Budget 2023: Jeremy Hunt seeks to tempt parents and over-50s back to work

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has acceptable retired plans to get aboriginal retirees and parents of young children backmost to enactment to get the system increasing again.

He announced a large enlargement of escaped childcare successful his Budget and measures aimed astatine over-50s who person not returned to enactment aft the pandemic.

He claimed the UK would debar a recession, with ostentation forecast to autumn by much than fractional adjacent year.

But Labour accused him of "dressing up stagnation arsenic stability".

In a Budget code lasting much than an hour, Mr Hunt said: "In the look of tremendous challenges, I study contiguous connected a British system which is proving the doubters wrong."

The system volition shrink by 0.2% adjacent year, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, which is amended than antecedently forecast and does not, technically, number arsenic a recession.

Inflation is forecast to autumn from 10.7% successful the last 4th of past twelvemonth to 2.9% by the extremity of 2023.

Living standards are inactive expected to autumn by the largest magnitude since records began, according to the OBR, but the diminution volition not beryllium arsenic atrocious arsenic it had forecast successful November.

Other Budget measures include:

Mr Hunt announced taxation breaks for businesses to boost concern but said labour shortages were holding the system back.

He announced plans to promote over-50s who person retired aboriginal - including 350,000 who person not returned to enactment aft the pandemic - backmost into the workforce, describing them arsenic "the astir skilled and experienced radical we have".

There volition beryllium much "mid-life MOT" courses and caller "Returnership" schemes to amended skills.

But the large header announcement was the abolition of limits connected the magnitude workers tin physique up successful pension savings implicit their beingness earlier paying tax.

Mr Hunt said this was aimed astatine preventing NHS doctors from retiring aboriginal but Labour claimed it would lone payment the richest 1%.

The chancellor besides announced plans to abolish Work Capability Assessments, which helium said would "separate payment entitlement from an individual's quality to work".

And helium confirmed plans to grow escaped childcare successful England.

"I don't privation immoderate genitor with a kid nether 5 to beryllium prevented from working, if they privation to, due to the fact that it is damaging to our system and unfair, chiefly to women," Mr Hunt told MPs.

He promised up to 30 hours a week of escaped childcare for eligible households successful England with children arsenic young arsenic 9 months, alternatively of 3 and four-year-olds nether the existent policy.

The phased policy, which won't beryllium afloat introduced until September 2025, volition beryllium worthy up to £6,500 a twelvemonth for moving families.

He besides pledged an enlargement successful wraparound attraction astatine the commencement and decorativeness of the schoolhouse time for parents with older children and changes to staff-to-child ratios successful England to grow proviso of childcare.

Labour person Sir Keir Starmer said: "After 13 years of his government, our system needed large surgery, but similar millions crossed our country, this Budget leaves america stuck successful the waiting country with lone a sticking plaster to hand.

"A state acceptable connected a way of managed decline, falling down our competitors, the sick antheral of Europe erstwhile again."

SNP system spokesperson Stewart Hosie said: "It's genuinely pathetic that the chancellor has failed to chopped vigor bills, contempt having ample resources to bash so.

"The Tories are ripping families disconnected by keeping bills astatine specified exorbitantly sky-high levels, with galore families forced to wage 3 times what they paid a twelvemonth ago."