As the new Autumn Budget lands, the government has made some bold moves, and some more subtle shifts. For Angels Connect, today’s announcements offer real reason for guarded optimism, but also amplify the urgency for robust community-level action.

What gives cause for hope/ relief for many families

• The government has scrapped the two-child welfare limit. From spring 2026, families with more than two children on means-tested benefits will no longer be automatically capped. The switch is expected to lift around 450,000–560,000 children out of poverty, compared with previous policy. 

• That change could mean meaningful breathing room for many low-income households – an easing of pressure on families struggling with rising costs of living. For those of our clients juggling rent, food, energy bills and uncertain incomes, that extra benefit could make the difference between coping, or crisis.

• At the same time, the Budget continues to recognise the need for sustained public investment. The government signals long-term capital spending and an expanded commitment to public services in the next years. 

• For Angels Connect this reaffirms that welfare reforms and public-service investment remain high-stakes levers in reducing systemic poverty, and that policy changes still matter.

But many elements of today’s Budget risk deepening financial stress

• The Budget also introduces a package of tax and fiscal changes raising a projected £26 billion by 2029/30. These include freezing thresholds for income tax and National Insurance, reforming pension contributions (including ending certain salary-sacrifice benefits), and raising tax on dividend, property and savings income – measures which, while targeting wealth and high earners, may still squeeze people living on variable incomes over time. 

• Because thresholds are frozen – rather than overt rate increases – many people on low or middle incomes could effectively see their tax burden rise over time, especially if wages remain stagnant. For households already under strain, that stealth tax increase may erode any gains from welfare reforms.

• At the same time, new charges, such as planned mileage-based levies for electric vehicles beginning 2028, and other indirect tax rises, add layers of complexity and potential cost increases. 

• There’s also no guarantee that increased public spending will immediately translate into scaled-up support for frontline community services – advice agencies, foodbanks, debt counselling, digital-inclusion efforts. Where resources end at high-level spending, grassroots poverty relief may go under-funded.

What this means for Angels Connect: now is the moment to act

The Budget underscores precisely why Angels Connect’s mission remains vital, perhaps more than ever. Policy shifts can create openings. But for those openings to be more than just rhetoric, we need robust, community-level delivery.

• As more families gain access to benefits thanks to the lifted cap, demand for debt and welfare advice – the core of Angels Connect – will likely rise. Our network and referral infrastructure must be ready to absorb and respond to increased need.

• The stealthier tax changes risk pushing more people toward precarious finances, meaning more people may need support, whether with budgeting, debt, benefits access or simply stabilising their household. Angels Connect must be positioned to respond swiftly.

• This Budget could represent a pivotal moment: a chance to move from policy promise to real-world financial resilience. But only if the civil-society sector, funders and local authorities commit to ensuring that increased public funds are matched by strengthened community-level infrastructure.

A call to solidarity from policymakers, funders, and community partners

If this Budget’s welfare reforms are to deliver real justice and inclusion, then:

• Policymakers must follow through – ensuring that additional welfare spending and public investment are not swallowed by central bureaucracy, but channelled toward local infrastructure: foodbanks, debt advice, housing support, and holistic inclusion programmes.

• Funders and donors must recognise the shift – as increased benefit eligibility could generate higher demand for support services, we need investment not only in emergency response (food, crisis support) but in sustainable advice, prevention and empowerment.

• Community organisations must collaborate – and scale up intelligently. Angels Connect’s referral-based, triaged model is exactly what’s needed to translate welfare reform into real human dignity. We must strengthen our networks, deepen partnerships, and prepare now.

• We must frame today’s Budget not as an end – but a milestone. Welfare changes are important. But they only succeed if matched with strong delivery on the ground, financial literacy, affordable credit access, and community support systems. That remains our mission.

In short: the budget brings hope, especially for larger families finally spared a punitive welfare cap. But at the same time, its broader fiscal strategy leans heavily on tax rises, spending freezes and indirect levies – moves that risk widening inequality if not properly managed.

For Angels Connect (and everyone committed to financial inclusion) this is a moment to double down. Not just to celebrate the wins, but to build the systems that turn promise into sustainable public-good – one family, one household, one community at a time.