Catch up on economics articles you may have missed from September and October 2020. This month we look at household savings during the Covid-19 pandemic, and whether the furlough scheme is discriminatory.
Documents to download
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Spring Statement 2019: Briefing for Lords Debate (215 KB, PDF)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, presented the spring statement to the House of Commons on 13 March 2019. In his speech, he said that the state of the economy was such that “provided we do reach a deal to leave the European Union with an orderly transition […] this country for the first time in a decade will have genuine and sustainable choices about its future”.
No changes to the tax system were announced in the statement, and only a small number of spending measures.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published revised forecasts for the economy and the public finances on the same day. The OBR based its forecasts on an orderly Brexit, and stated that leaving the EU in a disorderly fashion would have a “severe short-term impact” on the economy. The Chancellor referred to a “deal dividend” in the event of an orderly departure, but also to the use of fiscal and monetary policies to mitigate the effects of leaving with no deal. This could include spending some of the “fiscal headroom” which he stated that he has kept in reserve.
The Chancellor provided some details of the next spending review, which will set the overall strategy for government spending. He stated that it would be launched before the summer 2019 parliamentary recess, assuming that “a Brexit deal is agreed over the next few weeks and that the uncertainty that is hanging over our economy is lifted”. The review would be concluded “alongside an autumn budget” and would cover a three-year period. He did not indicate how these plans might change if no Brexit deal was agreed.
Documents to download
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Spring Statement 2019: Briefing for Lords Debate (215 KB, PDF)
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The House of Lords is scheduled to debate four statutory instruments relating to the financial services and markets sector on 10 November 2020. Three of them relate to the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has not raised concerns about any of the regulations. The House of Commons is yet to consider them.
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The bill would provide for the next business rates revaluation to take effect from 1 April 2023. This briefing considers: the background to the bill, including recent government proposals to change the frequency of revaluation; what the bill would do; and what happened to it during its passage through the House of Commons.
