First, we should not let it pass that after 800 years this was the first budget ever by a female Chancellor of the Exchequer, which members should find inspiring – the glass ceiling broken for another of the very top jobs. My key takeaway messages are divided between ‘what’s in it for me?’ the direct impacts on personal finances, and the wider ‘what’s in it for society?’ increases in public investment and economic growth which may lead to longer-term opportunities for members in new jobs and services.

For our personal finances, we can quickly cut through the hullabaloo of who is or who is not a worker: most members will have less in their pockets. Even with the promise of no new tax rises on the payslip, these decisions were set before the budget. The end of the winter fuel allowance for pensioners headlined, but far more members will suffer from 'fiscal drift', where the freeze on tax thresholds dating back to 2022 means more and more members will be drawn into paying income tax or move into a higher tax band.

There was more. Taxes on our vices were not forgotten – excise duties on cigarettes, vapes and alcohol were raised, although lucky draught beer drinkers got a 1p a pint cut. The Chancellor also said she would review thresholds for the sugar tax on soft drinks and consider extending it to milk-based beverages. For travellers, rail cards will be £5 more, the cap on bus fares increased from £2 to £3 (except Greater Manchester!) but vehicle excise duty surprisingly remained unchanged. Other large increases were very specific to those members liable for estate duty, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, VAT on school fees and non-domicile status.

It is a big budget, but it should also be seen as part of an even bigger package of initiatives with potential implications for members. The above inflation increases in the national minimum wage and living wage next April will help many workers. New employment rights legislation will give every member more ‘day one’ rights for sick pay and compassionate leave, more say on zero hours contracts and on flexible working. Member organisations will definitely feel the increased costs of these, particularly the increases in employers’ national insurance.

Polling by Ipsos Mori showed most of the public wanted a Budget that funded improvements in public services and set out a positive national economic plan. The Chancellor’s announcements of greatly increased borrowing for public investment will mean more money going into health, education, housing, construction, railways, and defence. Although there is bound to be a lag and the rate of progress depends on delivering economic growth predicted by the Office of Budget Responsibility, these sectors are the winners - especially £22bn over two years for the NHS - likely to create more jobs and services for members as programmes ramp up.

Finally, a goal close to the heart of Parliament Hill is the transition towards the sustainable organisation in a green economy. There was only a little in this budget to add to the previously announced creation of GB Energy, but the Chancellor was clearer about increased taxes on the oil and gas sector and some modest funding for investment in warmer homes, decarbonisation, renewables, and energy efficiency that will help us all.

The brutal truth is our own finances will be tighter and whenever personal disposable income is squeezed like this, it’s definitely worth devoting more of your energy into anything that yields more ‘bang for your buck.’ This is where having a member benefit scheme will be essential to helping your members stretch their everyday budget. Based on the data taken from our Savings Calculators across our clients’ scheme sites, their members could be saving £436 per year* just by using only a handful of offers. In many cases, this is double, even triple, the cost of their annual membership fee. This is a powerful message to share with your members to show they are getting additional value from your membership.

Dr Mark Pegg, Director, Chalfont Associates

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