Four things George Osborne shouldn't have ignored

Businesses did well out of George Osborne's Budget, but large swathes of us didn't even get a mention.

How was it for you? The Chancellor has unveiled his Budget for 2011, and we are all left trying to work out just how we will be affected by his tweaks and changes. For a great guide to who’s celebrating and who is not so pleased, be sure to check out The Budget: Winners and losers.

However, as always, it pays to look beyond the headlines. Sure, there were plenty of eye-catching announcements, such as the cut in fuel duty. But whole sectors of the British economy were conspicuous by their absence from George Osborne’s speech, areas that in years past could expect at least a paragraph or two of attention from the Chancellor.

Savers

The nation’s savers had precious little to enjoy in the Chancellor’s speech.

There was the confirmation that inflation will remain between 4% and 5% for the rest of the year, and will most likely not fall to the Monetary Policy Committee’s target of 2% for another two years. That’s grim news for savers, as they need to ensure that whichever haven they find for their cash beats that rate!

There is a grain of comfort though in the news that National Savings & Investments will be relaunching their index-linked savings certificates. These were pulled last year following overwhelming demand, but they offer savvy savers the chance to sidestep inflation. For more, have a read of How NS&I index-linked savings certificates really work.

And there is was also a sting in the tail for savers who make the most of their ISA allowance. In the last Budget, Osborne announced that the ISA limits would increase in line with inflation each year. However, the measure of inflation used to work out that increase will be the Consumer Prices Index rather than the Retail Prices Index, which means the thresholds will increase at a smaller rate.

Remember, if you want to make the most of this year’s allowance, There’s 12 days left to save £££.

Public services

One of the Labour government’s regular themes during its lengthy administration was investment in public services, whether that was on the NHS, education, the military or the many other areas of life that rely on public funding.

Of course, you can argue that too much was invested, given the issues now facing the nation’s finances, but it was interesting to see virtually no mentions of the health service or education.

On the plus side, workers employed in the NHS, the armed forces, prison service and teachers who earn less than £21,000 will receive a pay increase of £250. Obviously, that doesn’t go very far, but it’s better than nothing. But that was the only mention of the NHS in the entire speech.

Indeed, going through the Budget document itself there are almost no mentions of NHS or health generally at all.

Education

If there’s one segment of society that has clashed the most with the Coalition’s plans, it’s students. Indeed, the Government’s tuition fee plans led to repeated public protests across the country, from marches to sit ins.

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Students did not get a single mention in the Budget speech. There is good news for young people in that funding for 40,000 extra apprenticeships is in place, while the Government is also planning to fund 80,000 work experience places.

But on the subject of education itself, there was nothing at all, beyond the introduction of 24 University Technical Colleges. These colleges are partnerships between universities, colleges and businesses, and will cover 11-19 year olds, with the curriculum set by the ‘sponsors’. All lovely, but it’s not that relevant to the vast majority of families with children of school age.

Tony Blair got a lot of stick for his “education, education, education” mantra but it certainly led to a vast investment in the nation’s schools. Yet those schools didn’t merit a single mention from the Chancellor, beyond suggesting that our young workforce do not match up to our peers from the US, Germany and elsewhere.

Pensioners

It wouldn’t be a Budget without the announcement of some little boost for the nation’s elderly folk, whether it’s the heating allowance, bus passes or free TV licences.

But the lone mention of pensioners was in reference to Government plans to revamp the State Pension, something that has already been discussed at length, and won’t happen for years yet. It’s excellent reform, and badly needed, but it won’t do much for those Brits who have already retired. For more on the plans, have a read of State Pension to jump by £40 a week.

I know the Chancellor’s hands were tied, but he really couldn’t find the cash for some small pensioner-related gimmick? He is happy to subsidise the water bills of the South West, but can’t find a few pennies for the elderly? I find that very surprising.

Indeed, if anything the fact that the personal allowance is not increasing for pensioners, alongside the increase for the rest of us, could be interpreted as a hit on the nation’s older folk.

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