#as2014

Following the last autumn statement before the general election, please find herewith a summary of the main areas covered by the Chancellor.

The previously announced sweeping changes, to how pension benefits can be taken and passed on through the generations, remain intact.

During the Autumn Statement this afternoon, George Osborne announced changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). SDLT is a tax which is charged on the purchase of residential property, with the purchaser liable to the tax.

Under the old rules, stamp duty was charged on the entire property price. Under the new rules, which become effective on 4 December 2014, stamp duty will now be due on the portion…

Autumn Statement 2014: The Headlines

George Osborne has delivered his final Autumn Statement before the General Election next year.

Here are 10 headlines which caught our eye:

The personal allowance will increase to £10,600 for 2015/16.

The 40% higher rate tax threshold will rise to £42,385 for 2015/16.

Fuel duty has been frozen.

Air Passenger Duty will be scrapped for under 12’s from 1 May 2015, extended to under 16’s from 1 March…

Post: 3 December 2014

On first reading there do not appear to be any new announcements of consequence related to open data in today's Autumn Statement. However following are a few points about data sharing etc., some of which add detail to policies we already knew about:

1.171 The government is also announcing support for all alternative finance providers by naming the big banks that will be required to open up access to their credit data and refer on any SMEs that they turn down for finance, and support for fintech firms who want to use bank data to help consumers and small businesses make better decisions. Gocompare are the first comparison website to commit to launching a Midata current account tool, and intend to make the service available from 1 April 2015. Building on this, the government is keen to enable more innovation around bank data and will launch a Call for Evidence on how to deliver standardised Application Programming Interfaces in the banking industry.

2.47 Planning: small applications – The government will publish new data on local authorities’ performance in meeting their statutory duty to process smaller planning applications within 8 weeks.

2.176 Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in banking – Following publication of a Government commissioned report on APIs and open data, the government will launch a Call for Evidence on how APIs could be used in banking. This will enable financial technology companies to develop innovative solutions to allow customers to make better comparisons between different banks and financial products.

2.177 Midata comparison – To help customers switch to the best current account for them, Gocompare are the first comparison website to commit to launching a Midata current account tool, and they intend to make the service available from 1 April 2015.

2.180 Sharing Small and Medium Enterprise credit data – The government plans to designate Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, Santander, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Bank, and Danske Bank under proposals in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill. These banks will be required to share SME credit data with other lenders through credit reference agencies and share information on SMEs which have been declined for finance.

2.219 Green space map – Ordnance Survey will create a free online map of all the publicly accessible green space in England and Wales. The data will be made freely available to users.

The Government commissioned report mentioned in 2.176 is here: Data Sharing and Open Data for Banks by the Open Data Institute and Fingleton Associates.