Earlier this week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out his 2017 budget plans. In between the ooo’s and the aah’s from the rowdy audience, there was a lot of number crunching and casual references to MILLIONS of pounds. “But how does the budget affect us?” I hear you ask.
Well, here are five tradespeople-takeaways that BOB learnt from the budget.
- Pricey pints: tax on alcohol is on the up for the first time in five years – with a pint of beer costing an extra 2p
- Skills, skills, skills: there was some mercy for the younger generation of construction workers, with the introduction of T-Levels (technical qualifications), a 50% boost of training hours and more money in the bank in the form of university-esque maintenance loans for people doing higher-level technical courses. Hammond also promised £300m to back 1,000 new PhD places and fellowships in STEM subjects
- Drive on: transport was up there, with £690m going towards helping pinch points on local roads and public transport, and a further £220m to help ease congestion on national roads. Could that mean less van-time?
- Future of tech: with a £270m fund to back research and innovation, AI and robotics might be the next big thing on the construction site
- Philip Hammond has all of the sass: no seriously, check out these zingers…
