Budget 2024
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered Labour’s first Budget since 2010, after the party’s return to power in July’s general election. She announced tax rises worth £40bn to fund the NHS and other public services. Key announcements relevant to young people and the youth sector include:

• Legal minimum wage for over-21s to rise from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour from April
• Rate for 18 to 20-year-olds to go up from £8.60 to £10, as part of a long-term plan to move towards a “single adult rate”
• New flat-rate tax of £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid introduced from October 2026, as ministers shelve Tory plans to link the levy to nicotine content. Tax on tobacco to increase by 2% above inflation, and 10% above inflation for hand-rolling tobacco
• Day-to-day spending on NHS and education in England to rise by 4.7% in real terms this year, before smaller rises next year.
• £1.3bn extra funding next year for local councils, which will also keep all cash from Right to Buy sales from next month
• Social housing providers to be allowed to increase rents above inflation under multi-year settlement
• Discounts for social housing tenants buying their property under the Right to Buy scheme to be reduced
• See also:  Youth services ‘forgotten’ in Chancellor’s speech

We are concerned that there was no mention of the voluntary sector and the implications from the budget will be challenging.  The National Council for Voluntary Organisations, along with sister councils across the UK, have written a letter urging the Chancellor to reimburse charities for these costs.