Drones to be used as police first responders as Jeremy Hunt announces police changes
Jeremy Hunt yesterday announced drones are set to be used as police first responders.
The Chancellor confirmed he will prioritise schemes designed to save money in the next five years, pledging £230million for new technology in the Budget.
He said: “Police officers waste around 8 hours a week on unnecessary admin – with higher productivity, we could free up time equivalent to 20,000 officers over a year.
“So we will spend £230million rolling out time and money saving technology which speeds up police response time by allowing people to report crimes by video call and where appropriate use drones as first responders.”
How much will you save on National Insurance?
Jeremy Hunt yesterday announced a 2p cut to National Insurance, effective from April.
This will save Brits on £35,000 around £450 per year.
Find out how much you can save below:
Hope for Taxi Tax campaign
In recent months, a campaign has been building to stop private hire vehicles being whacked with a 20 per cent VAT sting.
Dubbed the “Taxi Tax”, bosses have warned it would put thousands of drivers out of a job while hiking prices for passengers.
Yesterday Jeremy Hunt appeared to heed their calls, announcing a consultation on the likely damage the levy would do.
Gareth Cadwallader, spokesperson for the Stop the Taxi Tax campaign, said: “It’s good news that the Chancellor is looking for solutions to Stop the Taxi Tax, which would put up the price of journeys for millions of people across the country.
“There’s been enough dither and delay and this harmful tax must be stopped before it hits passengers, businesses and jobs.”
OBR increases growth forecast
The Office for Budget Responsibility has increased its growth forecast for the years to come.
This comes after Jeremy Hunt unveiled his Spring Budget in Parliament yesterday.
You can see how things have changed in the handy graphic below:
Price of cigarettes soars to record high
The price of cigarettes is set to rise to an eye-watering £16 following a one-off increase of £2 per 100 cigarettes or 50 grams of tobacco.
Mr Hunt told the Commons: “To discourage non-smokers from taking up vaping, we are today confirming the introduction of an excise duty on vaping products from October 2026 and publishing a consultation on its design.
“Because vapes can also play a positive role in helping people quit smoking, we will introduce a one-off increase in tobacco duty at the same time to maintain the financial incentive to choose vaping over smoking.”
Booze duties frozen in Spring Budget pub boost
Taxes on beer, wine and spirits that were due to go up in August will now be frozen until February next year in a win for The Sun’s Save Our Sups campaign.
The move will benefit 38,000 boozers across the UK.
Mr Hunt said: “We value our hospitality industry and we are backing the great British pub.”
