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Healey's first Budget offers cost of living help but defers major decisions
Chancellor John Healey announced £100 energy payments for millions of households and scrapped gas standing charges, funded by tax rises on banks and other sectors.
Chancellor John Healey delivered his first Budget, offering households in council tax bands A to D a one-off £100 energy payment from January and scrapping fixed gas standing charges, measures funded by raising taxes on banks, landlords, and gambling companies. The Budget also extended VAT cuts on electricity until July and increased the minimum wage by 3.9%. However, Healey deferred major decisions on defence spending and welfare reform to future reviews, committing to 3% of GDP defence spending by 2030 without explaining how to fund it. The Office for Budget Responsibility cut growth forecasts from 1.6% to 1% for 2027 due to the Middle East war's impact on oil prices, and the government's fiscal headroom narrowed to £15bn by 2029-30.
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