The government announces the cancellation of the Autumn Budget
24 September 2020
Shortly after it was announced that the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, would be unveiling his Winter Economy Plan, the news that the Autumn Budget 2020 would be cancelled then followed.
As the furlough scheme is set to end on 31 October 2020, the government is facing mounting pressure to help secure the economy and protect jobs following the coronavirus crisis, and the further restrictions imposed earlier this week. Employers and trade unions are warning that more than one million jobs could be at risk unless new support measures are introduced.
Mr Sunak will be updating MPs on his plan to “continue protecting jobs” as part of his Winter Economy Plan, but why has the Autumn Budget 2020 been cancelled?
The Treasury confirmed, in a statement, "As we heard this week, now is not the right time to outline long-term plans - people want to see us focused on the here and now. So, we are confirming today (23 September) that there will be no Budget this autumn”
The next Budget was due to be delivered by the Chancellor this Autumn, however, a specific date was not confirmed.
On 8 July 2020, the Chancellor delivered his Spring Statement which included the measures of Eat Out to Help Out, the Kickstart Scheme and a cut to stamp duty to name but a few. His first Budget, which was originally due to be delivered in November 2019, was also delayed, and not unveiled until 11 March 2020. The delay to that budget was due to the general election that took place, in December 2019. This was a matter of weeks prior to the new tax year and the CIPP wanted to assess the impact that this delay had on the payroll departments of its members, if any.
An impressive 333 responses were collected in relation to the question, ‘Has the delayed Budget had an impact on your payroll department?’ over the two-week period that the survey ran for. The breakdown of those were as follows:
Yes – significantly: 86 (26%)
Yes – moderately: 141 (42%)
No: 106 (32%)
The majority of responses highlight the fact that the delayed Budget had an impact on payroll departments across the country- 26% of respondents reported that the extent of this was significant, and a staggering 42% confirmed that the delay had an impact, albeit a moderate one. Only 32% of participants reported no effect whatsoever on their payroll department due to the delayed Budget date.
With the cancellation of this Autumn budget, we await in anticipation of how this will affect payroll professionals as they prepare to action any outcomes of the Chancellor’s Winter Economy Plan.
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