Eradicating rough sleeping?
The Conservatives' 2019 manifesto promised to end the "blight of rough sleeping" by the next election. At the time, then-PM Boris Johnson said homelessness "cannot be right" and pledged he would "work tirelessly" to end it.
openDemocracy found this was unlikely to happen, with some of the key policies aimed to help those without homes still in the pilot stage.
Minimum wage rises in April
In his Autumn Statement, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a rise in minimum wage from £10.42 an hour to £11.44 per hour, if you are over 21. This will come in on 1 April.
New migration rules
The government has spent hundreds of millions of pounds – and almost as many hours – fighting for its cruel Rwanda scheme, which was again found to be unlawful in November, this time by the UK's Supreme Court. In response to that ruling, the government rushed through new legislation, hoping to reverse the findings of the Supreme Court and attempt to rule out future legal challenges. Next year, the Safety of Rwanda Bill will face amendments from MPs and the Lords, where it could struggle to make it to legislation in its current form going by the strong opposition from many in the Tories, let alone the opposition.
But what has been confirmed is a new range of measures intended to reduce legal migration to the UK, which impacts those whose loved ones aren't UK citizens.
This includes social care workers not being allowed to bring partners or children on their visa. It also includes a hike in the minimum income requirement for someone's spouse to be sponsored for a visa. The Home Office had planned to raise this to £38,700, but within weeks announced a U-turn following a fierce backlash, saying the threshold would rise to £29,000 instead. That's still an increase of more than £10,000, though. These controversial changes are set to be introduced in spring 2024.
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