Clearview North February 2014 - Issue 147 | Page 69
BUSINESSNEWS
LET’S FINISH THE JOB
Chancellor George Osborne gave a keynote speech on the economy setting out the
economic choice facing Britain in 2014 and explaining the five components of the
government’s long-term economic plan to build a stronger, more competitive economy.
The Chancellor was speaking
at component manufacturer
Sertec Group’s new Head Office
in Coleshill, Birmingham,
on a day that the company
announced that it plans to take
on 400 additional people over
the next four years.
The Chancellor pointed to
evidence that Britain’s hard work
is paying off and that, “For the
first time in a long time, there’s
a real sense that Britain is on the
rise.”
But as the New Year begins, he
also wanted to warn against any
complacency that the hard part of
the job is done. The Chancellor
said: “That’s why 2014 is the year
of hard truths. The year when
Britain faces a choice. Do we
say: the worst is over; back we go
to our bad habits of borrowing
and spending and living beyond
our means – and let the next
generation pay the bill?
“Or do we say to ourselves:
yes, because of our plan, things
are getting better. But there is
still a long way to go – and there
are big, underlying problems we
have to fix in our economy. More
repairs. More cuts. More difficult
decisions.
“That’s the choice in 2014: to go
on working through a plan that
is delivering for Britain, putting
us back in control of our destiny
with the security and peace of
mind that brings; or squander
what we’ve achieved and go back
to economic ruin.
“Ultimately it’s your choice – a
choice for the British people.”
He then set out the five
components of his long-term
economic plan to build a stronger,
more competitive, economy to
secure a better future for hardworking families and future
generations by:
• cutting the deficit
• reducing taxes for hardworking
people
• creating more jobs by backing
business
• capping immigration and
welfare
• delivering the best schools and
skills
‘Ultimately it’s
your choice - a
choice for the
British people’
The chancellor said the current
forecasts implied further cuts of
around 25 billion over two years
by 2017-18. He said there would
need to be a further £12 billion of
welfare savings.
Help to Buy sees £1 billion of
new loans and supports 6,000
applicants in 3 months
In just 12 weeks, nearly 750 homeowners have
completed their purchases and hundreds were
able to spend Christmas in their new homes.
Less than 3 months on from
the start of the Help to Buy
mortgage guarantee scheme,
over 6,000 people have put in
offers on a home and applied
for a mortgage, Prime Minister
David Cameron announced.
Nearly £1 billion
of new lending
In November, ministers published
figures showing that in the first
month of the scheme more than
2,000 people had put in offers on
homes and applied for a Help to
Buy mortgage. That number has
now trebled to more than 6,000.
The mortgages, once approved,
would represent nearly £1 billion
of new lending to aspiring home
owners who may have previously
found the property market out-ofreach because of the size of deposit
required.
As part of the long-term
economic plan to build a stronger,
more competitive economy to
secure a better future for Britain,
the government is committed to
increasing the supply of housing
and supporting those who aspire to
own their own home.
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New figures also show that an
additional 20,000 households
have also been supported by the
Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme,
a separate scheme where the
government provides an interestfree loan to support the purchase
of the newly built home.
House building is now growing
at its fastest rate since 2008,
and it is clear house building
will remain a critical part of our
economic recovery.
Prime Minister David Cameron
said: “The New Year is often a
time when people look to make
those big life-changing decisions
like moving home or taking that
first step on the housing ladder.
“But too many people have
found themselves frozen out of
the market in recent years as a
result of the size of the deposit
required.
“That is why, as part of our
long-term economic plan, we
introduced the Help to Buy
scheme, so hardworking people
with sufficient earnings can get
on, fulfil their aspirations and
enjoy the securi