Philip Hammond to ban tenancy fees and increase Living Wage for struggling families

Philip Hammond vowed to 'write a brand new chapter' for Britain immediately as he unveiled a package deal to assist struggling households and put together us for Brexit.

The Chancellor mentioned his Autumn Assertion would deal with 'supporting the financial system' prepared for slicing ties with Brussels.

A ban on the charges charged to tenants by letting brokers and one other enhance within the Dwelling Wage would be the centrepiece of efforts to assist the so-called JAMs - 'nearly managing' households.

Philip Hammond, pictured leaving Downing Avenue for the Commons immediately, mentioned he's writing a 'new chapter' for the nation

Mr Hammond may also plough an additional £1billion into welfare spending in a decisive break with the period of his predecessor George Osborne.

The Chancellor instructed the Cupboard this morning that his Autumn Assertion 'is targeted on getting ready and supporting the financial system as we start writing a brand new chapter in our nation's historical past'.

He mentioned the measures may have a 'specific emphasis' on elevating productiveness in addition to a deal with 'dwelling inside our means' and guaranteeing financial 'flexibility' for the challenges forward.

Mrs Could instructed her senior ministers the package deal could be 'balanced and prudent'

'That is an Autumn Assertion which is able to ship on the Authorities's dedication to construct an financial system that works for everybody an which units the financial system on the precise path for the long run,' she mentioned.

Ministers greeted Mr Hammond's briefing with a number of rounds of banging on the Cupboard desk. 

In a controversial transfer, letting brokers will likely be banned from imposing prices, averaging round £340 every, on younger individuals and households in search of to lease a house.

Officers mentioned the upfront charges – that are charged along with deposits and calls for for the advance fee of lease – have been making life exhausting for the decrease paid and college students.

Theresa Could (seen leaving Downing Avenue for PMQs this morning) has been urging Mr Hammond to convey ahead measures to assist hard-pressed employees

However landlords final evening reacted with fury to the 'unworkable' plans, which they warned would have a 'boomerang' impact.

Critics mentioned the costs would merely be handed on to buy-to-let landlords – lots of whom are middle-class households who personal a second property as a nest egg – or to the tenants themselves.

The measure will likely be unveiled in Mr Hammond's first Autumn Assertion, which parks Theresa Could's Authorities firmly on the centre floor of British politics and is meant to squeeze the life out of Labour. 

A ban on the charges charged to tenants by letting brokers and one other enhance within the Dwelling Wage will immediately be on the centre of a Authorities package deal to assist households who're 'nearly managing'. Philip Hammond is pictured making his ultimate preparations in No11 yesterday

Ministers have been assembling at Downing Avenue immediately to be briefed on the ultimate particulars of the Chancellor's Autumn Assertion. Pictured, Dwelling Secretary Amber Rudd 

Different measures will embody: an additional £1.4billion to offer 40,000 new houses; £37million of handouts to army charities and different teams funded by fines on bankers; a £1billion funding in broadband and the cell community; £1.3billion for roads and different transport tasks.

Insiders mentioned that, aside from spending on infrastructure comparable to roads and broadband, the package deal will likely be 'fiscally impartial'.

Which means any new spending commitments supposed to assist households who're 'nearly managing' – nicknamed JAMS in Whitehall – will likely be funded by tax rises elsewhere. Mr Hammond can be anticipated to unveil measures to crack down on tax avoidance and a raid on a number of the 'wage sacrifice' perks loved by middle-class employees.

International Secretary Boris Johnson, left, and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon have been amongst these gathering at Downing Avenue immediately

£1BILLION TO REVERSE OSBORNE CUTS TO UNIVERSAL CREDIT

An additional £1billion will likely be ploughed into the welfare funds to reverse George Osborne's cuts to Common Credit score.

The money will likely be used to melt the affect of £3billion of reductions within the worth of state handouts to these on low-paid jobs.

Insiders mentioned this will likely be paid for by elevating taxes elsewhere, fairly than new borrowing.

A key facet of Common Credit score – the brainchild of former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith – is encouraging the unemployed to return to work by not eradicating all of their advantages immediately.

Ex-chancellor Mr Osborne mounted the so-called taper fee at 65p in March, that means for each pound a employee earns over a set threshold, they may hold 35p of their advantages.

Right now Chancellor Philip Hammond will announce he's decreasing the taper to 63p at a price of £1billion. 

Treasury officers mentioned it amounted to a 'important funding … which is able to enhance work incentives for roughly three million households'.

Training Secretary Justine Greening (left) and Brexit Secretary David Davis are being crammed in on the Autumn Assertion measures, which embody a ban on letting agent charges 

The ban on letting agent prices – which was first steered by former Labour chief Ed Miliband – was dismissed as unworkable by the Cameron authorities solely six months in the past.

Final evening Richard Value, of the UK Affiliation of Letting Brokers, mentioned: 'A ban on agent charges might stop tenants from receiving a invoice at first of the tenancy, however the unavoidable final result will likely be a rise within the proportion of prices which will likely be met by landlords, which in flip will likely be handed on to tenants by means of increased rents.'

Richard Lambert, of the Nationwide Landlords Affiliation, mentioned: 'Banning letting agent charges will likely be welcomed by personal tenants, at the least within the quick time period, as a result of they gained't realise that it'll boomerang again on them.'

However Campbell Robb, of Shelter, mentioned: 'Hundreds of thousands of renters have felt the monetary pressure of unfair letting agent charges for much too lengthy, so we're delighted with the Authorities's choice to ban them.'

Enterprise Secretary Greg Clark and Justice Secretary Liz Truss arrive in Downing Avenue for the Cupboard assembly this morning

LIVING WAGE OUTSTRIPS INFLATION WITH four% RISE

The Nationwide Dwelling Wage will enhance by 30p an hour to £7.50 from subsequent April, the Chancellor will announce immediately.

At simply over 4 per cent, the rise is properly above the one per cent fee of inflation.

The transfer is essential to the package deal of measures designed to assist these people who find themselves 'nearly managing' – the JAMS.

Philip Hammond may also say he's decided the brand new regime will likely be enforced, with £four.3million a yr spent on checking employers are paying employees aged 25 or over the complete quantity. 

The Dwelling Wage was launched by George Osborne in April at a fee of £7.20 an hour – with a dedication that it'll attain £9 by the tip of the Parliament.

It represented a hike of 50p an hour on the outdated minimal wage – inserting an enormous additional burden on employers.

It is among the few Osborne insurance policies standard with the Could Authorities. By elevating salaries of the bottom paid, it was seen to have moved the Tory social gathering firmly on to centre floor. 

Tweet