In his first speech of 2023 last week, Rishi Sunak announced that he wishes to implement plans for all pupils to study maths until age 18.
Sunak’s Reasoning
Sunak is stressing the importance of numeracy as “our children’s jobs will require more analytical skills”.
He also said that he wants people to feel “more confident” when it comes to finances and mortgage deals. If this is the case, why not supply financial education instead?
Ambition without Substance
At this moment, Sunak’s plans seem entirely unattainable given that he’s failed to give any indication as to how they will be achieved.
There are no new qualifications immediately planned and no plan to make A levels compulsory
There is an enormous shortage of maths teachers. In 2021, there were under 36,000 maths teachers in English state secondary schools, compared to 39,000 English teachers and 45,000 science teachers. Sunak has not stated how he plans to magic up more maths teachers to carry out his plans
Sunak has not said what his plans will mean for those studying humanities or creative arts qualifications
Currently, it seems like more of an empty aspiration than a concrete plan…
The Importance of Financial Education
Whilst financial education and mathematics have areas of overlap, the two should not be conflated… they are not the same thing.
If Sunak’s plans go ahead, we need to make sure that this studying of maths is something that can actually be applied to the real world. Whilst a strong grasp of maths can help with aspects of financial management, such as budgeting, it does not overlap with all financial needs.
For example, studying maths might help you understand how percentages work. However, a financial education carries this even further as you can start using these percentages in the ‘real world’, such as with taxes. Instead of simply understanding the percentages of each tax band, you can know what to do if you are taxed wrong, what the different tax codes are, how to fill out your own self-assessment tax returns, and so much more.
Sunak says he wants people to feel “more confident” in managing their finances and understanding things like mortgage deals. In that case, surely we should be providing a meaningful financial education to pupils instead? Understanding the numbers is not enough…
If you want to read more about the importance of a meaningful financial education, click here.
by Red Star Wealth
In yesterday’s Autumn statement, Hunt announced £30 billion worth of spending cuts and £24 billion worth of tax rises over the next 5 years. This increased taxation and cuts to government spending is aimed at rebuilding the economy after instability from the Covid pandemic, Truss and Kwarteng’s failure of a mini-budget, and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
“Stealth Taxes”
Income tax’s personal allowance, the main national insurance thresholds and inheritance tax thresholds have been frozen for a further two years.
Some members of the opposition have branded these as “stealth taxes”. This is because the freezes effectively means that people will have to pay more tax as wage increases (due to inflation) will push them into higher tax brackets.
This payment of higher taxes alongside continuing inflation will mean the cost of living crisis will be hitting us all even harder.
Higher Rate Tax Payers
Currently, those earning between £50,271 and £150,000 a year fall into the higher rate income tax band of 40%. Those earning above £150,000 a year then pay the additional rate of income tax of 45%.
As of April 2023, this threshold will reduce from £150,000 to £125,140, meaning higher earners will be paying more tax.
Protecting the Vulnerable
Hunt has announced additional cost-of-living payments for the most vulnerable:
£900 for those claiming benefits
£300 for pensioners
£150 for those on disability benefits
He has also introduced a cap on the increase in social rents, at a maximum of 7% in the 2023/2024 tax year.
The triple lock on pensions has been maintained, meaning state pensions will increase in line with inflation. Working age and disability benefits are also to increase in line with inflation.
The national living wage is to increase by 9.7%, rising to £10.42 in April 2023, which will benefit the lowest-paid employees in the UK.
Funding the NHS, Schools and Social Care
Hunt has announced an extra £2.3 billion per year to be invested in schools over the next two years.
He has also announced an increase in the NHS budget by an additional £3.3 billion in each of the next two years.
Additionally, Hunt has allocated adult social care additional grant funding of £1 billion next year and £1.7 billion the year after. As well as this, the implementation of the Dilnot reforms has been delayed by two years. These reforms would cap the amount any one person in England would have to pay towards social care to £86,000. Delaying this means we will have more funding for the social care sector.
Energy and Electricity
In May 2022, Rishi Sunak introduced a tax as chancellor called the Energy Profits Levy. This was a 25% surcharge applied to companies profiting from extracting UK oil and gas, and was to run as a temporary levy until the end of 2025. In yesterday’s Autumn statement, Hunt announced that this windfall tax will increase to 35% from January 2023 and will also stay in place for longer, until March 2028.
A temporary new electricity generator levy will also be introduced. This will impose a 45% windfall tax on profits of selling electricity above £75MWh.
From 2025, electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (often referred to as Road Tax), which will help further raise Government funds.
It was also confirmed that plans for £700 million of Government funding into the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk are to go ahead. This new nuclear power plant is expected to create 10,000 jobs and generate enough power for 6 million homes. The aim is to get the UK on the road to energy independence, so that we are no longer so heavily affected by changes in global gas prices in the future. It also signals the first UK state backing for a nuclear project in over 30 years. However, over the plant’s expected 13-17 years of construction, the government has predicted it will add an average surcharge of around £1 a month to household bills. This means that, yet again, our finances are likely to be under even more strain.
