Stakeholder Response: The Energy Retail Association
A spokesperson for The Energy Retail Association told ePolitix.com; "We welcome the announcement made in the Pre-Budget Report that the government will assist pensioners with their heating costs.
"They will set aside £300 million to enable pensioners on Pension Credit to have central heating systems installed free of charge, and provide a £300 discount on all central heating systems to all other pensioners who do not already have one in their home.
"All those eligible should contact the Home Heat helpline, established by the ERA, on 0800 33 66 99 to organise the installation of free loft and cavity wall insulation if they do not already have it.
"The industry believes that it is important to take a ‘whole-house’ approach to energy saving and these two complimentary announcements should help over 680,000 households across the country."
Duncan Sedgwick, chief executive of the Energy Retail Association, added; "The announcements today put the spotlight on the serious issues of energy saving and tackling fuel poverty.
"Our industry is committing to spend £700 million over the next three years on initiatives such as these and we hope that vulnerable people will come forward and take up these offers."
Recent research conducted by Ofgem has found that 75% of vulnerable people are unaware of the help and services that are available from their electricity and gas suppliers. The ERA hopes that anyone having difficulty paying their energy bill will call the Home Heat Helpline to receive free help and advice.
Stakeholder Response: FSB
Simon Sweetman, FSB tax spokesman, said: "We welcome the small business measures and the simplification they will offer, especially the corresponding increase in the level of capital allowances that can be claimed by small businesses.
"We are pleased that all small businesses, irrespective of legal status, will now qualify for a more generous capital allowance regime.
"It was interesting to note that the chancellor admitted this has been a tough year and acknowledged that new jobs were coming primarily from small businesses.
"Given this, we would have wanted a more significant lifting of the burden in the administration of the staff payroll."
On VAT: "We welcome the more flexible VAT payment schemes for small businesses with the new increased turnover level of £1.3 million.
"This is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done because VAT administration is still one of the most burdensome aspects of running a small business."
On the freeze in fuel duties: "For hard-pressed businesses with a concentration on fuel costs, this freeze is some comfort."
On education and training:"The high priority given to this area is good news, as is the extension of the national employment training programme, which will benefit 50,000 businesses."
On red tape: "We believe more should have been said to emphasize the government’s programme on cutting back red tape.
"However, we are pleased with the attack on EU regulations and especially the proposal to apply the competitiveness test on new and existing legislation coming from Brussels.
"We hope the chancellor’s encouraging words will be converted into actions and small businesses will see less regulation and administration from the government and the EU."
Stakeholder Response: Which?
In response to Gordon Brown's announcement about the future use of assets in dormant accounts, Mick McAteer, principal policy adviser at Which?, said: "The debt and pensions crisis poses the biggest threat to the financial future of communities across the UK.
"Which? calls on the chancellor to ensure that some of the unclaimed assets in bank accounts to be invested in the community go towards the creation of a National Financial Advice Network that gives person-to-person advice from 'financial planners'.
"Such a network could offer a general financial health check that is not part of a sales process."
Stakeholder Response: ABI
Stephen Haddrill, ABI director general, said:
"We give two cheers to the pre-budget report.
"We strongly welcome the intention behind the better regulation proposals. We also strongly support the approach on VAT.
"To get the third cheer we need to see these words turned into action by the government and the FSA.
"We also need to be sure that in the future the government will avoid last minute about-turns such as on SIPPs and the OFR, on which a great deal has already been spent".
On VAT exemption on outsourced insurance services, Peter Vipond, ABI director for financial regulation and taxation, said: "The ABI urged the government not to be first past the post in Europe to introduce new VAT rules on outsourced insurance services.
"We are pleased that the government has taken note of that. Every quarter this change is not brought in will save the industry and its customers £50 million."
On better regulation, Peter Vipond, ABI director for financial regulation and taxation, said: "We welcome the government’s focus on better regulation, in particular the reviews of the Regulated Activities Order and the Financial Promotions Order.
"We need to look carefully however at the proposals to reduce consultation.
"If the outcome is that the FSA consults more strategically and in a joined-up fashion, this will be good news.
"If the outcome is that the regulator becomes free to push through damaging proposals without proper dialogue, it will be disastrous."
On SIPPs and the OFR, Peter Vipond, ABI director of financial regulation and taxation, said: "We will look at the detail on both housing and the OFR.
"Changing the rules for SIPPs at this stage - just as changing the regulations for the OFR after they had been settled - is damaging to the private sector.
"When the government changes direction at such a late stage, the costs to industry and its customers are significant. We need to get better at getting it right first time."
Stakeholder Response: Help the Aged
Mervyn Kohler, head of public affairs at Help the Aged, said: "Pensioners in some of the coldest homes in the country will welcome the increased funding to help meet the cost of installing central heating, home insulation and other energy efficiency measures.
"Help the Aged has long campaigned for a boost in resources in the Warm Front scheme to reduce the scandalous numbers of older people who die every winter as a result of cold related illnesses, and those who suffer increased ill-health and misery.
"However, pensioners will react with dismay and disbelief that Gordon Brown said absolutely nothing in his speech to ease the heavy burden of Council Tax.
"Unlike last year, when a general election was in the offing and the grey vote had to be appeased, it seems there will be no special payments for pensioner households, nor a particularly generous payment to local authorities to keep increases low, so many of our poorest older people will struggle to make ends meet."
"By ignoring the unfairness of Council Tax, the chancellor is subjecting some of the most vulnerable older people to yet another year of inflation-busting bills while local services face funding cuts.
"This speech should have tackled the running sore of Council Tax, but instead Gordon Brown has chosen to sweep the issue under the carpet."
Stakeholder Response: LGA
Commenting on the local government financial settlement, chairman of the Local Government Association Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said: "The deal worth £1.1bn is better than was expected but still leaves many councils having to face tough choices between council tax increases and cutting services.
"Local authorities across the country will now be working round the clock to make sure that council tax is kept as low as possible without having to cut services.
"Councils are making efficiency savings of £58m a month which is more than any other part of the public sector.
"The good news is that the government has agreed to a two year deal including extra money next year and in 2007/08 to take into account inflation.
"Ministers have also promised to fund new burdens on licensing, asylum seekers and other costs from new legislation."
Stakeholder Response: IoD
Miles Templeman, director general of the IoD, said: "GDP growth has been revised down in the short term but it appears to have been revised up thereafter.
"Once again, if the growth does not materialise taxes will have to rise unless the chancellor takes an axe to public spending.
"The chancellor can't guarantee economic growth but he can cut public spending in order to keep the public finances under control."
Stakeholder Response: GMB
Paul Kenny, GMB acting general secretary, said, "It would have been incredibly helpful if Gordon had given the same message on pay restraint to CBI directors last week but unfortunately he didn’t.
"He knows that Britain’s directors have exercised no restraint and have awarded themselves on average 15 per cent pay rise to making the average director’s pay sixteen times that of many low paid public sector workers.
"He may also wish to give the same message to MPs if the current rumours that they want a 22 per cent pay rise are true.
"The chancellor will also be aware that tens of thousands of low paid women in the public services are having to resort to the courts to get equal pay for work of equal value.
"GMB considers that fairness should be what guides pay policy.
"People should be properly paid for the jobs they do whether they work in the public or private sectors and they should be rewarded for the value they bring to our communities and out economy."
Stakeholder Response: Age Concern
Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern England, said: "The pre-Budget report has shown that the chancellor is capable of quick goals but it is not clear if he has a long-term game plan.
"His announcement to help older people with their winter bills is a half-hearted attempt to deal with the ageing population but is not a long term solution.
"The ageing society is one of the biggest social and political challenges of our time. We need bold political leadership to turn our ageing society into an opportunity rather than a burden."
On winter fuel payments: "With rising energy bills and a low basic state pension, the winter fuel payment is the only way some pensioners can afford to pay their heating bill.
"Around 31,000 pensioners died last winter as a result of the cold.
"Many older people will be reassured to know that the Winter Fuel Payment will be paid every year until the end of this parliament.
"However the government needs to reform the basic state pension so all pensioners know that they will have enough money in their pockets to pay their basic costs."
On, insulation and installation payments: "The extra measures to help with the installation of central heating and improve insulation are good news for many pensioners but the government must look at ways of also helping those who live in older homes without cavity walls."
Council Tax: "Inflation-busting rises in recent years have been a major headache for many pensioners and people will want to know in advance if they will be receiving additional help towards next year’s Council Tax bills.
"Additional money for local authorities is welcome but what is really needed is a fairer system of taxation in place of Council Tax which is linked to people's ability to pay as well as the value of their property."
Stakeholder Response: Charities Aid Foundation
Stephen Ainger, CAF's chief executive, said: "The UK is now one of the most attractive countries for charities as far as tax reliefs are concerned. We very much welcome the announcement by the chancellor this afternoon that charities will be able to jointly own trading subsidiaries such as charity shops.
"For some odd reason, the existing rules prohibit such collaboration and do not allow more than one charity to share the profits of a charitable trading subsidiary such as a charity shop. This change is a sensible one which could lead to charities working together much more effectively."
In addition, the chancellor has gone a step further on identifying dormant bank accounts which could be directed towards supporting local communities."
on unclaimed assets, Stephen Ainger said: "Government estimates that hundreds of millions are tied up in dormant bank accounts that could be applied to worthwhile charitable causes. Having an independent commission helping to identify such funds and encouraging banks to put them into the charity arena, is obviously a useful step.
"But CAF also believes that it should be possible for the banks, having identified dormant funds, to be able to direct them to charitable causes through their own charity activities throughout the country. The Commission should not be an exclusive way to donate to charities and we would welcome further debate on this issue."
Stakeholder Response: ICAEW
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales chief executive Eric Anstee said: "Whilst we welcome the steps being proposed to cut regulation, we think the chancellor needs to go further in addressing some of the underlying issues that inhibit a more proportionate regulatory regime.
"The current regulatory burden has contributed to a breakdown of trust between the taxpayer and government. Rather than setting out measures to help rebuild trust, the chancellor is in danger of exacerbating the situation with changes and measures that will confuse and impose additional burdens on all businesses. In order to help rebuild trust, we believe that urgent action is needed to simplify the tax system. Not enough has been announced by Gordon Brown today to reduce complexity and we will continue to press the case for radical simplification."
