BUDGETS are often evaluated these days not solely on what is in them, but also how the financial markets react to them.

The full impact normally takes a couple of days and is often negative, sometimes catastrophically, as in the case of the Liz Truss mini budget in 2022 for which we are all still paying.

The reason many politicians closely follow the money markets is because government debt inherited by this government from the last is so high that £1 in every £10 goes on just the interest on the debt. If the interest rate on that debt goes up, that means less money to spend on schools, hospitals, roads and the other infrastructure we need to rebuild.

However, as well as the money markets remaining remarkably stable, the Chancellor John Healey’s first budget also included a raft of measures to support people with the cost of living. My three main standout policy areas were households, energy and high streets.

On support for households, the government is extending the cut on fuel duty to July 1, 2027. Fuel duty is as low now as it has been at any point for over 16 years; supporting two million employees and one million self-employed people across the UK who use their own vehicles for work, by permanently increasing the mileage rates.

The 55p per mile rate for the first 10,000 business miles for cars and vans will be made permanent; suspending tariffs on all UK imports of over 100 food products, expected to reduce consumer costs by £120-185 million per annum; raising the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wages, expected to benefit 2.3 million workers; expanding parental pay to include self-employed fathers, partners and adopters, expected to benefit over 150,000 parents per year; and giving carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance greater flexibility to work without the fear of losing out financially.

On energy, as well as extending the VAT cut on electricity to July 2027, the government is spending £2.6 billion to provide a £100 Household Energy Payment from January for around 80% of households in England, those in council tax bands A-D. The government will also abolish the unfair standing charges on gas bills – and look at the standing charges on electricity bills next year.

On high streets, from April 2027, retail, hospitality and leisure properties will see their business rates either frozen in real terms, reduced, or cut to zero, with half of all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses paying no business rates at all, benefiting over 6,400 Cornish businesses.

An extra 20% reduction for 28,000 pubs, social clubs and live music venues; an increase to the Small Business Rate Relief threshold so a further 70,000 retail, hospitality and leisure businesses pay no business rates at all.

And the government will deliver a two-year real-terms freeze for all retail, hospitality and leisure properties to cap bill increases at inflation, including hairdressers, salons, cafes, restaurants and pubs, as well as making Small Producer Relief in the alcohol duty system more generous by providing £10 million per year of support to over 2,000 small alcohol producers across the UK.