Join us to watch George Osborne's Autumn Statement here

[KateMumsnet]

Hello all

George Osborne will set out the government's spending plans in the Autumn Statement and Spending Review at 12.30pm today. It's the first since the Conservatives were elected, and Osbourne looks set to announce the detail of £20bn of cuts to departmental budgets, and £12bn cuts to welfare. He'll promise £7bn for new housebuilding, and will also announce plans to mitigate the effects of tax credit cuts, after the government's original measures were blocked by the House of Lords last month.

Let us know what you think of the plans here, and do join us for the Statement itself at 12.30pm to watch live - we'll be embedding a live feed from the BBC at about 11.45am.

Unless he's changed it from the original proposal the universal 15 hours remains. The additional 15 hours were only ever for working parents as a way of lowering their childcare bill. It was just bundled together under the title of '30hrs free childcare (for working parents)'.

husband might own house and they buy the second home in the wife's name so they have one house each?

I dont think that would work.
Afaik a married couple can only have one primary residence between them so the second home would be subject to the extra stamp duty no matter whose name it was in

It might well say that when the law is drafted - we don't know yet. If so then I suspect there will be a lot of 18 year olds getting second homes for their parents on their 18th birthday!

The vast, vast majority of parents couldn't dream of buying a home for their child/2nd home, and the ones who can afford it shouldn't be complaining about a little bit of extra stamp duty.

Does anyone know if the existing 15 hours of free childcare will remain for households earning more than 100K?

Looks like the 15 hours will stay for those working fewer than 16 hours a week, it's just the 30 hours that are affected, but can't find anything re the proposed means testing

It's difficult to find any details Hey, but I would imagine that stays too.

There was a great deal of obfuscation over the way the initial announcement about the increase to 30hrs which doesn't really help.

From pantomime villain to magician in an hour

Depends what site you're on. On mum's net it's tax credits and childcare people are talking about today. On other site's its the stamp duty on second h ome because in some professions it is common that when two people won a flat each and get together they will often keep one flat and buy a house together - so will be subject to the extra 3% stamp duty as that is then a "second home" - so big implications for a lot of young professionals in London.

And I am not saying it is wrong that they might as a result sell their flat and put the proceeds into one big family house. That might achieve what the Chancellor is after.

It also means when couples retire and take a pension lump sum they won't be putting it into property quite so much whether a cottage in Devon or a buy to let. So it might be achieving its objective, this change.

It might also affect divorcing couples - often a husband cannot get taken off the mortgage as his ex or almost ex wife doesn't earn enogh so he goes ahead and buys a new flat for himself or him and new lover - two properties - massive new stamp duty charge because he's a "second home owner" under the new rules.

It's a good start re second homes, it helps show that actually, older property owners can't just assume things will stay as they have been for the last 15 or so years with property being a great investment opportunity you 'can't lose' with. If this is easily accepted, then it opens the door towards other 'nibbles' into the BTL/second homers money.

The local government cuts terrify me. Children's services are already cut to the bone, I dread to think what will be happening in child protection teams now.

I thought the coverage was a disgrace. I thought I was back doing teacher training watching children shouting and yelling over each other!

So in the end I abandoned the coverage and read the official document, which is here if you feel the need to wade through 154 pages of stuff.

There were things that worried me, the comment about welfare "failing the disabled" and not enough disabled being in work for example and the expectation that 1.3 million more will be expected to look for work (that can only be the support group for ESA as everyone else already must do that so the most severely disabled).

The welfare cap now includes all benefits except (benefits from DEL (don't know what that is), JSA and all passported benefits e.g. Housing/council tax (but NOT passported benefits for other benefits like ESA so for them they count), state pension, transfers in government like over 75 tv licence and zero rate universal credit. I believe those included in the cap are the ones he will reduce.

Not seen much anywhere about those things though I'm knackered and gave already put this on the wrong tgread once! Hopefully this the right one.

Juggling we're talking about the free entitlement. It did used to be called the Nursery Education Grant and was specifically for education, not childcare - they repeatedly made that clear at the time.

However, for some time the Government has dropped that definition and has referred to it as free childcare.

As a practitioner, you'll know how childcare and education aren't really separate in the Early Years.
The Government title given to the Free Entitlement is very deliberately defined not to include education. Now we know why.

Go Eamonn! Just watching him give George a pasting on Sky - hilarious!

Thanks Tanith that's interesting
As you say as practitioners it's fairly clear that early years provision is both - it is early education for the child (I have also taught older children, have QTS and diploma in early years, and I'm using the same skill set with all ages) and importantly too it is childcare for the parents enabling them to do something else with that time other than care for their own child. I have no problem with that. We work with children and their families.
I guess with politicians they will want to put it in one box or the other as suits them, their agendas, and their accounts and different departments.
But of course real life isn't like that.
Also applies with health and social care and in many other areas I'm sure.

I'm a huge Osborne fan (although I think he's far too wet and centre) and want him to be the next PM. He did very well on radio 4 this morning although I wish he would say going to, not gonna.

Smoke and mirrors. Lies and deceits.

And I don't see why my taxes should compensate people in London (or elsewhere) buying a house. Fucking cheek of the man!

"Go Eamonn! Just watching him give George a pasting on Sky - hilarious!"

missed it- what did he do/say?

deo really? He gives me the creeps, with his dead, shark like eyes and fixed grin. He comes across as the least trustworthy, least ethical, most self interested politician currently working today, of any flavour, and thats selecting from a pretty dismal pool.

id have to leave the country if he became PM

For those interested in the new stamp duty rates it looks like when you buy if you are buying as a second home or buy to let you declare it at that point. So a divorcing father who still owns the family home can probably declare that as a new principal private residence - his new home even though he already owns one, whereas someone buying a holiday cottage for weekends would pay the extra duty.
Similarly a young couple where one owns a flat they will keep to let out buys a new family home together that will be their principal residence so the probably do not pay the new stamp duty on that purchase of the family home even though they already own1 or 2 or 500 let out flats.

No Becca it means more people the wrag group will have to look for work rather than prepare for work.
This government can happily screw over the nhs as they are secretly miracle healers.

He comes across as the least trustworthy, least ethical, most self interested politician

Maybe that's why she likes him?

Or perhaps admires him?

A lot of discussion about it points to support group as WRAG is effectively ceasing to exist with it becoming the same amount as JSA, and they are already expected to be doing work towards going back to work, the statement is about those not doing anything - only in support group can you actually not do anything to prepare for work.

Nowhere in this statement is there a mention of the two groups of ESA and the number quoted is mentioned elsewhere as the approximate number claiming support group (though ive not seen that it was mentioned on a disability forum I'm on).

I'd happily be wrong!

I do think it's disgusting to now include disability benefits in the welfare cap, especially DLA/PIP as they are not meant to be income dependant.

I hope that makes sense it doesn't seem to read right to me for some reason. Sorry.

Becca dla/ pip are included in the welfare cap NOT the benefit cap. Welfare cap is governments self imposed savings on welfare. Benefit cap is where you can only receive a certain about in benefits before your housing benefit is reduced or UC if you are claiming UC.