The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt has confirmed that the next UK Budget will take place on Wednesday, 6 March 2024. This will be the Chancellor’s second Budget and will include the government's tax and spending plans as well as new growth and borrowing forecasts. Various pundits are suggesting that selecting a Budget date in early March leaves the possibility of a general election as early as May 2024. The next general election is required to take place by January 2025.

There may be a round of new tax-cuts and changes as the government works to attract voters and narrow the gap against Labour. Details of all the Budget announcements will be made on a special section of the GOV.UK website which will be updated following completion of the Chancellor’s speech.

The Budget will be published alongside the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). This forecast will be in addition to that published for the Autumn Statement and fulfil the obligation for the OBR to produce at least two forecasts in a financial year, as is required by legislation.

The OBR has executive responsibility for producing the official UK economic and fiscal forecasts, evaluating the government’s performance against its fiscal targets, assessing the sustainability of and risks to the public finances and scrutinising government tax and welfare spending.

Businesses are set to benefit from savings as import labels are made digital for the first time.

• New legislation to introduce digital labelling for British businesses to cut red tape and save millions in unnecessary regulation costs.
• Recognition of CE marking continued for products such as toys and machinery, easing burdens to businesses.
• Digital labelling reforms made possible by Brexit and ensures the UK’s regulatory requirements are fit for the modern world.

The government hopes that digital labelling will allow businesses to place important regulatory or manufacturing information online rather than requiring them to physically print it on their products – saving time and money which can be pushed towards scaling up and growing companies.

This measure has been made possible by leaving the EU and provides greater flexibility than the EU’s regulatory requirements while better reflecting the modern and digital world of business and international trade.

The change follows the Product Safety Review consultation and extensive industry engagement – looking at ways to cut costs while benefitting consumers and ensuring regulatory systems are agile. The move towards digital labelling has been an issue industry has lobbied for consistently.

This comes as part of a wider range of measures covered by the smarter regulation programme, which ensures our laws and regulatory regime are better tailored to the interests of UK businesses, consumers and the economy.

This announcement does not apply to regulations for medical devices, construction products, marine equipment, rail products, cableways, transportable pressure equipment and unmanned aircraft systems, led by relevant government departments.