Search through our UKHotViews and UKHotViewExtra articles plus complete research reports
In the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 (SR21), Chancellor Rishi Sunak presented the Government’s spending plans for the next three years to 2024-25. He started his speech by saying that the Budget was about investing in a more innovative, high skilled economy as this is the only sustainable path to individual prosperity and world class public services. It was a broadly optimistic budget that places innovation and technological progress at the heart of the government’s strategy for long-term growth. Here we take a look at the key announcements, including the economic outlook, impact on public spending, departmental digital plans, R&D and skills, and what it all means for the UK tech sector.
In its Economic and Fiscal Outlook, The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) reported that the success of the vaccine rollout has allowed the country to reopen largely on schedule and that the effectiveness of the vaccine, plus the adaptability of consumers and businesses, has meant economic recovery was faster than expected. The faster recovery, more positive outlook and large tax rises (income tax, corporation tax and the new Health and Social Care Levy) provided the Chancellor with the confidence to spend more on public services. He pledged to increase overall spending for every government department in real terms as a result of SR21, with total departmental spending forecast to grow in real terms at 3.8% a year on average over this Parliament, which equates to a cash increase of just under £150bn a year by 2024-25 (c.£90bn in real terms).
TechMarketView subscribers, including those signed up to UKHotViewsPremium can read Autumn Budget & Spending Review 2021: Tech implications here. If you are not yet a subscriber, please contact Deb Seth to find out how to access this and much more.
Posted by Dale Peters at '08:13' - Tagged: strategy skills government budget R&D public+sector spending+review
