• Today the Conservative Government delivered The Growth Plan, starting a new era focused on economic growth, whilst tackling the immediate energy crisis and removing barriers for businesses to build the infrastructure we need to grow the British economy.
• The Conservative Government’s Growth Plan puts more money in people’s pockets by cutting National Insurance and Income Tax – including an extra £330 a year from the cut to National Insurance contributions and saving families £1,400 on their energy bills.
• To deliver on this mission, the Chancellor has also announced 38 Investment Zones and over 100 infrastructure projects across the country, including the South East which could benefit from 5 new investment zones, to drive the investment and growth in the areas that need it the most.
• Today the Conservative Government delivered The Growth Plan – setting out support for families with their energy bills and unleashing a new era of growth through tax cuts and investment incentives.

Rebecca Harris has welcomed the Chancellor’s measures set out for families across the South East who will have their energy bills cut by up to £1,400 through the Energy Price Guarantee, whilst businesses eligible for The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will have their energy bills slashed by cutting the price of wholesale gas.

The Chancellor also confirmed people across the South East will benefit from personal tax cuts – cutting National Insurance contributions by 1.25%, putting an extra £330 a year in people’s pockets and helping them with cost-of-living pressures. This means 2.7 million people across the South East will save £350 a year thanks to the cut to National Insurance contributions, and 3.3 million across the South East will save £180 a year thanks to the slash to Income tax in 2023.

Alongside these measures the Conservative Government announced further personal cuts – including cutting stamp duty permanently by doubling the nil-rate band to £250,000 (from £125,000), increasing the nil-rate band for first-time buyers to £425,000 (from £300,000) and increasing the value of the property which first-time buyers can claim relief to £625,000 from (£500,000). These measures combined mean a typical family moving into a semi-detached property will save £2,500 on stamp duty and £1,150 on energy bills – and if they have a combined income of £50,000 around an additional £560 on tax. This is around £4,200 in total.

Commenting, Rebecca Harris MP said:

“In the face of rising energy prices and cost of living pressures, it is right that this Conservative Government has come forward with a serious support package and a growth plan.

“I welcome support set out for people across the South East today, including cuts to National Insurance contributions, Income Tax and Stamp Duty – all helping families to keep more of their hard-earned money. Additionally, I am pleased the South East has been selected as the home of 5 of the 38 new Investment Zones and becoming a hub for growth, as the Government slashes red tape and incentivises investment to increase productivity and create jobs in our local community.

“Only the Conservatives can be trusted to make the reforms we need to grow our economy – delivering higher wages, lower taxes and more money for our public services.”

The Conservative Government’s Growth Plan also unleashes 38 Investment Zones across England, unlocking housing and driving growth through tax incentives and over 100 infrastructure projects that will be accelerated. The South East is set to benefit from 5 of the 38 new Investment Zones to get their local economies growing across the region.

Under this brand new initiative, each Investment Zone will offer generous, targeted and time-limited tax cuts for businesses, backing them to increase productivity and create new jobs. This could encourage investment in new shopping centres, restaurants, apartments and offices, helping regenerate local high streets and communities across the whole region.

Investment Zones will also benefit from liberalised planning rules to release more land for housing and commercial development, and reforms to increase the speed of delivering development. Time-consuming negotiations between councils and developers for each project over affordable housing will be scrapped. This will be replaced with a set percentage of affordable homes while making sure communities get the infrastructure they want and need.

Investment Zones will only be established with support from local leaders, with the Conservative Government working in partnership with local authorities to deliver benefits for residents, as well as devolved Administrations and councils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

All of the measures announced in the Government’s Growth Plan will help unleash growth through tax cuts and reform, tackle the immediate energy crisis, remove barriers for business, and build the infrastructure needed to grow the British economy.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer commented:

 “Growth is not as high as it should be. This has made it harder to pay for public services, requiring taxes to rise and cost of living pressures to increase. We need to change this and be unashamed in our Growth Plan – expanding the supply side of the economy, through tax incentives and reform, whilst we help families now by cutting their energy bills by £1,400 a year and slashing personal taxes. That is how we will deliver higher wages, greater opportunities, and crucially, fund public services, now and into the future.” 

To view the Growth Plan 2022 documents in full, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-growth-plan-2022-documents.