From bus cuts to surprise hikes in parking charges, here’s what people across Surrey thought of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ recent budget. The budget is a plan for future years spending and taxation. It raises important concerns regarding its potential impact across all industries – including real estate and social care.
Steve Lane, a partner with Robinsons Property Steve has a background in commercial and private housing, in addition to residential. He highlighted the detrimental effects this budget will have on our nation’s landlords. Pointing in the other direction, he said, is the fact that the federal government may be preparing to send renters unfriendly signals through the measures. Lane noted a growing deficit of inventory. He pointed this trend as a cause of losing landlords out of the market, not reinvesting.
“It’s already a very competitive market. A huge increase in wages will have a crushing effect on our competitiveness,” Lane said. He further emphasized that this regulation will create significant recruitment and retention issues for property owners.
Martin Groves, landlord at the Hot Blossom pub in Farnham, warned of the perverse outcomes of the budget. He countered that assessment by noting recent progress. He specifically pointed to the fact that they always knew that taxes would have to increase at some point. This jump was intended to address all the different Covid-related costs, so when he wasn’t totally blindsided. Groves noted that despite the bad news, it’s not as bad as it could be.
Michelle Wilson, care manager at Home Instead, highlighted the impact of the budget on her industry. Her recommendations speak directly to the struggles domiciliary care firms in Epsom and Dorking have been facing. She expressed concern about the increasing minimum wage. At the very least, she admitted, “The rise in minimum wage is of course a great thing for our working class.” She cautioned that “providers are still reeling from this year’s National Insurance hike.… Expenses were driven up without the corresponding increase in fees.”
Wilson focused on the damaging effect on social care providers. He said, “We want this year’s budget to be the last of the double whammy on social care.” She did shine a light on high-profile, positive moves, such as scrapping the two-child benefit cap. She cautioned that the big picture could be daunting in ways that could present major hurdles.
The budget calls for freezing income tax thresholds through 2031. It adds a flat electric vehicle tax in the highway measure to take effect in 2028. These measures only further complicate the fiscal environment that will face businesses that continue to set up shop there over the next few years.