As I write this Brexit continues to dominate
proceedings in Parliament. The situation is changing on a day by day basis.
Last week things took several even more bizarre turns when firstly we had
protestors gluing themselves to the public gallery windows while not wearing
any clothes, followed by a leak in the Chamber, which meant Parliament had to
rise early on Thursday in order to fix it, delaying the tabling of some
business for this week.
Away from Parliament, last week saw excellent news
as the amounts people can earn without having to pay tax went up again, the
National Living Wage increased and fuel duties were frozen at the beginning of
the new financial year.
The Personal Allowance went up to £12,500. The
Personal Allowance is the amount you can earn before you have to pay Income
Tax. You don’t have to pay income tax on the income you earn below this amount.
As a result of the change, a typical basic-rate taxpayer will take home £130
more than in 2018-19.
Getting the Personal Allowance to £12,500 was a
Manifesto Commitment of this Government and I am pleased to have seen it
delivered one year earlier than previously planned.
As well as this we also saw the biggest ever increase
to National Living Wage coming into effect from 1 April. Nationally, 1.8
million workers earning the National Living Wage will receive an additional
£690 over the year from 1 April onwards.
This includes £7.70 per hour for 21 to 24-year
olds, providing an additional £580 over the year for full-time workers, and
£6.15 for 18 to 20-year olds, providing full-time workers with an additional
£455 over the year. Taken together with changes to NLW, 2.1 million people will
be receiving a pay increase, with workers in the retail and hospitality sectors
due to benefit the most.
To put this into perspective, full-time workers
receiving the National Living Wage will be more than £2,750 better off a year
compared to 2015, when the rate was first announced.
As well as putting more money in your pocket and
increasing the amount many people earn, the start of the new financial year
also saw Fuel duty remain frozen for the ninth year in a row. This will remain
at 57.95 pence per litre across the UK. This saves the average car driver
£1,000.
This is all good news, allowing people to keep more
of the money they earn and generating more money to put back into the economy
and benefit everyone.
My team and I are here to serve the whole constituency
and work hard to make a real difference to the lives of everyone needing
support. The office is open to the public Monday – Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm (no
appointment necessary). If there is an issue you would like my assistance on
then please, either visit the office or contact me on either 01726 829379 or
office@stevedouble.org.uk. Additionally, I hold regular, appointment only,
advice surgeries across the constituency. Dates of these can be found at:
www.stevedouble.org.uk/events
