Willans: Legal perspectives on the Budget 2021
Legal experts from Willans LLP react to the Spring Budget 2021 and how it will affect businesses and individuals in Gloucestershire and beyond, on the topics of corporate & commercial, employment law, wills, trusts & probate, residential and commercial property.
In the Chancellor’s first Budget speech last year, made as Covid-19 started to take hold in the UK, Rishi Sunak promised to do ‘whatever it takes to support the economy’.
As his second Budget is laid out, the focus was not only on surviving through the remainder of the crisis, but also how the public purse is going to pay for it, as well as how investment will be encouraged to help offset the mounting debts.
Budget lacks detail on roads, rail, airports and sustainability
As expected, Covid impact and recovery took centre stage in chancellor Rishi Sunak’s second Budget statement yesterday but there was plenty of reason for the civil engineering industry to be positive about in the announcements, particularly with confirmation of the UK Infrastructure Bank.
The plans for the bank were widely welcomed, however, industry reaction suggests that the lack of mention of roads, rail and airports during the speech is reflected in the lack of clarity created by documents released after the speech ended.
Rail
Rail Industry Alliance chief executive Darren Caplan said: “It is good to see the chancellor clarify a number of the government’s plans for infrastructure, including the establishment of a UK Infrastructure Bank based in Leeds and the £4.8bn ‘levelling up’ fund opening for infrastructure around the UK.