UK Budget: tariffs cut on 100 foods and fuel duty frozen, saving up to £21 a year

Britain will scrap import tariffs on 100 food items and freeze fuel duty again, the BBC reported on Tuesday 27 October, as Chancellor John Healey previewed his first Budget, due on Wednesday 28 October. The government says the food cuts, together with tariff suspensions already made in June, could save a household up to £21 a year, or about 40p a week. At today's rate of Rs 369.46 to the pound, that is roughly Rs 7,760.

Healey is calling the package "breathing space" on the cost of living, and blamed the wars in Iran and Ukraine for higher everyday prices, the BBC said.

What is being cut

The tariff list announced so far includes:

• garlic and gherkins
• chocolate-coated wafers and waffles, boiled sweets, toffees and caramels
• citrus jams and marmalades
• throat pastilles and cough drops
• plant-based drinks made from soya, nuts, cereals or seeds
• kerosene, for homes that heat with oil, and fertilisers, for farmers

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC the measures were "not everything", but that with the summer cuts on pasta, fruit juice and tuna they would save about £500 million a year in total.

Fuel duty and the other measures

The BBC understands fuel duty will be frozen again, and the 5p-a-litre discount first brought in for 12 months in 2022 will continue. Other announcements:

• a 55p-a-mile tax-free mileage rate made permanent for the first 10,000 work miles, with the rate above that rising from 25p to 35p
• a taper for Carer's Allowance, so earning slightly over the limit no longer costs the whole payment
• two weeks of paternity pay for self-employed fathers, worth up to £194 a week
• hundreds more Post Office parcel drop boxes

The Times has reported the minimum wage for 18 to 20-year-olds may rise 3.9% to about £11.27 an hour, and the National Living Wage for over-21s 3.9% to £13.20. Those figures will only be confirmed on Wednesday.

What it means for British Pakistani families

For Britain's Pakistani community, from Birmingham and Bradford to Manchester and London, many of whom send money home every month, a £21 saving a year will not change much on its own. The fuel freeze matters more to anyone who drives for a living, such as taxi and delivery drivers, and the mileage rule helps anyone using their own car for work.

The pound has slipped slightly against the rupee this week, from Rs 370.18 on Monday to Rs 369.46 today. To see what a regular transfer home is worth, use our currency converter or the pound rate page.

The criticism

The Conservatives said the "everyday fixes" had already been wiped out by higher borrowing costs, taxes and inflation. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said shoppers faced rising costs at the till while the government offered "cheaper gherkins".

We will update this page with the full Budget numbers on Wednesday.