Chancellor presents Autumn Statement 2023

Jeremy Hunt presented the Autumn Statement 2023 to the House of Commons on 22 November 2023, alongside the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook¹. In his statement the Chancellor announced a cut in the main rate of National Insurance contributions (NICs) paid by employees, known as primary Class 1 NICs, and the main rate paid by the self-employed, Class 4 NICs¹. He also announced the abolition of the pensions lifetime allowance and that capital allowance full expensing would be made permanent¹.

Following the statement the Government introduced 37 ways and means resolutions covering the measures to be included in the Finance Bill, a procedural step needed before a Finance Bill can be published¹. The Commons debated those resolutions on 22, 23 and 27 November 2023, and at the end of the debate on 27 November the House voted on them without dividing¹. The Finance Bill 2023-24 was then introduced and received its first reading¹.

The Bill's second reading took place on 13 December 2023. Drew Hendry's amendment to decline the Bill's second reading was negatived on division by 46 ayes to 296 noes, and the second reading was agreed to on division by 291 ayes to 54 noes¹. The Committee of the Whole House stage took place on 10 January 2024, and the Public Bill Committee stage on 16 January 2024, where three new clauses were moved and all were negatived on division; the Bill finished that stage without amendment¹. It returned to the floor of the House on 5 February 2024 for Report Stage and third reading, where the House divided on third reading and agreed it by 283 ayes to 39 noes¹. The Bill received Royal Assent on 22 February 2024 and became the Finance Act 2024¹.

Two measures drew most interest in the Bill: the abolition of the pensions lifetime allowance, on which HMRC published a tax information and impact note explaining the policy from 6 April 2024, and the permanent full expensing of capital allowances, on which HMRC also published a tax information and impact note¹. Separate legislation was introduced on 23 November 2023 to give effect to some changes, and that legislation undertook all its remaining Commons stages on 30 November 2023¹.

Why it matters for households

The National Insurance cut announced on 22 November 2023 changes what employees and the self-employed pay on their earnings, and the pensions lifetime allowance abolition, explained by HMRC as applying from 6 April 2024, changes the tax treatment of pension pots above the previous limit¹. The permanent full expensing of capital allowances affects how companies write off investment, which is a business tax measure rather than a household one¹. The measures reached the statute book only when the Finance Bill received Royal Assent on 22 February 2024 and became the Finance Act 2024, so the dates on which each measure takes effect are set out in the individual tax information and impact notes rather than in the statement alone¹. How announcements of this kind reach pay, pensions and savings is set out in our guide to Budgets and fiscal statements, and the wider tax picture is covered in our tax hub.

What happens next

The Finance Bill 2023-24 completed its remaining stages and received Royal Assent on 22 February 2024 as the Finance Act 2024¹. The deadline for Members to table amendments during its passage was Wednesday 31 January 2024¹. No further stages of this Bill have been reported.