Chancellor John Healey is due to deliver his first Budget on Wednesday 28 October, and the government has confirmed in advance that import tariffs on marmalade, gherkins and more than 100 other products will be removed, the BBC reported. Marmalade imports will no longer face a 20 per cent tariff and an additional £19 charge per 100kg. Ministers present the move as practical help with living costs rather than a large spending programme.

Source: BBC News, via Parliament News — What to expect from Healey's first Budget

£21 a yearMaximum household saving the government cites from the tariff changes, combined with suspensions already in place
100+Everyday products whose import tariffs will be removed
20% + £19 per 100kgMarmalade tariff being suspended
55p a mileTax-free mileage rate for work driving up to 10,000 miles, to be made permanent

The full list published so far includes baked beans, chocolate, gherkins at a 12 per cent tariff, garlic at 8 per cent plus £100 per 100kg, citrus jams, marmalades and pastes, throat pastilles and cough drops at 8 per cent, boiled sweets and toffees at 8 per cent, plant-based drinks at 8 per cent, chocolate-coated waffles at 8 per cent, kerosene at 4 per cent and fertilisers at between 2 and 6.5 per cent, SME Magazine reported. The changes build on tariff suspensions introduced in June on 125 everyday essentials, including pasta, fruit juice and tuna.

Source: SME Magazine — List of latest 'everyday essentials' tariff cuts

Four other 'everyday fixes' complete the package. The tax-free mileage rate of 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles of work driving becomes permanent, and the rate above 10,000 miles rises from 25p to 35p — worth £120 a year for a worker driving 6,000 business miles and £300 for 15,000 miles, the government said. Carer's allowance loses its cliff edge: instead of losing the whole payment after earning a penny over the limit, carers will lose £1 of support for every extra £1 earned. Self-employed fathers gain two weeks of paternity pay worth up to £194 a week, with parental pay extended to more than 150,000 additional parents a year. Fuel duty will be frozen again with the 5p discount continued, and hundreds of additional Post Office parcel drop boxes are planned, The Brief reported.

Source: The Brief — Healey plans import tax cuts on marmalade and gherkins

Healey said the wars in Iran and Ukraine had 'hit families here at home through higher everyday costs', adding: 'We can't control global events, but we can act where we can make a difference.' He said the measures would give families 'breathing space'. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: 'We are taking on the big challenges facing the country. But that doesn't mean losing sight of the everyday problems that cost people money or simply aren't fair.' The Conservatives dismissed the package: shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith called the offer of 'cheaper gherkins' an 'insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises', according to BBC reporting of the Conservative response. Most other tax and spending changes in Wednesday's Budget remain speculation until Healey makes his statement.

Yaani: the headline saving is up to £21 a year — yaani about £1.75 a month on a family's food shop. Together, the two tariff packages are expected to reduce costs for consumers by between £245 million and £595 million a year — yaani roughly £24.5 crore to £59.5 crore in total across the UK (one crore pounds is £10 million). Whether shoppers see the full saving depends on how much of each tariff cut retailers pass on in shelf prices.