Budget 2011

Highlights include:

Forecasts

• 2011 growth cut to 1.7% (from 2.1% forecast in Nov) 
• Borrowing £146bn this year, £122bn next year. 
• Inflation to remain between 4-5% for the rest of the year. 
• Borrowing to be 146 bn this year, 122 next, then 111 and predicted to be 29bn by 2015-16. 

Tax

• Personal tax allowance to rise a further £630 to £8,015 in April 2012 
• 50% tax threshold is temporary measure. 
• 43 complex tax reliefs abolished. 
• From April 2012 indexation assumption for direct taxes will move to Consumer Prices Index. 
• Consultation on merging NI and Income tax. 
• Tax avoidance clampdown to raise £1bn this year. 

Business

• Corporation tax reduced by 2% and then further 1% three years after that 
• In Plan for Growth, £350 million worth of business regulations will go. 
• Lots of planning changes including reclassification of land and time-limits on applications 
• Income Tax relief on Enterprise Investment Scheme to increase from 20% to 30% in April 2011. 
• From April small companies R&D tax credit will rise 220% this year and 225% next year 
• Commitment to improve the intellectual property regime. 
• Enterprise Zones: 21 in total, 10 initially. Businesses inside zones get 100% discount on rates and superfast broadband 
• Further 10 announced in the summer – LEPs asked to come forward with proposals. 
• £100m funding for science facilities 

Green

• Green investment bank will begin work one year early in 2012, with an extra £2bn in funding. 
• Introduction of a new carbon price floor. 

Skills

• Funding for 12 further university technical colleges 
• Extra 40,000 apprenticeships for young people out of work 
• Funding for 100,000 new work experience placements 

Big Society

• Gift aid cap increased from £500 to £2,500. Also 10% off inheritance tax discount if you leave 10% of an inheritance to charity.

Budget 2011

February Structural Reform Plan progress reports

The Government has published February progress updates for each department’s Structural Reform Plans.

Download the reports for each department:

• Cabinet Office SRP progress report (pdf, 133kb)
• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills SRP progress report (pdf, 132kb)
• Department for Communities and Local Government SRP progress report (pdf, 104kb)
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport SRP progress report (pdf, 99kb)
• Department for Education SRP progress report (pdf, 94kb)
• Department of Energy and Climate Change SRP progress report (pdf, 110kb)
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs SRP progress report (pdf, 89kb)
• Department of Health SRP progress report (pdf, 113kb)
• Department for International Development SRP progress report (pdf, 99kb)
• Department for Transport SRP progress report (pdf, 98kb)
• Department for Work and Pensions SRP progress report (pdf, 112kb)
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office SRP progress report (pdf, 105kb)
• HMRC SRP progress report (pdf, 77kb)
• HM Treasury SRP progress report (pdf, 125kb)
• Home Office SRP progress report (pdf, 115kb)
• Ministry of Defence SRP progress report (pdf, 95kb)
• Ministry of Justice SRP progress report (pdf, 103kb)

Ping Pong...

The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill is now set to ping pong between the Commons and the Lords after Peers have defeated the government by 277 votes to 215 on the amendment tabled by Lord Rooker, which insists that the AV referendum is subject to 40 per cent turnout threshold. It is worth noting that the first vote on this amendment was carried by one vote, so supportive contributions from Lord Lamont and Lawson have clearly had an impact with the Tory rebellion increasing from 10 to 27.

The stakes are high, with the AV referendum being a central tenet of the Liberal Democrats achievements since entering into the coalition government. Both Houses of Parliament look set for a sleep deprived night of legislative ping pong.

If the Bill fails to receive ascent this week, the May 5th referendum date is out the window, which will be terrible news for Nick Clegg and his party, and all this when things were beginning to look up with polling now suggesting the Yes campaign is ten points ahead.

Structural Reform Plan progress reports

The Government has published January progress updates for each department’s Structural Reform Plans.

• Cabinet Office SRP progress report (pdf, 126kb)
• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills SRP progress report (pdf, 135kb)
• Department for Communities and Local Government SRP progress report (pdf, 105kb)
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport SRP progress report (pdf, 98kb)
• Department for Education SRP progress report (pdf, 94kb)
• Department of Energy and Climate Change SRP progress report (pdf, 105kb)
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs SRP progress report (pdf, 87kb)
• Department of Health SRP progress report (pdf, 90kb)
• Department for International Development SRP progress report (pdf, 98kb)
• Department for Transport SRP progress report (pdf, 93kb)
• Department for Work and Pensions SRP progress report (pdf, 112kb)
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office SRP progress report (pdf, 99kb)
• HMRC SRP progress report (pdf, 72kb)
• HM Treasury SRP progress report (pdf, 124kb)
• Home Office SRP progress report (pdf, 108kb)
• Ministry of Defence SRP progress report (pdf, 85kb)
• Ministry of Justice SRP progress report (pdf, 96kb)

Spending Review - the full report

Spending Review 2010

Alan Johnson urges government to rethink

Shadow Chancellor Alan Johnson today reiterated the Labour Party's commitment to reducing the deficit in four years. In a short speech which lacked detail, he argued for "targeted tax changes" to play a bigger role in deficit reduction and economic recovery.

In his first speech since being appointed to the Shadow Cabinet, Johnson lamented the Coalition for making unfair choices on a number of measures and taking a "reckless gamble", but did state that Labour would not oppose all the cuts implemented. Johnson consistently referred to growth throughout his speech, claiming that Coalition policy endangered recovery.

Overall, a speech which illuminated the direction Labour plan to head on the economy, in which he stated "speed does matter". In short, Labour's growth plan v's the Coalition's dangerous austerity plan. 

Bonfire of the quangos: the complete list

2010 10 14 Public Bodies List FINAL

Beginners luck?

An initially nervous performance from Ed Miliband in his first outing at PMQs progressed into a sure footed attack on the Government’s controversial child benefit policy. Miliband’s questions focused on the specific affects the new policy will have on middle income families, the PM responded with a general defence of the Government’s agenda and lamented Labour for leaving the country in such a dire economic state.

Overall, a solid first performance from Ed Miliband which will slightly worry Cameron’s team, though they will be aware that Ed can only attack for so long, before presenting alternatives. The Labour team are attempting to do just that in time for the CSR next week. Interestingly Ed’s brother had private engagements today and couldn’t make it to the chamber. 

The new shadow cabinet...

Leader of the Opposition    
Rt. Hon. Ed Miliband MP

Deputy Leader and Shadow Secretary of State for International Development    
Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer    
Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Women and Equalities    
Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP

Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department    
Rt Hon Ed Balls MP

Chief Whip    
Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Election Coordinator    
Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP

Shadow Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice
Rt Hon Sadiq Khan MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions    
Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills    
Rt Hon John Denham MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Health    
Rt Hon John Healey MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government    
Rt Hon Caroline Flint MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Defence    
Rt Hon Jim Murphy

Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change    
Meg Hillier MP

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons    
Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport    
Maria Eagle MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs    
Mary Creagh MP

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury    
Angela Eagle MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland    
Rt Hon Shaun Woodward MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland    
Ann McKechin MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Wales    
Rt Hon Peter Hain MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport    
Ivan Lewis MP

Shadow Leader of the House of Lords    
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

Shadow Minister for the Olympics    
Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP

Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office    
Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP

Lords Chief Whip    
Lord Bassam of Brighton

Shadow Attorney-General    
Baroness Scotland

100 days...

There's nothing special about the first 100 days of any new Government except that everyone marks it as an important milestone.  Rarely will the Government's most important actions have been completed in this arbitrary time period.  Rarely will historians look back and say, "that first 100 days set the tone for the whole administration".  Nevertheless, first impressions matter and the "Big Mo" - momentum - is key to political success.

So, has anything momentous actually happened?

The speed the new Government has set to work has been astonishing, many predicted the very nature of coalition arrangements would make for cumbersome and piecemeal policy advances, oh how wrong they were. The deficit reduction narrative has of course allowed for such swift action, government departments have been falling over themselves to slash costs, Quangos have been heavily culled, crowd sourcing has been used like never before, a raft of information on public spending has been made public. This gives only a flavour of what the coalition has achieved in its first 100 days and interestingly public support is holding.

However, the polls do suggest that the Liberal Democrats are not faring well, Nick Clegg is at pains to remind us that his party should be judged over five years and not 100 days. He will be hoping for a much needed boost in the approval ratings in what is sure to be a carefully managed series of Autumn conference policy announcements. But perhaps Nick Clegg does deserve a little early credit, given that he has managed to steer his party relatively well thus far, there has been little in the way of backbench grumbling and the idea of rebellion seems a distant one at present. Nevertheless, the Lib Dems have a serious image problem and one in which they will ultimately need their coalition partner's assistance to resolve. 

It seems the public are offering David Cameron full credit for the efficient running of the Coalition Government. His personal approval rating and that of his party are high, rebellion again seems distant and despite some backbench disgruntlement over former Labour ministers being appointed to Government roles, it seems his ship is also steady and on course. It would be silly, not to question the durability of the coalition at this stage, whilst the majority of public affairs professionals who took part in a recent poll suggested that the coalition had a lifespan of two years. I'm willing to bet that the coalition will continue as is, until the fifth year when inevitably the seams will begin to fray beyond repair. Until that point, expect the brisk pace of legislative reform to continue.

Overall, the first 100 days can be viewed as a success, the way in which the coalition partners have gelled has been and continues to be remarkable. The idea of such a strong coalition during the election campaign was unfathomable.