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<\/p>\nDRINKERS, benefits claimants and pensioners are among the winners of today's Autumn Statement – with smokers and the unemployed hit.<\/p>\n
The Chancellor\u00a0has revealed a whole host of financial changes and updates affecting Brits in his\u00a0speech\u00a0in the Commons today.<\/p>\n
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In his second\u00a0Autumn Statement\u00a0since becoming Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt has set out the government's financial plan for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n
Mr Hunt vowed to "reduce debt, cut taxes and reward work" as he\u00a0unveiled a package\u00a0aimed at saving cash-strapped Brits and turbo-charging the economy.<\/p>\n
He detailed tax\u00a0and\u00a0spending changes that the party will implement over the coming months. <\/p>\n
These included benefits uprating, pension increases and a rise in tobacco duty. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n In his Autumn Statement, Jeremy Hunt announced:<\/strong><\/p>\n Below we reveal the Autumn Statement's winners and losers.<\/p>\n Millions of Brits could be stripped of all their benefits if they fail to find a job after a fixed period of time.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Jeremy Hunt\u00a0announced his "Back to Work plan" in the\u00a0Autumn Statement.<\/p>\n He warned there will be tougher sanctions for people who don't look for work.<\/p>\n He said: "If after 18 months of intensive support jobseekers have not found a job, we will roll out a programme requiring them to take part in a mandatory work placement to increase their skills and improve their employability.<\/p>\n "And if they choose not to engage with the work search process for six months, we will close their case and stop their benefits."<\/p>\n Smokers will have to pay significantly more for rolling tobacco AND cigarettes.<\/p>\n Chancellor\u00a0Jeremy Hunt\u00a0announced the biggest-ever hike in tax rates for loose tobacco used in rolled-up cigarettes.<\/p>\n The government will\u00a0increase duty on hand-rolling tobacco\u00a0by 10% over the tobacco duty escalator.<\/p>\n The usual escalator is the RPI rate of inflation plus 2%.<\/p>\n That means the tax on rolling tobacco will go up by the RPI level of inflation plus 12%.<\/p>\n Mr Hunt said: "I am going to increase duty on hand-rolling tobacco by an additional 10% above the tobacco duty escalator."<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the price of all tobacco products will increase by RPI plus 2% at 6pm on Wednesday, it was confirmed.<\/p>\n That means an average increase of 29p on a pack of 20 cigarettes.<\/p>\n A hike wasn't expected as it tends to be changed in the\u00a0Spring\u00a0Budget.<\/p>\n The\u00a0previous increase was revealed earlier this year\u00a0in April, which saw the price of a pack of cigs increase by over 12%.<\/p>\n Campaigners have slammed Mr Hunt's move, saying the Chancellor has "raised two fingers to working class people across the country".<\/p>\n Savers are also among the "losers" due to Lifetime ISA penalties not being scrapped, according to some experts. <\/p>\n Consumer champion Martin Lewis is among those who had been urging Mr Hunt to use his Autumn Statement to overhaul "unfair" aspects of the savings accounts.<\/p>\n These LISAs are often used by\u00a0first-time buyers\u00a0to get on the property ladder.<\/p>\n But the\u00a0home\u00a0must cost less than \u00a3450,000 – a threshold that has remained the same since the saving scheme was first launched in 2017 despite rising house prices.<\/p>\n The\u00a0MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE)\u00a0founder branded the accounts a "dead duck" product, as buying a property over this amount leaves savers paying a penalty.<\/p>\n He tweeted today: "Damn. Our Lifetime ISA campaign has failed. <\/p>\n "NO CHANGE to the fact people using it to buy a house over \u00a3450,000 due to the house price rise, will still be fined by the government and have less money than they started with."<\/p>\n Those on high incomes who have been sucked into higher tax bands will continue to suffer after today's announcement.<\/p>\n The\u00a0freeze on income tax and National Insurance thresholds\u00a0until 2028 will leave millions of households worse off.<\/p>\n This freeze, which was announced at this time last year, combined with wage rises will keep dragging many more workers into these higher tax bands. <\/p>\n This means someone on an average UK salary of \u00a333,000 will pay almost \u00a32,557 more income tax between last November and 2028.<\/p>\n The rate at which families start paying inheritance tax (IHT) has been frozen since 2009, and it was today extended by two years until April 2028.<\/p>\n This will force more and more households to pay the tax as house prices and inflation continue to soar.<\/p>\n Any plans to cut the thresholds have been shelved until next year. <\/p>\n Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves asked Jeremy Hunt if cutting inheritance tax was a \u201cdecision delayed or a decision abandoned\u201d in the commons today.<\/p>\n Another subject notably absent from today's Autumn Statement was stamp duty. <\/p>\n Stamp Duty\u00a0land tax (SDLT) is a lump sum payment you have to make when purchasing property over a certain threshold.<\/p>\n The rate you have to pay as the buyer depends on the price and type of property you are purchasing and after reaching certain thresholds.<\/p>\n The current stamp duty cut means thousands of homebuyers pay less stamp duty but this\u00a0will end in March 2025.<\/p>\n Before the cut, no Stamp Duty was paid on the first \u00a3125,000 of any property purchase.<\/p>\n That's now double at \u00a3250,000 for all home purchases.<\/p>\n Many experts and homeowners had been hoping for cuts but it appears these have been shelved until next year.<\/p>\n Boozers up and down Britain rejoiced today as Jeremy Hunt confirmed the price of pints and spirits will stay the same.<\/p>\n In a major win for The Sun's\u00a0Save Our Sups campaign, the\u00a0Chancellor\u00a0confirmed a freeze on alcohol tax – and\u00a0extended the business rates relief for pubs at the Autumn Statement.<\/p>\n Hunt gave a\u00a0direct shout out to The Sun's campaign as he announced the pub-friendly measure, which will save Britain's boozers \u00a34.3billion.<\/p>\n Beer bosses had warned the average pint in Britain could\u00a0shoot up by 20p overnight\u00a0unless Mr Hunt stepped in.<\/p>\n Millions of households on benefits, including Universal Credit, will get a payment boost worth up to \u00a3470 next year.<\/p>\n Jeremy Hunt\u00a0has confirmed that\u00a0benefit\u00a0payments will increase in line with September's\u00a0inflation\u00a0rate.<\/p>\n The payment boost will come into effect in April 2024 and the average family on Universal Credit will be around \u00a3470 a year better off.<\/p>\n There were concerns that the government was planning to use a\u00a0lower inflationary figure\u00a0to uprate welfare payments.<\/p>\n The yearly\u00a0inflation rate for\u00a0September\u00a0came in at 6.7%, compared to\u00a04.6% for October.<\/p>\n Pensioners are also set for a bumper rise of up to \u00a3901 to their state pension payments.<\/p>\n It comes as it was announced that the pension triple lock will remain intact.<\/p>\n The amount pensioners get from the state rises every year in order to keep up with the cost of things like food and household\u00a0bills.<\/p>\n Mr Hunt has now confirmed that payments will increase by 8.5% in April 2024.<\/p>\n That's because the\u00a0triple lock\u00a0system\u00a0sees the\u00a0state pension\u00a0rise in line with whatever is highest out of: wages for May to July, 2.5% or September's\u00a0inflation\u00a0figures.<\/p>\n Not only that but\u00a0Pension Credit\u00a0standard minimum will also rise in line with July's wages data at 8.5%.<\/p>\n Plus, Mr Hunt announced he will consult on giving pension savers a "legal right to require a new employer to pay pension contributions into their existing pension".<\/p>\n This would allow workers to build up a pension \u201cpot for life\u201d under the radical new plans.<\/p>\n Drivers can breathe a sigh of relief as the Chancellor did not hike Fuel Duty today.<\/p>\n Jeremy Hunt\u00a0protected the 5p cut to the tax on motorists\u00a0in his Autumn statement today\u00a0\u2014 despite Treasury pressure to hike it.<\/p>\n That helped the chief bean-counter\u00a0bat away calls from officials to cancel the 5p cut, with one source saying: \u201cAs ever there was internal pressure to raise revenue this autumn from fuel but Jeremy has said no.\u201d<\/p>\n Thanks to The Sun's\u00a0Keep it Down crusade, Fuel Duty had been frozen at 57.95p since March 2011 and temporarily slashed by an extra 5p in 2022.<\/p>\n Workers will get a \u00a31,800 pay rise next year, the Chancellor confirmed in his speech.<\/p>\n As of April next year, the\u00a0National Living Wage\u00a0for those over 21 will rise from \u00a310.42 to \u00a311.44.<\/p>\n The increase was\u00a0announced on Tuesday\u00a0but confirmed again by the Chancellor today.<\/p>\n It's the biggest hike to the\u00a0minimum wage\u00a0for a decade and for the first time will apply to over-21s, rather than over-23s.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, self-employed workers will keep more of their hard-earned cash thanks to a major tax change.<\/p>\n Workers will get an income boost of up to \u00a3350 thanks to the abolition of Class 2 National\u00a0Insurance\u00a0Contributions (NICs).<\/p>\n Plus, the average employee is set to receive a \u00a3450 pay rise thanks to a two percentage point cut to the main rate of National Insurance.<\/p>\n Renters are set to receive a major boost to their housing benefits.<\/p>\n Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in\u00a0his Autumn Statement\u00a0today that the government will increase Local Housing Allowance for the first time since April 2020.<\/p>\n In his speech, he confirmed Local Housing Allowance will be increased to cover the cheapest 30% of local market rents.<\/p>\n This means anyone renting a home that is among the cheapest 30% of private rental properties in their area should be able to cover their entire rent with housing benefit.<\/p>\n The Chancellor has been under pressure to up the allowance by charities such as Crisis and Shelter, as well as private landlords and MPs.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, first-time buyers and savers are getting extra support under a few changes hidden in Autumn Statement documents.<\/p>\n And, we reveal all the Universal Credit and benefit changes announced in the Autumn Statement.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/rd2txm-uk-universal-credit-form-809892317.jpg\")
<\/picture>ALL CHANGE <\/span><\/p>\nAll the changes to benefits and UC announced today – what you need to know<\/h3>\n
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<\/picture>FINE PRINT <\/span><\/p>\nFour announcements hidden in the Autumn Statement revealed<\/h3>\n
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Losers<\/h2>\n
Workshy benefits claimants<\/h3>\n
Most read in Money<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/close-womans-hands-picking-cigarette-861349840-1.jpg\")
<\/picture>HOLY SMOKE <\/span><\/p>\nCost of cigarette pack to rise from TONIGHT in huge blow to smokers<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/GM_22-11_NATIONAL-INSURANCE_COMP.jpg\")
<\/picture>PAY RISE <\/span><\/p>\nUp to 27million workers to get hundreds back in their pocket in huge tax cut<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DD-budget-hunt-v3_COMP-1.jpg\")
<\/picture>BANG FOR BUCK <\/span><\/p>\nPay day for Brits as Hunt’s mini-Budget boosts purses\u00a0but hikes tobacco price<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jb-nlwhunt-comp.jpg\")
<\/picture>PAY DAY <\/span><\/p>\nPay rise for millions of lowest-paid Brits confirmed – check if you qualify<\/h3>\n
Smokers<\/h3>\n
Savers<\/h3>\n
Higher-income earners<\/h3>\n
Inheriting households<\/h3>\n
House buyers<\/h3>\n
Winners<\/h2>\n
Drinkers<\/h3>\n
Benefits claimants<\/h3>\n
Pensioners<\/h3>\n
Drivers<\/h3>\n
Workers<\/h3>\n
Renters<\/h3>\n
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