Autumn Statement 2016: Winners and losers revealed

As expected, this year's Autumn Statement was quite a sombre affair, but there were a couple of surprises.

Our sister magazine Money Observer rounds-up the winners and losers, explaining how various measures will impact your wallet.

Winners

Renters

Letting agents have been banned from charging tenants fees, which typically cost a couple of hundred pounds. For years there have been question marks over whether the charges levied for so-called administration fees outstrip the true costs involved.

It is unclear when the ban will be implemented, but when the legislation is given the green light the costs of administration will be absorbed by landlords.

However, while renters are initial winners, they may turn out to be longer-term losers if landlords end up edging rents higher in order to cover the extra costs.

Motorists

A couple of pieces of good news for motorists. Firstly, fuel duty will remain frozen for the seventh year on the spin, which the government says will save motorists £130 a year compared to what they would have been paying in 2010.

It was also announced the government will be taking a hard line on whiplash claims, which in turn could lead to insurance premiums being reduced by £40 a year on average for drivers in England and Wales.

Against that, an announced rise in the insurance premium tax, from 10% now to 12% next June, will add around £15 a year to the bill, estimates Consumer Intelligence.

Aspiring homeowners

The government has pledged to build new houses "where housing need is greatest". A total of £2.3 billion has been set aside to go into a new "Housing Infrastructure Fund", which will deliver up to 100,000 new homes.

Northerners

Rafts of spending measures were announced to boost local infrastructure, but chancellor Philip Hammond stressed that "economic growth in our country has been too concentrated in London and the south-east".

To address the productivity gap Hammond has handed more money to the north of England. He has set aside £556 million for the north, while £392 million will go to the Midlands, £151 million to the East of England, £492 million to London and the South East and £191 million to the South West.

Pensioners and savers

There was some good news for pensioners and savers. National Savings and Investments will be launching a new market-leading savings bond, paying 2.2% from next spring.

Elsewhere, the government says it plans to get tough on pension scammers. The proposals include banning businesses from cold-calling someone about their pension and stopping scammers targeting people who inadvertently opt-in to receiving third-party communications.

Losers

Tax avoiders

As it steps up its battle to tackle tax avoidance, the government said it will strengthen sanctions and deterrents for both corporates and individuals, and will take further action on disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes.

The economy

Economic growth forecasts have been cut for 2017, from 2.2% to 1.4%. The Office for Budget Responsibility has pencilled growth to come in at 1.7% in 2018, 2.1% in 2019, 2.1% in 2020 and 2% in 2021.

Uncertainty over how Britain's divorce negotiations with the European Union will pan out, together with weak sterling, has driven the growth projections lower.

Working pensioners

The value of contributions that can be paid into a pension pot once you have started taking an income from it - known as the money purchase annual allowance - will be slashed from £10,000 to £4,000 from April.

Private healthcare

A clampdown on salary sacrifice schemes was announced. These schemes are offered by employers and enable staff to divert some of their gross earnings into other employee benefits such as pensions or childcare schemes.

Some benefits, including pensions, will remain, but salary sacrifice for private health insurance benefits will be axed.

Employers of low-paid workforces

The national living wage will increase from £7.20 to £7.50 from April 2017. The government estimates this will net a pay rise for over a million workers.

For the latest news and expert analysis on the chancellor's maiden set-piece budget speech and its repercussions, make sure to check out Interactive Investor's Autumn Statement hub.

This article was originally published by our sister magazine Money Observer here

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.