Cost of living rises by £1,400

The chancellor Sajid Javid has announced the date of next UK budget, with a pledge to tackle the cost of living and tear up strict budget rules to hike borrowing for infrastructure spending. The 2020 budget will take place on 11 March after a planned budget last November was cancelled in the run-up to the election, HM Treasury confirmed in a press release on Tuesday. Business leaders said it was the new administration’s “first opportunity” to show it understood firms’ concerns amid continued political uncertainty over Brexit. Javid said the British public had “told us they want change,” in a signal of the government’s changing priorities since the Conservatives’ landslide election victory last month. Officials said Javid would use the budget to:

• Fulfil government pledges on tax to “help tackle the cost of living for hard-working people.”
• “Level up” across the country through “billions” in investment, rewriting previous https://techlink.co.uk/user/knowledge/browse/investments/63703_INDIVIDUAL_SAVINGS_ACCOUNT/120379_LISA_comes_to_the_fore/administration’s spending rules and taking advantage of low interest rates to increase borrowing.
• “Build on” recent announcements to boost spending on public services and tackle the cost of living, including hospital investment, vocational training and a significant hike in the minimum wage.