The extension of 30 hours free childcare per week (over 38 weeks per year) to children 9 months and upwards for eligible working parents. This is the marquee announcement in the Budget, and is an important one. This extends the current scheme which is for children aged 3 and up. This will be rolled out in phases from April 2024.
Air Passenger Duty rates for international short-haul flights will remain frozen in 2024-25. Domestic flights will go up by 50p and long-haul rates by £1.
£400m was announced for regeneration through 'levelling up partnerships.' The following areas in the South East are being invited to submit a plan for a partnership; Hastings; Torbay and Rother. These will join many from other areas.
DCMS departmental funding will fall from £2.0bn in 2022-23 to £1.5bn in 2023-4 and £1.4bn in 2024-5.
There was no movement on VAT-free shopping for international visitors which is a key policy to ensure we remain competitive against other countries. UKInbound called this a "missed opportunity". We maintain our call for the Treasury to commission a full analysis from the Office of Budget Responsibility to see how such a policy would actually be a net contributor to the Treasury coffers .
To find out all of the details take a look at The Red Book.
