In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced several measures that will be of interest to banking and finance lawyers. The measures include the trade and industrial strategy, latest developments with the Procurement Act which will commence in February 2025, implementation of the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF) and amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), and support for Ukraine.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced the recently elected Labour government’s plans to fix the economy and deliver change. Reeves announced a set of reforms to the fiscal framework that will improve certainty, transparency and accountability in a bid to support economic and fiscal stability. Alan Murdie, barrister at Council Tax Legal Services, comments on the Autumn Budget 2024.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, delivered on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced funding for the remediation of unsafe housing, investment for repairs in relation to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), efforts to rebuild Britain, funding to address the skills gap, and developments in energy and transport infrastructure.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced a series of measures aimed at promoting growth and investment in UK businesses. A series of tax rises, aimed at raising £40bn, include increases in the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rates for selling shares, a reduction in the Inheritance Tax (IHT) relief available on shares in AIM companies and an increase in the rate of CGT on carried interest payments for private equity investors. Alongside the Autumn Budget, HMRC have published two policies papers on corporate tax anti-avoidance measures for close company shareholders, and capital gains for limited liability partnership liquidations. Silvana Van der Velde, Director of the Corporate Tax Team at Burges Salmon, comments on these measures.

There were no new policy announcements relating to immigration and asylum in the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, but the document does confirm a reduced annual budget (in part due to savings from cancelling the Rwanda plan). It announces some additional spending, including investment of up to £74 million in 2025-26 to speed up processing of asylum appeals in immigration tribunals. The document is silent on legal aid spending.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced several developments for the Information Law sector. These include the creation of a National Data Library and a Regulatory Innovation Office, improved NHS digitalisation, modernisation of HMRC's access to third-party data, the introduction of a Fraud, Error and Debt Bill, and improved fundings for the Single Intelligence Account. Hamish Corner, partner, and William Moore, associate, at Shoosmiths LLP, comment on the Autumn Budget 2024.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced plans to strengthen the international trade sector, which include funding to boost UK’s trade and investment across the globe, engagement to progress Free Trade Agreements, and plans to deliver the UK’s Trade Strategy, among other announcements. Reeves noted that there will be various trends that will reshape the UK and global trade overall, highlighting the importance of adapting to the trends as it will encourage sustainable growth.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced £520m of long-term funding commitment for the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, an uplift to the National Institute for Health and Care Research budget, as part of more than £2bn of research and development funding, to support research in life sciences and med tech in the hopes of strengthening the UK’s clinical trial network, and an investment of over £2bn to support NHS technology and digital innovation. Overall, £20.4bn in research and development (R&D) investment was announced for 2025–2026. It was also confirmed that the Tobacco Duty escalator will be renewed and that the Vaping Product Duty will be introduced from 1 October 2026. Miranda Cass, partner, and Farhad Shahidi, senior associate, at Bristows share their views on the announcements.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced the government’s key priority is to fix the foundations of the economy and deliver change by protecting working people, fixing the NHS and rebuilding Britain. The key pensions announcements include: bringing unused pension funds into inheritance tax from April 2027; taking further measures to generate private investment in the economy, including creating the National Wealth Fund to catalyse over £70bn of private investment in the UK’s clean energy and growth industries, and using the Pensions Investment Review, along with the British Growth Partnership, to unlock more pension fund investment into UK growth assets; reducing tax-free overseas transfers of tax-relieved UK pensions; and maintaining the State Pension Triple Lock for the duration of the current Parliament and increasing the basic and new State Pension by 4.1% in 2025-26, in line with earnings growth.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced a variety of measures impacting the planning system.  The provision of new infrastructure, including through significant investment, and reform to the planning system, was pitched as one of seven pillars of how the government intends to grow the economy. Housebuilding measures, funding for transport and energy infrastructure as well as a commitment to accelerate the remediation of unsafe buildings also feature. Fiona Sawyer, professional support lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills, comments on these measures.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, made several announcements of relevance to Public Law practitioners on devolved affairs, state security and intelligence, state accountability and liability, Ukraine policy, public procurement, projects and infrastructure, state pension and trade. Paul Maile, Partner and Head of Planning and Infrastructure Consenting at Eversheds Sutherland, and Clive Weber, Consultant at Wedlake Bell, comment on the package of measures.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced several measures that will be of interest to restructuring and insolvency professionals. The measures include tackling rogue company directors, strengthening the powers of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to recover debt, changes to tax rules on liquidations of limited liability partnerships (LLPs), transformation of business rates and implementation of the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF) and amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).