will have found that their income has been a fifth less than they had anticipated over the course of 18 months.

The National Living Wage will rise to £8.91 from April, from £8.72. That is a 2.2% rise and will be for people aged 23 and over.

2. Jabs, then jobs

Money promised for the vaccine rollout does not directly affect the amount of money that goes into the pockets of individuals.

But the extra £1.65bn to help vaccinate every adult by the end of July should mean people can get back to work and the economy can start to recover.

Quicker jabs mean more jobs protected, which means that incomes can recover or be maintained.

3. Support for the self-employed

Furlough supports employed people. The equivalent for the self-employed comes in the form of grants through the Coronavirus Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

From next month, claims can be made for a fourth grant worth 80% of three months' average trading profits, up to £7,500 in total.

Getty Images

This will then be followed by a fifth grant later in the year, covering May to September.

However, the amount paid will depend on the amount of turnover lost. People whose turnover has fallen by less than 30% will receive a grant that is equivalent to 30% of average trading profits.

While many self-employed people remain ineligible - the source of considerable debate - those who can show they were trading in 2019-20 from their tax returns will now be eligible for the first time. They can receive the fourth and fifth grants.

4. Extra £20 a week on Universal Credit continues

Another source of speculation for months has been the future for a £20-a-week top-up to universal credit.

This has been described as a financial lifeline during the pandemic for many of those who have lost jobs or whose finances were already stretched.

The chancellor said this would continue for another six months, but would then be withdrawn.

Those on working tax credits will receive a one-off £500 payment.

5. Pay rises may bring a tax shock

The government pledged in its manifesto not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.

Although income tax is not rising, the tax bill that people may face in future years could go up.

Getty Images

At present, people start paying 20% income tax when they earn £12,500 a year. The starting point for paying the higher 40% rate is £50,000.

These thresholds will go up to £12,570 and £50,270 in April, but will then be frozen for five years.

With these thresholds maintained at the same level until April 2026, many people receiving a pay rise may find themselves in a new tax bracket and having to pay more.

The government's official forecaster said this would mean 1.3 million more people paying income tax and one million more paying the higher rate of tax.

That will raise a significant amount of money for the Treasury, estimated to be an extra £8bn a year by 2025-26, compared to what would have been the case if thresholds rose in line with the cost of living.

Scotland has some tax-raising powers of its own.

6. Finding the deposit for a mortgage

The chancellor confirmed that a government guarantee means first-time buyers should get a wider choice of mortgages that require a deposit of just 5% of the loan.

This will be available when buying properties worth up to £600,000.

Getty Images

However, some potential homeowners may still find it hard to get a mortgage if they do not have a regular income, while getting into negative equity if house prices fall is a threat.

The new products will be available from next month.

However, while there is support for homeownership, there are no specific policies to help those behind on their rents.

7. Stamp duty holiday extended

This tax break for homebuyers in England and Northern Ireland - as well as similar relief in Scotland and Wales - was due to finish at the end of March. This created a rush, as well as difficulties for some buyers to complete in time.

The chancellor has now said that the current stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland - which means no stamp duty is paid on the first £500,000 of a property purchase - will be extended until 30 June.

This relief will be reduced to the first £250,000 of a purchase until the end of September, before returning to its pre-pandemic level of £125,000 from the start of October.

In total, 46% of sales would be exempt from stamp duty as a result of this policy, according to property portal Zoopla.

8. Wine and beer duties frozen

All duties on alcohol will stay as they are, for a second year in a row. These had been earmarked to rise.

9. Cost of petrol duties unchanged

There has been a freeze on fuel duty for a decade and this will continue for at least another year.

About 60% of the price you pay for fuel is tax - a mixture of fuel duty and VAT.

10. Saving green

There will be a new savings product designed to raise money for environmental projects.

This "green bond" will be issued by the government-backed National Savings and Investments (NS&I), which has been criticised by savers and MPs for its customer service performance during the pandemic.

It will be issued in the summer, but there are no details yet on the interest rate that will be paid to savers.

What is your reaction to this year's Budget? Send your stories and questions to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

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2021-03-03 14:37:42Z
52781409622088

Budget 2021: 10 ways Rishi Sunak's speech affects you - BBC News

Getty Images

With lives and livelihoods still at risk, Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Budget is focused on short-term support for people's jobs and finances.

But there are signs of what will happen next and how this will affect the money in your pocket.

1. Paying the wages of those on furlough

Although it was announced in advance, like many other key measures, the extension of furlough is significant for millions of people.

The scheme - which pays 80% of employees' wages for the hours they cannot work in the pandemic - has been extended until September.

Young and lower-paid people have been among the most likely to have been furloughed during the pandemic.

While this is designed to protect their jobs from redundancy, many will have found that their income has been a fifth less than they had anticipated over the course of 18 months.

The National Living Wage will rise to £8.91 from April, from £8.72. That is a 2.2% rise and will be for people aged 23 and over.

2. Jabs, then jobs

Money promised for the vaccine rollout does not directly affect the amount of money that goes into the pockets of individuals.

But the extra £1.65bn to help vaccinate every adult by the end of July should mean people can get back to work and the economy can start to recover.

Quicker jabs mean more jobs protected, which means that incomes can recover or be maintained.

3. Support for the self-employed

Furlough supports employed people. The equivalent for the self-employed comes in the form of grants through the Coronavirus Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

From next month, claims can be made for a fourth grant worth 80% of three months' average trading profits, up to £7,500 in total.

Getty Images

This will then be followed by a fifth grant later in the year, covering May to September.

However, the amount paid will depend on the amount of turnover lost. People whose turnover has fallen by less than 30% will receive a grant that is equivalent to 30% of average trading profits.

While many self-employed people remain ineligible - the source of considerable debate - those who can show they were trading in 2019-20 from their tax returns will now be eligible for the first time. They can receive the fourth and fifth grants.

4. Extra £20 a week on Universal Credit continues

Another source of speculation for months has been the future for a £20-a-week top-up to universal credit.

This has been described as a financial lifeline during the pandemic for many of those who have lost jobs or whose finances were already stretched.

The chancellor said this would continue for another six months, but would then be withdrawn.

Those on working tax credits will receive a one-off £500 payment.

5. Pay rises may bring a tax shock

The government pledged in its manifesto not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.

Although income tax is not rising, the tax bill that people may face in future years could go up.

Getty Images

At present, people start paying 20% income tax when they earn £12,500 a year. The starting point for paying the higher 40% rate is £50,000.

These thresholds will go up to £12,570 and £50,270 in April, but will then be frozen for five years.

With these thresholds maintained at the same level until April 2026, many people receiving a pay rise may find themselves in a new tax bracket and having to pay more. The government's official forecaster said this would mean 1.3 million more people paying income tax and one million more paying the higher rate of tax.

That will raise a significant amount of money for the Treasury, estimated to be an extra £8bn a year by 2025-26, compared to what would have been the case if thresholds rose in line with the cost of living.

Scotland has some tax-raising powers of its own.

6. Finding the deposit for a mortgage

The chancellor confirmed that a government guarantee means first-time buyers should get a wider choice of mortgages that require a deposit of just 5% of the loan.

This will be available when buying properties worth up to £600,000.

Getty Images

However, some potential homeowners may still find it hard to get a mortgage if they do not have a regular income, while getting into negative equity if house prices fall is a threat.

The new products will be available from next month.

However, while there is support for homeownership, there are no specific policies to help those behind on their rents.

7. Stamp duty holiday extended

This tax break for homebuyers in England and Northern Ireland - as well as similar relief in Scotland and Wales - was due to finish at the end of March. This created a rush, as well as difficulties for some buyers to complete in time.

The chancellor has now said that the current stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland - which means no stamp duty is paid on the first £500,000 of a property purchase - will be extended until 30 June.

This relief will be reduced to the first £250,000 of a purchase until the end of September, before returning to its pre-pandemic level of £125,000 from the start of October.

In total, 46% of sales would be exempt from stamp duty as a result of this policy, according to property portal Zoopla.

8. Wine and beer duties frozen

All duties on alcohol will stay as they are, for a second year in a row. These had been earmarked to rise.

9. Cost of petrol duties unchanged

There has been a freeze on fuel duty for a decade and this will continue for at least another year.

About 60% of the price you pay for fuel is tax - a mixture of fuel duty and VAT.

10. Saving green

There will be a new savings product designed to raise money for environmental projects.

This "green bond" will be issued by the government-backed National Savings and Investments (NS&I), which has been criticised by savers and MPs for its customer service performance during the pandemic.

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2021-03-03 13:41:21Z
52781409622088

Alex Salmond Inquiry LIVE: Nicola Sturgeon pressed on harassment leaks to press as Alex Salmond lodges 'formal complaint' - The Scotsman

NewsPolitics

At a landmark hearing, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gives evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints.

Wednesday, 3rd March 2021, 12:34 pm

Her appearance follows that of her predecessor, Alex Salmond, last week, in which the former First Minister accused Ms Sturgeon of breaking the Ministerial Code by misleading MSPs about when she first learned of accusations against him.

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Keep up-to-date on the latest developments from today’s Committee hearing by following the live blog below, featuring breaking news, images and political analysis from The Scotsman’s politics specialists.

Nicola Sturgeon faces MSPs on the sexual harassment Committee in Holyrood.

Last updated: Wednesday, 03 March, 2021, 14:15

• FM faces questions from MSPs over handling of Salmond Inquiry
• Sturgeon told to resign as evidence handed to committee
• Lord Advocate defends Crown Office actions to MSPs
• Swinney publishes SG legal advice after threat of no-confidence motion
• Sturgeon and Salmond row ‘bringing country down’, says Gordon Brown

Lesley Riddoch on Sturgeon performance

Nicola Sturgeon rejected suggestions the Government did not take the advice of senior lawyers in conceding Alex Salmond’s judicial review petition.

Committee member Murdo Fraser MSP highlighted some advice which warned “the trumpeting would be far louder” if the case proceeded to a written judgment, saying the “least worst option would be to concede the petition”.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The charge that has been made against me is that I wilfully allowed a judicial review to proceed against the legal advice, therefore I broke the ministerial code.

“With respect, as you now know, I was acting in accordance with the views of the law officers, not against.

“We thought we had a stateable case, counsel was not arguing at that stage – that changed later – we thought we had credible arguments to make, and we were also taking account of that wider interest in getting a determination on the many grounds of challenge that Alex Salmond had made to both the procedure and its application.”

Tory MSP Murdo Fraser insisted the Scottish government’s legal advice, published by ministers on Tuesday night, had shown by December 6 “if not before” that the risk of losing the court case brought by Mr Salmond was “very high”.

He challenged Ms Sturgeon on this, saying: “You were risking public funds in continuing with the action.”

The First Minister told him: “I think every time a government defends a legal action it is risking public funds, because there is never a guarantee you are going to be successful.”

She added: “My understanding is that much of what went really wrong in the case, catastrophically wrong… was in  that later stage of December, when it became clear, I believe not intentionally, that there was information and material that had not hitherto been disclosed.”

But she said: “Up until as late as December 11 it was the opinion of law officers we had a stateable case with credible arguments.”

Sturgeon dismisses claim of ‘malicious plan’ to convict Salmond

Nicola Sturgeon has said claims of a “plot” to undermine Alex Salmond and a “fishing exercise” to drum up complaints against him was “not based in any semblance of fact or semblance of evidence”.

The First Minister also told MSPs on the committee investigating the Scottish Government’s handling of sexual harassment complaints against her predecessor that she did not know the identities of all the complainers in the criminal trial, which saw Mr Salmond cleared of all charges.

Asked by SNP MSP Alasdair Allan about Mr Salmond’s claims that “various people were trying to manufacture allegations against him”, Ms Sturgeon refuted the suggestion that emails sent out to SNP staff were a “fishing exercise”.

Read the full story here:

The Committee suspends once again

MSPs will resume their questioning of Ms Sturgeon at 2pm.

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Dani Garavelli on Lord Advocate

The Scotsman analysis:

For an inquiry which has all too often found its important work consumed by handwringing over its own processes and constraints, the testimony of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon provided a raw, emotional edge.

In an investigation in which the question of who exactly is on trial is fiercely contested by opposing political tribes, it reminded the committee - and those watching at home - of its dreadful psychological toll.

A great deal of her evidence demonstrated a trained lawyer’s grasp of microdetail, dominating swathes of the evidence session with robust and dogged rebuttals of the allegation against her and her government.

Read the full analysis here:

FM wasn’t ‘briefed every single day’ on judicial review

Murdo Fraser asked what the First Minister’s role was in relation to the judicial review.

Ms Sturgeon said: “My formal role was, I was named as an interested party in the petition.

“I was involved in discussions about the prospects of success and the changing prospects as we went though.

“My involvement was greater at particular junctures. I wasn’t being briefed every single day.

“It was not an unusual degree of involvement or oversite – I mean obviously given who was taking the Scottish Government to court it was slightly unusual.”

Mr Fraser said it seemed the First Minister appeared to be quite well briefed throughout the process.

Nicola Sturgeon was later pressed on suggestions from Mr Salmond that she had told him she would “intervene” in the action against him.

After the meeting between the two politicians in April 2018, Mr Salmond’s lawyer Duncan Hamilton said, in a written submission to the committee, that his recollection was “her words were if it comes to it I will intervene”.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I believe I did make it clear I would not intervene. I also know, that I was perhaps trying to let a long-standing friend and colleague down gently and maybe I did it too gently and he left with an impression I did not intend to give him.

“I think I was clear, and certainly intended to be clear.”

The First Minister told the committee: “I was possibly couching ‘I’m not intervening’ in terms that were, given the relationship between us, maybe not as blunt as they should be. I had no intention of intervening, and crucially I did not intervene in the process, and that is the case.”

She continued: “During this discussion on April 2, to be blunt about it, my head was spinning, I was experiencing a maelstrom of emotions, I had been told something pretty shocking by Alex Salmond and there were a number of things in my head.”

But she insisted she had a “very strong instinctive view that I couldn’t and shouldn’t intervene”.

She stated: “I did not intend to intervene, and I did not intervene, and while I know it is more complex than this, I think in terms of his anger towards me I think that is the root of it with Mr Salmond.”

That he was acquitted by a jury of criminal conduct is beyond question, beyond question, but I know just from what he told me that his behaviour was not always appropriate. And yet across six hours of testimony, there was not a single word of regret reflection, or even simple acknowledgement of that.

Sturgeon on Salmond evidence hearing

BBC’s Nick Eardley on the Committee’s progress

Sturgeon concerned that Committee’s work would distract from complainants

Nicola Sturgeon said she was concerned about how the Committee’s work may draw the attention away from the complainants.

She said: “One of the genuine worries I have here is the extent to which this whole process has side-lined and silenced the voice of the complainers and that’s not what anybody on this committee has wanted or tried to do.

“It’s not for me to tell you how to do your work, and it’s certainly not, but if you want to know what the complainers thought (about the process of dealing with their allegations) perhaps trying to speak to them would be a better way than trying to get me to second-guess their views.”

Val McDermid on the Committee hearing

Alex Salmond lodges formal complaint as FM gives evidence

Alex Salmond has lodged a formal complaint to the Scottish Government around the alleged conduct of a senior official who has been accused of disclosing the name of a complainer to Geoff Aberdein.

The lodgement comes as Nicola Sturgeon denied that a senior official from within the Scottish Government did pass on the name of a complainer to Mr Salmond’s former chief of staff.

Read The Scotsman’s full story here:

Sturgeon ‘dismayed’ by claims of false accusations against Salmond

The First Minister also said she was dismayed by suggestions that complainants were concocting or making up allegations against Alex Salmond.

She said: “To this day, I don’t know the identity of every single complainer in the criminal trial.

“Some of those whose identities I do know, I don’t know them well.

“To the best of my knowledge, they don’t all know each other well.

“The idea this was some concoction or plot is just not based on any semblance of fact or any semblance of credible evidence.”

Nicola Sturgeon insisted she had seen “nothing that comes within a million miles” of backing up claims that Mr Salmond was the victim of a conspiracy within the SNP.

Speaking about messages sent by various people within the party, she said they showed “people supporting each other, people talking to each other”.

She added there was “a bit of gossip about what was going on”, saying: “This was a massive thing for the SNP, particularly for people who had worked closely with him.”

But she stressed that people in the SNP were co-operating with police, saying: “Some of what has been misrepresented as trying to find or concoct evidence is actually people co-operating with the police at their request.

“I have seen nothing that comes within a million miles of backing up that central assertion Alex was making, that there was some kind of co-ordinated attempt, for whatever motive, and the motive seems to be on shifting sands as well, I have seen nothing that comes within a million miles of demonstrating that.”

Page 1 of 5

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2021-03-03 12:39:03Z
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Budget 2021: Contactless payment limit to increase to £100, Chancellor Rishi Sunak says - Sky News

The legal limit for contactless payments will more than double, Chancellor Rishi Sunak will confirm in today's budget.

The limit for a single contactless payment will rise from £45 to £100 as part of Mr Sunak's plans to boost businesses as the UK recovers from the COVID crisis.

You can watch and follow the budget live with special coverage and analysis from 12.30pm - and a special edition of the Sky News Daily podcast will be available to listen to from 7pm.

Image: The limit for a single contactless payment will rise from £45 to £100

"As we begin to open the UK economy and people return to the high street, the contactless limit increase will make it easier than ever before for people to pay for their shopping, providing a welcome boost to retail that will protect jobs and drive growth," the chancellor said.

The move comes despite fears of a growing fraud risk from the increased use of contactless payments.

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On Tuesday, Sky News reported that some of Britain's biggest banks were urging the government and regulators to stagger the hike from the current limit of £45 and to curb the number of times contactless cards can be used on any single day.

The action to increase the limit on contactless payments has been made possible by the end of the Brexit transition period, with the European Commission having a limit of €50 (around £45) on contactless payments.

More from Budget 2021

The Treasury said eight out of 10 adults in the UK used contactless payments in 2019.

And they added the proportion of contactless debit card payments had risen since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, from four out of 10 in 2019 to six out of 10 in September last year.

Between April last year and this January there were 350 million contactless payments that would previously have required chip and PIN.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a consultation on increasing the contactless payments limit in January, saying that it was "important that payments regulation keeps pace with consumer and merchant expectations".

The Treasury said the FCA had since recommended the increase to £100, a limit that is now similar to those in other non-EU countries such as Australia, Canada and the US.

Although it will legally come into force from today, the change will not happen in practice immediately as banks and firms make the necessary changes to their systems.

The number of consecutive transactions before consumers are required to provide their PIN will remain at five, but the cumulative transaction limit, which is how much you can spend across those five payments, will be raised to £300.

In his budget speech on Wednesday, Mr Sunak will confirm the extension of the furlough scheme until the end of September, alongside more help for the self-employed.

Image: Mr Sunak and his Treasury ministerial team ahead of the budget

Ahead of his address to the House of Commons, the chancellor set out the details of his budget to fellow ministers in a virtual cabinet meeting.

Mr Sunak said, during the COVID pandemic, the government had "stepped in to provide support and protect jobs" and would now "outline more support to get people through to the other side of the crisis".

But the chancellor also told the cabinet that the government "must be honest with ourselves and the country about what that has meant" following "borrowing on an extraordinary scale - equivalent to only wartime levels".

He warned that the government "cannot ignore this problem and it wouldn't be right or responsible to do so".

It has been reported that Mr Sunak will use his budget to raise corporation tax and freeze income tax thresholds in order to raise billions of pounds over the coming years.

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2021-03-03 11:48:45Z
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Budget 2021: Contactless card limit will rise to £100 - BBC News

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The limit on a single payment using contactless card technology will rise to £100 later this year, the Treasury has confirmed.

The pandemic has accelerated a move away from cash, with shoppers often being encouraged to use contactless in many stores for public health reasons.

It has been less than a year since the limit was raised from £30 to £45.

Regulators say businesses could still decide themselves whether to accept the higher limit.

Fears have also been raised regarding fraud risks involved in the use of cards.

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The use of contactless technology by consumers has risen sharply in recent years, with more services adopting the technology and most shops offering it as an option.

To protect workers and consumers during the Covid outbreak, an increase to the current limit of £45 was rushed through by the regulator in April last year.

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The latest figures show that the proportion of contactless payments had fallen slightly compared with pre-pandemic levels, because lockdown measures hit the use of pubs, restaurants and public transport. They accounted for 41% of card transactions.

However, there was a 16% increase in the total value of contactless payments in the UK in October, compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the latest data from UK Finance, which represents banks.

The amount spent on contactless hit a monthly record in August, boosted by the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and fewer coronavirus-related restrictions. A total of £8.4bn was spent on credit and debit cards using contactless during that month.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "As we begin to open the UK economy and people return to the High Street, the contactless limit increase will make it easier than ever before for people to pay for their shopping, providing a welcome boost to retail that will protect jobs and drive growth."

However, there have been worries raised about contactless limits being raised further.

Ian Johnson, managing director, Europe, at payment business Marqeta, said: "The problem with increasing limits on physical contactless cards is if they are stolen or cloned, it will now be even easier for a fraudster to spend large sums of the victim's money in one go.

"Physical cards provide very little security and a fraudster could continue to use their contactless function until they are cancelled."

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2021-03-03 10:52:28Z
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