Autumn statement could lead to council tax rise in North Yorkshire

But, in line with promises to increase home ownership made by his Conservative Party before elections earlier this year, Osborne will offer a range of incentives to encourage affordable houses to be built.

“This Spending Review is still one of the tightest in post-war history”, he said.

“That reinforces how welcome the Chancellor’s decision to reverse those changes is”.

John McDonnell said: “We said this was a smoke and mirror spending review and we were right”.

Cuts to Britain’s welfare and police budgets will not go ahead following widespread criticism of the United Kingdom government’s plans.

In his speech to MPs in the House of Commons, Osborne said: “I’ve had representations that these changes to tax credits should be phased in”. It is an entirely different system to the current one, taking in six different tax credits and benefits – with none of the cliff edges of tax credits.

The consolidation of several benefits into a single Universal Credit, a plan left untouched by Osborne, will leave around 2.6 million working families 1,600 pounds a year worse off on average, he said.

However, no individual families will lose out. This will ensure large businesses share the cost of training, but businesses with a wage bill below £3 million won’t have to pay.

Only new claimants will receive less money.

In fact, Universal Credit will be introduced gradually up to around 2020.

“The forecasts will change again, and by a lot more than they have over the past few months”.

But these fears were an unnecessary worry, as it was revealed yesterday that there will be a £27bn improvement in public finances, meaning that the Office for Budget Responsibility will be able to help on tax credits.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will “need his luck to hold out” if he is to meet his surplus goal by 2020, after scaling back the severity of budget cuts, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said.

“If he is unlucky – and that’s pretty much a 50/50 shot – he will either have to revisit the spending decisions, raise taxes, or abandon the target”.

The IFS also highlighted the tax rises contained in the statement.

COUNCIL tax in North Yorkshire could rise in the wake of the Government’s comprehensive spending review.

Mr Osborne said he would still be able to deliver the promised £12bn in welfarecuts over the next five years while balancing the books by the end of the Parliament.

Johnson said: “There is no question that the cuts will be less severe than implied in July”.

However, Mr Osborne said there would be a 50% increase in spending on transport schemes to £61bn and £2bn for flood protection.

Paul Johnson, the IFS chief executive, said: “He really is cutting spending on non-pension benefits to its lowest level – relative to national income – for 30 years”.

“The changes to local government financing and devolution are genuinely radical and could transform both the role of local government and the UK’s fiscal architecture”.