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Autumn Budget 2024 and Finance Bill 2024-25: Progress of the Bill

On 30 October 2024, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, presented the Autumn Budget.

Following the Budget speech, the Chancellor introduced 62 ‘ways and means resolutions’ (PDF). Ways and means resolutions are used by the Commons to authorise the government to levy taxation or other charges on the public. Each of the 62 ways and means resolutions introduced by the Chancellor covered one measure to be included in the Finance Bill 2024-25. The House has to agree to the resolutions before the bill is introduced, so they are the ‘founding’ resolutions of the bill.

In the week following the Budget, the Treasury Select Committee held three oral evidence sessions on the Budget 2024 announcements.

Following the completion of the Treasury Committee’s evidence sessions on 6 November, the House agreed to all resolutions (some on division) and the Finance Bill 2024-25 was introduced.

The bill has 87 clauses and 13 schedules. The bill and its explanatory notes can be viewed on parliament.uk. The bill extends to the whole of the UK.

What Budget measures are included in the Finance Bill?

Several of the measures announced in the Budget (such as the introduction of VAT on private school fees and the increase in the rate of the energy profits levy) are included in the Finance Bill 2024-25.

What Budget measures are not included in the bill?

Some of the measures that were announced in the Budget are not included in the bill. Namely:

• the announcement that agricultural property relief and business property relief for inheritance tax would be capped at a combined value of £1 million. This is proposed to be implemented from April 2026, and as a result is not included in this bill.
• the increase in employer national insurance contributions. The Library has published a research briefing on the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill 2024-25.

What happened at second reading?

The bill received its second reading on 27 November 2024. While opposition MPs agreed with some measures in the bill, they also criticised several measures.

The Official Opposition tabled a reasoned amendment to decline a second reading, citing a number of factors including its objection to the introduction of VAT on private school fees.

The Liberal Democrats also tabled a reasoned amendment opposing the bill, which was not selected for debate.

The Conservatives’ reasoned amendment was selected for debate but was negatived on division (112 ayes to 333 noes).

The bill passed its second reading on division (332 ayes to 176 noes).

What happened during the committee of the whole House?

It is customary that a selection of the Finance Bill’s clauses is debated in a ‘committee of the whole House’, where the Chamber sits as a committee. The Commons agreed to a programme motion committing the following issues to committee of the whole House:

• changes to capital gains tax (clauses 7 to 12, schedules 1 and 2)
• changes to the energy profits levy (clauses 15 to 18, schedule 3)
• the introduction of VAT on private school fees (clauses 47 to 49)
• changes to stamp duty land tax (clauses 50 to 53)

The committee of the whole House stage took place on 10 and 11 December 2024. Although the committee divided on several new clauses tabled by opposition parties, all amendments were rejected and the original, unamended clauses were agreed to.

What happened during public bill committee?

The rest of the clauses were debated in a public bill committee. Public bill committee took place over four sessions on 28 and 30 January 2025. The membership included 11 Labour MPs, four Conservatives and two Liberal Democrats. The committee agreed to 65 amendments and one new clause, all tabled by the government and all technical in nature. These amendments were not opposed in committee.

Opposition parties (primarily the Official Opposition) moved several new clauses in public bill committee. Many of these new clauses would have mandated the government to review the effects of provisions included in the bill (PDF). All of the new clauses moved by opposition parties were rejected on division.

Relevant Library briefings

The Library has published research briefings on:

• VAT on private school fees
• Taxation of North Sea oil and gas
• Stamp Duty Land Tax: Current situation and developments since 2020

Capital gains tax: recent developments