Dad-of-two David Stuart has not been able to get child benefit payments for several years. On a salary of £70,000, he was deemed too high an earner. But in Wednesday’s Budget, the chancellor raised the income level at which people have to start paying back part of the benefit from £50,000 to £60,000. Claiming 50% child benefit for two children in 2024-25 would total £1,106.

West Lothian data analyst makes about £70,000 a year. His wife, who works as a childminder, earns around £10,000. Until now, child benefit claims have always been based on an individual’s income. Two parents earning £50,000 each would still be able to claim the payment in full.

But the chancellor has now announced plans to consult on allowing HMRC to collect household information. From April 2026 claims would be based on household income - something which David had called for. Joe Makin, 23, earns £22,000 a year working in admin. He says he had low expectations ahead of the Budget, so found it a smidgen more positive than he thought it would be.

He says: “These are small things that scratch the surface of what could be good, but as usual it never tends to go far enough for me. The 2p cut to National Insurance (NI) announced by the chancellor will leave him £188 a year better off, according to EY. Aga Szedzianis in Newham, east London says that while there was some good news in the Budget, she would have liked to see more help for working parents. Aga and her husband earn more than £50,000 each as associate architects so are subject to the 40% rate.

She says over the past few years, despite her salary going up, she wasn’t seeing much difference in her take-home pay as a result. Aga and her husband will be £2,603 better off in 2024-25, thanks to the NI and child benefit changes. But she adds: “The child benefit change helps but it would be great if it was directed more towards childcare itself. Rebecca Bostock earns £27,000 working as a case manager in the motor industry.

She and her husband may be able to start paying into their pensions again. The 45-year-old would love to buy her own home but says saving for a deposit is not possible. The changes to NI will give Rebecca savings of £288 a year, EY says. That will only be about £24 a month extra, which unfortunately won’t make any difference to my situation at all, says Rebecca.

But on the other hand it does fund social care, the NHS etc, without whom we would be lost.

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