CENTRAL Devon MP and treasury minster Mel Stride has hailed the Budget delivered by the chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond on Monday (October 29) as a ‘major boost’ for small businesses, armed services and the NHS.

In a marked change in policy, the chancellor announced billions of pounds of extra public spending and brought forward tax cuts — critics have said that the chancellor’s declarations that austerity is ‘finally coming to an end’ are premature and that by some calculations, some departments might even still face cuts despite the increase in spending.

Mr Stride praised the new UK digital services tax on revenues of tech giants from 2020 as vital to ensuring that large corporations pay their fair share of tax.

Mr Stride, who as financial secretary to the treasury worked closely with the chancellor on the budget, said: ‘Today’s budget delivered the Government’s promise to provide £20.5-billion more funding for our NHS — an average real growth rate in the NHS budget of 3.4% a year.

‘It will also support local councils with an additional £650-million for social care, £84-million for children’s social care programmes over five years and £420-million for fixing potholes — funding which will be especially welcome for rural counties like Devon.

‘A one-off boost of £400-million for our schools will provide around an injection of £10,000 for our primary schools and £50,000 for our secondary schools.’

Mr Stride also welcomed measures to help families with the cost of living, adding: ‘The National Living Wage will increase by nearly 5% to £8.21 an hour, delivering a £690 annual pay rise to a full-time worker, and the amount a worker can earn before paying income tax will rise to £12,500, saving the average tax payer £1,205 in income tax compared to 2010. Fuel duty will be frozen for the ninth consecutive year – another move which will benefit rural counties where the majority of families rely on their cars.’

Other notable announcements in the Budget include a freeze on beer, cider and spirits duties, a rise in the personal allowance threshold (the rate at which people start paying income tax at 20%), fuel duty to be frozen for the ninth year in a row, an extra £160-million for counter terrorism police and a new tax on plastic packaging which does not contain at least 30% recyclable material.