The National Living Wage will rise to £7.50 an hour from April 2017 meaning an average full-time worker will receive over £1,400 a year, the chancellor has confirmed.
Philip Hammond revealed the measure as part of today’s autumn statement, where other announcements included tax relief for rural businesses and further investment for R&D.
Innovation and research in the UK will benefit from a further £2 billion a year in funding by 2020-21 as the chancellor underlined government’s continuing commitment to the R&D sector.
This new funding will support development of technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and industrial biotechnology, the chancellor said. The government will also review the tax environment for R&D.
The National Living Wage for those aged 25 and over will increase from £7.20 per hour to £7.50 per hour, as previously outlined by former chancellor George Osborne.
The Minimum Wage will also increase for 21 to 24 year olds – from £6.95 per hour to £7.05; for 18 to 20 year olds – from £5.55 per hour to £5.60; for 16 to 17 year olds – from £4.00 per hour to £4.05. The apprentice minimum wage will rise from £3.40 per hour to £3.50.
A further £4.3 million will be spent on helping small businesses to understand the rules on wage increases, and on cracking down on employers who are breaking the law by not paying the minimum wage.
The government will also double rural rate relief to 100 per cent from 1 April 2017, and it will double capacity of UK Export Finance to guarantee finance for businesses looking to export.
Despite being heavy on investment into R&D, the statement has been met with scepticism by farming trade bodies, including the Country Land and Business Association (CLA). President Ross Murray said: 'It is hard to see from this statement how rural business fits in to the Chancellors’ vision for Britain’s economic future. The investments announced today are overwhelmingly targeted at improving facilities within, and connections between, our cities.'
The NFU said it continues to support a living wage for all workers but remains concerned about the speed of implementation.
To support the UK’s exit from the EU, the government has earmarked an additional £51 million in 2016-17 for the Department for Exiting the European Union to “support the re-negotiation of the UK’s relationship with the European Union”. In total this will mean up to £412 million of additional funding over the course of this parliament.
A new National Productivity Investment Fund will provide £23 billion of additional funding to areas including transport, digital communications, research and development (R&D), and housing.
There will be further investment in renewable energy and clean transportation, but any mention of investment into R&D to increase farming's climate resilience or combat climate change was notably absent.
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