Budget 2017 reaction and updates

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The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is not impressed with the one-off tax on new diesel cars that do not meet the latest emissions standards.

The SMMT's chief executive Mike Hawes says there's a danger that "mixed messages" around diesel - all the stop and go if you like - will confuse the public: there are no additional taxes for the next six months, but then there will be an extra levy. All the while when we want firms and consumers to renew their vehicles with greener new ones, because he says that's "the quickest way to address air quality concerns".

"Manufacturers are investing heavily in the latest low emission technology, however, it's unrealistic to think that we can fast-track the introduction of the next generation of clean diesel technology which takes years to develop, in just four months.

"This budget will also do nothing to remove the oldest, most polluting vehicles from our roads in the coming years.”

Environment campaigners have been taking stock.

A senior lecturer in marine biology at the University of Exeter Dr Ceri Lewis welcomed the chancellor's Blue Planet II-inspired pledge to use the tax system to tackle single-use plastics which are ending up "in every part of the world's oceans, from the surface to the deepest part of the sea floor, and in the stomachs of every species of marine animals where we have looked for them".

He says it's "a great step towards reducing the problem."

But the Green Party co-leader, Caroline Lucas, thinks a lot more could have been done:

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A former NHS doctor has welcomed the chancellor's announcement that an extra £2.8bn of funding will be put into the health service.

"What matters now is identifying where this additional budget will be allocated. Ensuring the NHS is fit for purpose in the long term must involve large-scale investment that will facilitate the digital transformation needed across the NHS," said Chris McCullough, who is now chief executive of Rotageek - a firm offering data-driven scheduling.

"Employees must feel able to control their work-life balance, or we will continue to see doctors and nurses switching to agencies.”

He sees a role for the kind of business he does, alongside all the other things the NHS could be spending more on.

Think tank the Resolution Foundation has been crunching the growth numbers and reaches the alarming conclusion that we won't get a real pay rise until 2025.

This was a budget carefully crafted and designed to show a compassionate government - when ultimately the Chancellor didn't have an awful lot to give, says Roger Bootle of Capital Economics.

He also tells the BBC's Mike Johnson that the funds for Brexit preparations could be used to employ more customs officers and processing British goods moving across the continent.

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As we reported earlier, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been less than impressed by the Chancellor's Budget, saying that this is the "most anti-London budget ever".

Philip Hammond pledged to spend £28m on mental health services, as well as to pay for a new community space and refurbishment of the Lancaster West estate in west London - where Grenfell Tower is based.

Mr Khan welcomed the investment, but he felt that much more needed to be done apart from that.

"The government needs to do much more to help rehouse those families affected by the tragic fire and that should be done immediately," he told the BBC.

"The government must also support councils to help retrofit building with sprinklers as they can't afford to do that without national funding.

"It's crucial they get on and do this quickly to ensure every tower block in London is safe."

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Tudor Aw, head of the UK tech sector at KPMG, says that while it is good that the government is investing £500m into emerging technologies like AI and 5G in the Budget, it is important not to forget about existing core technologies that power the UK tech industry.

"In particular, the UK has strengths in ‘old-school’ tech sub-sectors such as software, IT services and semi-conductor technology," he said.

"Tech investment should therefore be made in education, regulation, tax and other incentives to ensure our strength in the tech sector is broad based and not just those areas that sit at the top of the latest hype curve.”

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Businesses don't like budgets much. They see the tinkering by the chancellor as a potential administrative burden as they adjust to new rules, thresholds and initiatives.

On that basis they will have been pleased at what the chancellor didn't do.

He didn't lower the turnover threshold at which small businesses must register for VAT; it remains at £85,000.

And white van men and women around the country will appreciate the continuation of the fuel duty freeze on diesel as well as petrol, with the rise in vehicle duty limited to diesel cars only.

Read more here.

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Sophie Phillipson, founder of student and graduate network HelloGrads, says that the Budget is ignoring younger adults.

“Abolishing stamp duty for first time buyers is a head-turner. If it had been coupled with measures to protect those in the private rental sector from soaring rents and a lack of regulation, it might have been a more millennial-friendly budget," she said.

“Instead we have a housebuilding plan, and those facing an unaffordable and largely unregulated rental market are sidelined.

“To court millennials, the Government needed to go far beyond token gestures like an age extension to the 16-25 railcard.

"Gimmicks like this are an insult to a generation that’s facing a housing crisis, wages outstripped by inflation, and not enough graduate jobs to go round for those leaving university and shouldering a massive student debt.”

Here's a reminder of what the Chancellor announced today...

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It's bad news for Multiyork - the furniture retailer has gone into administration, putting 550 jobs under threat.

The retailer will trade until Christmas at the earliest while administrators Duff & Phelps seek a buyer.

Multiyork will honour all existing orders placed until 22 November and customers will be contacted by the retailer.

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Stamp duty will be abolished immediately for first-time buyers buying a home of up to £300,000, Chancellor Philip Hammond has said.

For properties costing up to £500,000, no stamp duty will be paid on the first £300,000.

The change will apply in England and Northern Ireland.

The stamp duty cuts are not relevant to Scotland as it is devolved, and the change will only apply in Wales up until the end of March, which is when powers will be devolved to Wales.

Read more here.

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MPs debating in the House of Commons following the Budget announcement have told the government that more needs to be done to make sure that multinational corporations like Facebook and Google pay their way.

"I think we do need to go a bit further with these multinationals," Dover MP Charlie Elphicke told the Commons.

"Too many think that they're not subject to the rule of law of this country, they behave like they are over-mighty medieval barons who the laws don't apply to in same way.

"I say this House should call time on that viewpoint."

Have you tried out our budget calculator? See how the tax measures may affect you in the coming year.

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Disposable incomes are set to be £540 lower by 2023 than forecast in March and pay rates will not return to levels seen before the financial crash until the middle of the next decade, according to the Resolution Foundation.

The living standards think tank said annual pay was forecast to be £1,000 lower and consequently the UK faced a 17-year downturn before wages returned to 2008 levels.

The think tank warned that Philip Hammond has not taken sufficient action to ease the living standards squeeze, with welfare cuts over the coming years set to heap pressure on low-income families.

Resolution Foundation director Torsten Bell said: "The chancellor has been handed a massive downgrade to expectations for how fast Britain's economy can grow, knocking a full quarter off the growth we can expect over the next five years. While the result for the public finances is grim, the chancellor has chosen to take the extra borrowing on the chin and indeed to borrow more, including welcome new action on housing."

He added: "The chancellor has made the wrong call to press ahead with a damaging freeze on benefits. Welcome moves to reduce the waiting time for Universal Credit are also not matched by dealing with the much bigger challenge of planned cuts to the new benefit."

More reaction to the Budget, this time from the CBI courtesy of business presenter Rob Young:

Robin Hood, which campaigns for a microtax on banks to raise funds to tackle poverty in the UK and abroad, and climate change, gives its reaction to the Budget: