Budget date announced as 6 November

With Brexit negotiations still finely balanced, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is planning to hold a Budget on Wednesday 6 November, the week after the UK’s scheduled date to exit the EU

Sajid Javid, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: ‘This will be the first Budget after leaving the EU. I will be setting out our plan to shape the economy for the future and triggering the start of our infrastructure revolution.

‘This is the right and responsible thing to do – we must get on with governing.’

However, the Treasury has also said in a statement: ‘In the event of no deal, the government would act quickly to outline our approach and take early action to support the economy, businesses and households. This would be followed by a Budget in the weeks thereafter.’

This has been taken to mean that in the event of the UK crashing out of the EU, the 6 November event will be scaled back to an economic statement, with a full Budget held sometime later, possibly several weeks.

This will be Javid’s first Budget since he became chancellor in July. In September, he made a spending round announcement detailing departmental spending plans for 2020-2021.

In a move which he said signalled ‘turning the page’ on austerity, the Chancellor laid out plans for an additional £13.8bn of government money for public services, including spending on additional police officers, social care, the NHS and armed forces.

At the time, Javid said: ‘Day-to-day departmental spending will now grow by 4.1% above inflation in 2020-21 compared to the previous year. For the first time since 2002, no government department will see a cut to its day-to-day budget.’

This September’s spending round was unusual as it covered only a one year period. The Treasury said the next multi-year spending review will be carried out in 2020.

Accountancy Daily