A Milestone Budget for East Yorkshire

Graham Stuart, Member of Parliament for Beverley and Holderness, welcomes the positive announcements for the East Riding in the Budget.

Graham commented:

“The Budget is great news for families and businesses across the East Riding. I was particularly pleased to see the Chancellor give greater freedom for pensioners to make their own investment decisions, while everyone will welcome yet another freeze in fuel duty and a further rise in the level at which you start to pay income tax.”

Some of the measures which the Chancellor announced that will benefit the region include:

• The period over which self-employed farmers can average their profits for income tax purposes will be increased from two to five years, benefiting 2,850 farmers across the Yorkshire and Humber region.

• The Selby to Hull rail re-electrification will be completed by 2024, providing a major boost to local businesses and commuters.

• The Humber Enterprise Zone will be extended to a site at Kingston Parklands with business rates discount, creating up to 150 jobs.

• On 1st April, the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme will be extended to Hull. HullThe scheme is open to all SMEs, charities, social enterprises and sole traders and provides up to £3,000 to support broadband connection.

• There will be additional help for first time buyers with Help to Buy ISAs. In Yorkshire and Humber, this could help over 95,000 people to buy their first home in the next 5 years by giving them a 25 per cent bonus of the amount they have saved to help with the cost of their first home.

• Labour’s Fuel Duty escalator planned for 2015 has been scrapped, continuing the longest freeze in fuel duty in 20 years and saving the average family £9 every time they fill up their car.

• The Government will change the tax rules so that pensioners who have already purchased an annuity will be able to cash in their plan and invest their own savings as they choose.

Graham added;

“We have seen strong economic news for Hull and East Yorkshire. Wages are rising in real terms and the number of people claiming unemployment benefits has fallen by nearly a third in the last year – with youth unemployment down by 54% in Hull since 2010.”

“The North of England is now growing faster than the South and more jobs have been created in Yorkshire alone than in the whole of France. The task of rebuilding our economy is far from complete but today’s Budget shows that the work is well underway and that Britain can look forward to the future with confidence.”

With the election approaching Mr. Stuart feels that his party, The Conservatives will create Northern Powerhouse, he said;

“At the election, there will be a clear choice. The Conservatives are offering competence and security, while Labour will take us back to the chaos of the past.”

“The Budget shows how we are creating a Northern Powerhouse, with people in Hull now benefiting from better job prospects, rising wages and better transport links. We need to stick with our plan that is delivering for East Yorkshire.”