The Budget: ITV News answers your questions

The Chancellor announced Labour’s first Budget in 14 years on Wednesday, and made big announcements around tax hikes and spending cuts. But what does it mean for you? Here, ITV News Consumer Editor Chris Choi answers your questions.
Employer national insurance contributions
Annabel Thomas MacGregor is the CEO of an independent nursery, which employs around 100 people at any one time.
She asked: “What support would there be for a business like mine to make sure the additional cost from increasing employee national insurance contributions aren’t passed on to working families?”
Employers got it from both barrels when it comes to National Insurance. It’s going up by 1.2% to 15% and the threshold where it kicks in is falling from just over £9,000 to £5,000, both from next April.
As Annabel says, there are big concerns from businesses and charities about the increase in overheads.
The Chancellor said she will protect small firms with an allowance of up to £10,500. To qualify for that allowance to reduce employers’ NI, firms need to be liable to pay less than £100,000 a year, and Annabel doesn’t qualify.
The government says it will channel money from VAT on private schools into the childcare sector. As in most cases, the Chancellor giveth and the chancellor taketh away.”
Making pints cheaper
David Nightingale runs a pub and has a bar in Peterborough – he asked what the 1p tax relief on pints will do for his business.
He said: “At the moment I’ve got to sell a million more pints to pay for the other increases in the Budget. How is this going to help us and our industry?”
We all know the problem, the cost of living is enough to drive you to drink… But then you can’t afford a drink!
Rachel Reeves isn’t exactly getting a round in, but she’s knocking 1p of a pint of beer effective from February.
Alcohol Duty rates on draught beer, cider and wines are going down by 1.7%. Today it’s been estimated that could save a typical draught drinker up to £57 a year. But there will also be a rise in duty on non-draught alcohol matching inflation – so maybe hold off planning a bender in celebration.
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Inheritance tax
Rob Pearson asked what the Budget meant for inheritance tax, particularly for single people.
Inheritance tax thresholds will be extended for two more years, until 2030.
This means the first £325,000 of any estate can still be inherited tax-free until then. After this, it will still be taxed at 40%.
Those who are married or in a civil partnership and leave their estate to their partner escape the inheritance tax – there’s no exemption for single people like Rob.
40% relief on business rates
Dean Taylor runs a restaurant with his wife. His question was about how his industry would be affected.
He asked: “What does this Budget do to help the near-impossible situation that us in hospitality – small businesses – currently face?”
The headline for hospitality is that the sector will get 40% relief on business rates in 2025-26 up to a cap of £110,000 per business.
The sector, along with other retail outlets, have had business rates relief since 2020 at 75% but that had been due to end in April 2025.
So they’ve escaped what was described as a “cliff edge”, but these firms want a much longer term solution to better equalise the way they are treated compared with online businesses that don’t have that expensive high street presence.
Investment for special educational needs
Kirsti Hadley is a self-employed, single mother to an autistic teenager and receives disability living allowance.
She wanted a clearer understanding around investment for special educational needs and the help available in terms of benefits.
There will be a funding uplift of £1 billion for special educational needs and disabilities services (known as SEND).
Where will that cash go is the big question. What we know is that it will go to the Department for Education and then onwards to councils.
Benefits more generally will be updated by 1.7% from April.
Already some are saying that’s just a few pounds for most claimants still struggling with the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
Petrol prices
Charlene Gwatidzo runs a hairdressers in Birmingham and is the mother to three young children.
She asked what the government is going to do to help with childcare costs – including the price of driving her kids around.
As a mum of three – including a new baby – part of the job description is of course being a free taxi driver.
Among all the pre-Budget leaks, hints and rumours, there were fears of a rise in fuel duty.
Fuel duty hasn’t gone up since 2011 and in March 2022 the last government reduced it by 5p.
The current fuel duty freeze and temporary 5p-a-litre cut will be maintained for a further year.
This is where Rachel Reeves aimed to be a cheery chancellor, but there have been lots of questions about whether retailers are actually passing that on to drivers, with competition officials suggesting we’ve been overcharged £1.6 billion a year at the pumps.
The scrutiny on how garages justify their charges will continue.
Public transport and travel
Catherine Warrilow is a mother of two who was made redundant last year. She now owns a small brand consultancy within the travel sector, and wants to know how the Budget will impact the price of travel.
“I own an electric car but as a family we use buses and trains a lot to get around. Because I also work in the travel industry, I’m really interested in how it will affect me and my family in getting out and about, but also other people within the tourism sector?”
There was a burst of announcements on public transport, including tunnelling work to bring the HS2 line into Euston and upgrades to the TransPennine route.
Train fares have gone up around 5% this year.
The government plans to re-nationalise within five years – nobody seems at all certain what impact that will have on fares.
The price cap on single bus tickets in England continues, but gets raised from £2 to £3.
And if you are jetting off, Air Passenger Duty is rising from £14 to £16, which UK airports say they need about as much as hole in the tarmac.
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