The Chronicle

Rail good news for

£375M METRO UPGRADE AND NORTH OF TYNE DEVO DEAL WELCOMED

- By JONATHAN WALKER

Political Editor CHANCELLOR Phillip Hammond has delivered his Autumn 2017 Budget statement - and it included plans to help people afford a home, money for the NHS and improvemen­ts to the Government’s controvers­ial Universal Credit policy.

So what did we learn from the Budget?

Credit where it’s due, the announceme­nt of £375 million to pay for new Tyne and Wear Metro trains is good news.

And there’s also £600 million over 30 years for the new “North of Tyne” combined authority, to be led by a directly elected mayor.

Mr Hammond’s big announceme­nt was abolishing stamp duty altogether for all first-time buyer purchases up to £300,000. It means an effective reduction of £5,000. Stamp Duty is only charged on properties which cost more than £125,000, which means that this will help people in areas where prices are high but may not provide help in places where housing is cheaper - so it’s unclear whether it will help many people in the North East.

Mr Hammond also announced plans to provide at least £44 billion of capital funding, loans and guarantees over five years to get more homes built.

This will deliver 300,000 net additional homes a year on average by the mid-2020s, Mr Hammond said, calling it “the biggest annual increase in housing supply since 1970.”

But he said the Government would focus on “making best use of our urban land” and not make it easier to build on the green belt.

A new £1.7 billion “Transformi­ng Cities Fund” will pay for local transport schemes.

Half the money will go to the areas with elected metro mayors, while cities across England will be invited to bid for the rest.

In other words, you’re more likely to get the cash if you have a mayor.

It may be good news for the three “North of Tyne” councils, Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumber­land, who are to create their own combined authority, led by a mayor.

But it’s not so good for places like Sunderland, South Tyneside, Gateshead and County Durham, which aren’t getting one. The Chancellor announced measures to try to stop people getting into debt when they start receiving Universal Credit, a new benefit.

The problem is that they have to wait six weeks for their first payment. In some cases, that means people can’t pay their rent and get into arrears.

He said the Government would remove the seven-day waiting period applied at the beginning of a benefit claim - which basically means cutting the wait from six weeks to five.

And he said any new Universal Credit claimant who currently gets Housing Benefit will continue to receive the Housing Benefit for two weeks.

In total, the Government is spending £1.5 billion to try to improve Universal Credit.

An extra £2.8 billion for the NHS in England was announced.

It includes £350 million immediatel­y, to allow trusts to plan for this winter, and £1.6 billion in 2018-19, with the balance in 19-20.

On top of money already announced, it takes the extra money into the NHS next year to £3.75 billion in total.

And there was a hint that nurses will get a good pay increase in future.

Mr Hammond suggested austerity would continue, as he said: “Our debt is still too high, and we need to get it down.”

An extra £3 billion was announced for Brexit preparatio­ns – on top of the £700 million already allocated.

The Chancellor said the Government would make getting a deal with the EU a top priority.

But he added: “While we work to achieve this deep and special partnershi­p we are determined to ensure that the country is prepared for every possible outcome.”

It suggests the Government is taking the prospect of leaving the EU without a deal seriously.

Mr Hammond announced £40 million to train maths teachers across the country and a “Maths Premium” for schools, giving them £600 for every additional pupil who takes A level or Core maths.

The Chancellor also said the Government would triple the number of trained computer science teachers to 12,000.

The Chancellor didn’t announce any new tax cuts or increases to the minimum wage, but instead he highlighte­d measures already taking place.

The National Living Wage (effectivel­y the minimum wage for many workers) will rise 4.4% in April from £7.50 an hour to £7.83, handing full-time workers a further £600 pay increase.

From April, the personal allowance for income tax will rise to £11,850, cutting taxes

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