28 October 2026
The Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey has delivered his first budget, amid mounting pressure on household and public finances, sluggish growth and global economic headwinds.
The headline announcements include extending the VAT cut in electricity to July 2027 and the launch of a £2.6 billion Household Energy Payment, which will provide a £100 payment directly into bank accounts from January 2027 for households in England in council tax bands A to D. The Chancellor also removed import tariffs on more than 100 supermarket products, increased the national living and minimum wages, and extended the 5p fuel duty cut until July.
The IFoA Policy and Public Affairs Team has compiled a member briefing with further detail, outlining the key measures.
Commenting on the government’s Green Book discount rate proposals, the IFoA said: "The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) welcomes the government's response to the independent review of Green Book discounting and its decision to reduce the headline social discount rate.
"Discount rates play a critical role in public investment appraisal because they determine how future costs and benefits are valued in today's terms. Giving greater weight to long-term impacts has the potential to improve the appraisal of investments whose benefits accrue over many decades, including infrastructure, resilience, climate adaptation, preventative public services and other policies designed to deliver benefits for future generations.
"The IFoA particularly welcomes the recognition that discount rates should not be the sole determinant of decision-making. While discounting is an important tool, many of the most significant challenges facing society involve deep uncertainty, long time horizons and risks that cannot be fully captured through conventional cost-benefit analysis alone.
"Actuaries work extensively on long-term risk, uncertainty and investment decision-making across both the public and private sectors. From climate change and demographic change to resilience, public finances and financial stability, actuarial practice focuses on understanding how future risks and opportunities evolve over time and how decisions made today affect future generations.
"The IFoA's Green Book Reform Task and Finish Group contributed evidence to the independent review process through its work on Green Book reform and long-term public decision-making. The group's analysis highlighted the importance of considering resilience, uncertainty, transformational change and intergenerational impacts within appraisal, and argued that many of these challenges cannot be addressed through adjustments to the discount rate alone.
"The profession is therefore encouraged to see these themes reflected in both the independent review and the government's response. While the change in the discount rate is significant, the most important aspect of the reforms may be the recognition that discount rates alone cannot answer every policy question. Many of the decisions facing government, including those relating to climate resilience, infrastructure and long-term investment, require consideration of wider societal impacts, systemic risks and future uncertainties alongside traditional cost-benefit analysis.
"Through its Green Book Reform Task and Finish Group, the IFoA has engaged with HM Treasury and other stakeholders involved in the review process. The profession looks forward to continuing that engagement as the revised framework is implemented and as complementary approaches for assessing uncertainty, resilience, transformational change and intergenerational impacts are further developed across government."