UK Budget plan expands rough sleeping funding ahead of fiscal statement

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UK Budget expands rough sleeping funding

Highlights

Chancellor to announce £432 million extension tackling rough sleeping, raising total investment to £874 million and aiming to help all rough sleepers by Christmas.
Healey set to drop fuel duty hike, deliver a targeted cost of living plan, and hike taxes on banks and gambling to offset higher borrowing costs within the £23.6 billion fiscal headroom.
Budget to launch £285 million for regional devolution, £1 billion for social housing, scrapping of non-compete clauses for most entrepreneurs, and capital gains tax rollover relief proposal.

Budget measures before Wednesday statement

As reported by the Financial Times, Andy Burnham is set to announce on Monday a £432 million plan to tackle rough sleeping, extending support beyond March 2027 and taking total investment tied to the pledge to £874 million.

The government says everyone sleeping rough in England will be offered a route off the street or support before Christmas, a policy presented as a personal priority for the prime minister. The move comes as Healey prepares a Budget that Treasury insiders describe as intended to do no harm to the recovery while preserving returning business confidence.

Other measures expected in the package include a time-limited cost of living plan focused mainly on lower-income households as energy bills rise through the winter. A planned fuel duty increase next year is also expected to be dropped, while Healey is preparing to absorb higher government borrowing costs linked to the Iran war by allowing part of the £23.6 billion fiscal headroom inherited from predecessor Rachel Reeves to be reduced.

The chancellor is also expected to raise taxes to rebuild some of that buffer, with a higher profits surcharge on banks and increased taxes on the gambling sector seen as key revenue measures. Alongside that, a separate package aimed at reducing the cost of business and supporting entrepreneurs is due to feature in the Budget.

Entrepreneurs, regions and housing in focus

Devolution is also set to be a central theme, with Communities Secretary Angela Rayner announcing an initial £285 million to help local leaders across England deliver what the government calls good growth. Ministers have also announced a £7 million fund to explore a future UK bid to host the Olympic Games in the 2040s, as well as an additional £1 billion for social housing.

Healey has told colleagues he wants the Budget to include targeted help for entrepreneurs, particularly younger founders. The package is expected to confirm the scrapping of non-compete clauses after complaints from tech founders that they restrict hiring in fast-growing sectors, although financial services is likely to receive a carve-out while consultations continue on notice periods and gardening leave.

The Treasury is also preparing a scheme to defer capital gains tax when business sale proceeds are reinvested in the UK within a set timeframe, an approach often described as rollover relief. That measure has long been sought by technology founders, though Brent Hoberman, founder of lastminute.com and chair of Founders Forum, says the sector is still waiting for detail on the scale of the relief, which is expected to be funded through changes to the existing Business Asset Disposal Relief.

In our earlier coverage of John Healey’s Budget stance, we examined his commitment to an IMF-backed deficit-reduction path ahead of the October statement, even as growth data showed only modest resilience. We also highlighted the pressure on the chancellor to pair fiscal discipline with measures that ease cost-of-living and business strains, against a backdrop of higher borrowing costs linked to the Iran war.

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