Autumn Statement 2013: Osborne promises ‘a job-rich recovery for all’
5 December 2013
UK skills shortages will likely continue to bite in the short term if Chancellor George Osborne’s promise “a job-rich recovery for all” in today’s Autumn Statement comes to fruition.
Thu, 5 Dec 2013UK skills shortages will likely continue to bite in the short term if Chancellor George Osborne’s promise “a job-rich recovery for all” in today’s Autumn Statement comes to fruition.
But two of the major announcements in the speech were welcomed for their potential to develop emerging talent in the UK labour market.
In a 50-minute address to the House of Commons concluding shortly after noon today, Osborne said: “The plan is working, it is a long-term plan for a grown-up country, but the job is not done.” The full Autumn Statement 2013 is available online.
One of the areas most relevant to jobs and employment is the abolition of employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for those aged under 21 and earning up to £813 a week (£42.3k annually), from the tax year 2015-16.
This is on top of what was a popular announcement in this year’s Budget of a cut in employers NICs expected to relieve a third of all UK businesses of any contribution.
The government has also announced it will develop a simplified NICs process for the self-employed. A summary of responses to a recent consultation will be published shortly.
Nigel Heap, managing director of recruiter Hays UK & Ireland, comments that the employer NICs cut “will allow businesses, particularly SMEs, to invest in growing their workforce”. He notes that SMEs provide six in 10 private sector jobs, and says that this cut “will go some way” to offsetting “a growing regulatory burden” UK firms have faced in recent years.
However, the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development warns that this needs to be done carefully to avoid disadvantaging older workers.
Alongside this, Osborne announced the state pension age would continue to rise, likely reaching 69 by the mid-2040s.
He also confirmed a new apprenticeship funding system, led by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), to be outlined in early 2014. Additionally, a further £40m will be provided to deliver 20,000 further higher apprenticeships in the next two academic years.
Nick Fisher, chief commercial officer of phone retailer Phones 4u, says this move “has the potential to give companies the freedom and flexibility to build apprenticeship programmes that will be of genuine value to the business and skill sets of its people”.
The government has also recently announced reforms to “put employers in the driving seat” on the design of apprenticeship schemes.
Additionally, there were announcements of cuts in business rates and corporation tax, as well as an expansion of business rates relief for small businesses.
Responding, shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: “The chancellor is in complete denial… living standards are not rising, they are falling year on year on year.”
But two of the major announcements in the speech were welcomed for their potential to develop emerging talent in the UK labour market.
In a 50-minute address to the House of Commons concluding shortly after noon today, Osborne said: “The plan is working, it is a long-term plan for a grown-up country, but the job is not done.” The full Autumn Statement 2013 is available online.
One of the areas most relevant to jobs and employment is the abolition of employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for those aged under 21 and earning up to £813 a week (£42.3k annually), from the tax year 2015-16.
This is on top of what was a popular announcement in this year’s Budget of a cut in employers NICs expected to relieve a third of all UK businesses of any contribution.
The government has also announced it will develop a simplified NICs process for the self-employed. A summary of responses to a recent consultation will be published shortly.
Nigel Heap, managing director of recruiter Hays UK & Ireland, comments that the employer NICs cut “will allow businesses, particularly SMEs, to invest in growing their workforce”. He notes that SMEs provide six in 10 private sector jobs, and says that this cut “will go some way” to offsetting “a growing regulatory burden” UK firms have faced in recent years.
However, the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development warns that this needs to be done carefully to avoid disadvantaging older workers.
Alongside this, Osborne announced the state pension age would continue to rise, likely reaching 69 by the mid-2040s.
He also confirmed a new apprenticeship funding system, led by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), to be outlined in early 2014. Additionally, a further £40m will be provided to deliver 20,000 further higher apprenticeships in the next two academic years.
Nick Fisher, chief commercial officer of phone retailer Phones 4u, says this move “has the potential to give companies the freedom and flexibility to build apprenticeship programmes that will be of genuine value to the business and skill sets of its people”.
The government has also recently announced reforms to “put employers in the driving seat” on the design of apprenticeship schemes.
Additionally, there were announcements of cuts in business rates and corporation tax, as well as an expansion of business rates relief for small businesses.
Responding, shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: “The chancellor is in complete denial… living standards are not rising, they are falling year on year on year.”
- The ‘job-rich recovery’ phrase is also the name of a European Commission plan announced in April 2012 providing recommendations for the “one of the EU’s most pressing concerns”.
