Spring Budget 2024: Six details for Londoners to be aware of from Jeremy Hunt's announcements

On Wednesday Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt published his spring Budget for 2024, with an eye on the pressures faced by the economy - and a forthcoming general election.

Among the headlines were a cut in National Insurance rates and an end to the 'non-dom' tax status.

The former affects many Londoners and the latter will also make a big difference for some in the capital.

Transport for London (TfL) infrastructure was absent from Budget, but here are six details for Londoners to be aware of:

1. Fuel Duty

Mr Hunt announced he would freeze fuel duty at its current level for 12 months, while aiming a dig at Sadiq Khan.

The chancellor said: “The Labour mayor of London wants to punish motorists even more with his ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone scheme) plans. But lots of families and sole traders depend on their car.”

The ULEZ was, of course, first conceived under Boris Johnson and Mr Khan's expansions have been signed off in the government's TfL funding deals.

Mr Hunt said that if not for the freeze, fuel duty would increase by 13% this month - although it's worth remembering that this is the 14th consecutive year that it has been frozen.

Responding to the budget, Mr Khan said: “This is another deeply disappointing Budget for London. There was no new money for transport infrastructure in the capital, that would have direct knock-on benefits to supply chains across the country and helped kick start economic growth.”

2. HS2 Euston

Mr Hunt said a ministerial taskforce will be created to "oversee the next stages of delivery of a privately financed HS2 Euston station".

The Euston Housing Delivery Group has been announced to support the building of homes.

3. Knife Crime and Violence

The budget includes £75m from 2025 to expand across England and Wales Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) and "hot spot policing" initiatives already present in London,

He said: "Violence Reduction Units and hot spot policing have prevented an estimated 136,000 knife crimes and other violent offences as well as over 3,000 hospital admissions."

VRUs coordinate between health boards, schools, and police to tackle violence and crime among young people. "Hot spot policing" focuses policing resources and funding towards locations where crime is concentrated.

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4. Police drones

Drones could be used to respond to reports of crimes, as part of a £230m investment in technology to improve police productivity and response times.

Mr Hunt said: “Police officers waste around eight hours a week on unnecessary admin.”

This funding aims to deliver pilot schemes for technology such as facial recognition, automating preliminary assessments of 101 calls, and deploying drones as first responders. An initial drone trial will be carried out in Norfolk, under the tag Project Eagle X. A timeline for any Met Police involvement has not been announced.

The government plans to establish a Centre for Police Productivity to support the police forces’ use of data.

Khan was critical of the budget’s provisions for policing, saying: “The Metropolitan Police continues to be chronically underfunded by government despite the unprecedented pressure on its resources.”

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5. Housing Investments

A total of £242m in investments will be allocated to Barking Riverside and Canary Wharf.

At Barking Riverside, £124m goes towards unlocking 7,200 homes.

Canary Wharf receives £118m for up to 750 homes, a life sciences hub, commercial and retail floor space, and a healthcare diagnostic facility.

Khan said: "Today’s budget demonstrates that ministers don’t understand the pressures Londoners are under, and they continue to starve London of the investment we need that would bring benefits to the whole country."

Devolution to Surrey

According to a YouGov poll commissioned by the Conservative British Alliance, Mr Hunt is at risk of losing his seat to the Liberal Democrats in the upcoming General Election. Since 2019, he has spent £100k of his own money to prop the local party coffers.

Mr Hunt has been MP for South West Surrey since 2005. At the next election, due to boundary changes, he will stand in Godalming and Ash.

In his speech, not only did he namecheck the Admiral pub in Ash, but he said: “I will devolve powers to […] the most beautiful county in England, Surrey.”