Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget – Commentary from the CEO of My Community Finance  

Jeremy Hunt announced his Spring Budget on Wednesday 6th March 2024. Here are some of the main measures he introduced regarding savings and debt: 

• A 2p reduction in National Insurance, which he says will save the average worker £450 a year. 

• Extending the Household Support Fund by six months. This fund is designed to help people struggling to pay for necessities like food, water and energy bills. 

• The introduction of a British ISA, which will allow savers to invest an additional £5,000 in UK assets tax-free. 

• Scrapping the £90 fee for a Debt Relief Order (DRO), which is a legal solution for those struggling with unmanageable personal debts.  

Founder and CEO of My Community Finance, Tobias Gruber commented:

“When the Chancellor started speaking about household debt, I had hoped there would be more to it than abolishing the £90 Debt Relief Order fee. Its abolition is a sensible decision and I'm pleased it has been implemented, but disappointed that more was not announced to help millions of families who find themselves slipping into unmanageable debt. 
 
The extension of the Household Support Fund is a positive step, ensuring that the most vulnerable households in England receive assistance with essential expenses like food and energy, however, the additional six-month extension falls short of the two-year extension that charities had been campaigning for. 
 
The introduction of a new ‘British’ ISA, allowing individuals to invest an additional £5,000 tax-free annually, may seem appealing at first glance, however, in reality, the majority of UK ISA investors do not fully use their existing ISA allowance. Therefore, offering the opportunity to invest further is largely irrelevant for most savers” 

About Tobias Gruber

Tobias Gruber is the founder and CEO of My Community Finance. For three decades, he’s been a prominent leader in investment banking and asset management for some of the sector’s most renowned banks, including Credit Suisse, SwissBank, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.  

In 2018, Tobias launched My Community Finance to provide access to credit for those overlooked by traditional lenders. The platform connects customers to credit unions, where they’re able to access competitive loan products.