Wednesday’s Budget proved to be a mixed bag for the heritage sector.
Charitable Giving / Tax Measures Affecting Charities: see paras 1.137–1.140 p 37 / paras 2.112–2.119 p 60 Budget 2011
Amongst what he described as “the most radical and most generous reforms to charitable giving for more than twenty years” the Chancellor announced that the Government would simplify Gift Aid administration to an “easier” online system by 2013 and that Gift Aid benefit limits would increase from £500 to £2500 “so that charities and museums can say thank you properly.” In a further welcome announcement, Mr Osborne also confirmed that charities will be able to claim Gift Aid on small donations (up to £5000 in total) without filling in any paperwork. On incentivising giving, measures included a pledge that those who leave 10 per cent or more of their estate to charity will receive a 10 per cent discount off their Inheritance Tax rate (to be introduced from April 2012) and a commitment to a 2011 consultation on how to encourage “the donations of pre-eminent works of art and historical objects to our nation in return for a tax deduction.” The Government expects these measures will benefit charities to the tune of £300 million.
Skills and Youth Unemployment: see paras 1.114 – 1.118 p 33 Budget 2011
On the ‘skills gap’, Mr Osborne said the Government would be funding a total of 250,000 more apprenticeships over the next four years and opening 24 new University Technical Colleges, which will provide 11-19 year olds with vocational training.
Planning Reform: see paras 1.82 – 1.84 p 29 Budget 2011 / paras 1.34 – 2.38 p 29 The Plan for Growth
More debatable was the Chancellor’s rhetoric on the planning system, which he described as “a chronic obstacle to economic growth”; echoing earlier similar comments from the Prime Minister and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles. Amongst a raft of planning reforms, Osborne pledged that “from today we will expect all bodies involved in planning to prioritise growth and jobs”; that the Government would “introduce a powerful new presumption in favour of sustainable development, so that the default answer to development is ‘yes’”; that the Government would “localise choice about the use of previously developed land, removing nationally imposed targets while retaining existing controls on greenbelt land”; that it will “produce a shorter, more focused and inherently pro-growth National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)” by the end of 2011; “introduce new powers so that businesses are able to bring forward neighbourhood plans and neighbourhood development orders”; ensure that “all planning applications and appeals will be processed in 12 months and that major infrastructure projects will be fast-tracked” and “allow certain use class changes, introduce time limits on applications and pilot for the first time ever auctions of planning permission on land.”
For the full detail of all the planning reforms, see paras 1.34 – 2.38 p 29 of The Plan for Growth. For the full Budget document click here or for the Chancellor’s statement to the House click here.