Local Member of Parliament, Craig Tracey, has welcomed the announcements and measures that will benefit his constituency in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement.
In the statement the Chancellor announced that the National Living Wage will rise in April to £8.21, an annual pay rise of £690 for a full-time worker. Additionally, the tax-free personal allowance will rise in April to £12,500 and the higher rate threshold to £50,000. The wages of ordinary workers will continue to rise higher than previously expected and faster than prices in every year to 2023.
The statement revealed that amidst continuing economic growth and rising employment, overall public spending will increase above inflation from 2020, meaning more for frontline services in North Warwickshire and Bedworth. In the last two years alone, we’ve seen £2 billion invested into schools and police budgets will increase by up to £970 million this year.
Craig said “This was a positive statement about what the government is doing to help the people of North Warwickshire and Bedworth. I welcome the support for our public services that my constituents rely on. Careful, long-term management of the economy is paying off and although there is still more to do we are in a much better financial position than what we inherited in 2010.”
The government’s strategy to reduce the deficit - the gap between government spending and the amount of taxes raised - is also proving to be successful. The deficit will be lower than expected this year and revised down in each of the next five years. The national debt has also been revised down and is set to fall as a share of GDP in every year, its first sustained fall in a generation and securing strong public finances for the future.
In other policy announcements, girls in North Warwickshire and Bedworth’s secondary schools will have access to free sanitary products, so no girl will be forced to suffer through period poverty. And, to restore the dream of home ownership for young people in North Warwickshire and Bedworth, a new £3 billion Affordable Homes Guarantee scheme will deliver around 30,000 affordable homes across the country.
