Paras Mercioniu
Court of Protection
Autumn Budget 2024
A new government with new Chancellor Rachel Reeves used the budget speech to address the long-awaited news on how she intends to meet not only the often mentioned £22bn deficit, but the £40bn she says is needed to prevent further cuts to government departmental budgets.
Samantha Hamilton, head of the Court of Protection department at Mullis & Peake LLP, said:
“For our elderly and vulnerable clients, there seems little protection from cuts. The loss of the Winter Fuel Payment to those who fail to qualify for Pension Credit is hard felt when the freeze on the personal allowance for income tax leads to taxation of the state pension for increasing numbers.
The VAT charge for private schooling increases the cost for parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) unless the local authority has permitted funding under an education, health and care plan (EHCP). Waiting years for an assessment and then waiting further for the EHCP means parents opt to scrimp and save to pay for private schooling for a child with SEN but will now face a 20% increase on fees from January 2025.
It seems the protection for “working people” is at a cost for older and vulnerable people who do not (or cannot) work.”