Two days before the Budget, the Prime Minister announced that the cap for single bus fares would be increased to £3 from its current £2.
The current fare cap is due to expire at the end of 2024. Without intervention, prices for some routes looked set to rise significantly. The new £3 cap will run until the end of 2025.
The cap means that no single bus fare on routes that are included in the scheme can exceed £3. Routes where the fare is less than £3 can only increase in line with inflation.
For workers that are reliant on bus fares, the new cap means an increase in their costs but at least continues to provide some relief.
See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-1-billion-to-boost-bus-services-across-the-country-as-bus-fares-capped-at-3
For the first time, government departments have set individual targets for how much they will spend with small and medium-sized businesses (SME). In total, the government plans to spend £7.4 billion a year with SMEs by 2028.
For shareholders of owner-managed companies, dividends are still one of the most tax-efficient ways to take money out of the company. But with these increases coming in, it will be worth taking a fresh look at your extraction strategy.