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WHAT THE BUDGET MEANS FOR YOU

Wednesday March 12,2008

By Jack Teague for express.co.uk

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WE'VE summarised the key points made in the budget to find out what they mean to Daily Express readers.

For the family:
The Chancellor has pledged to invest £60 million into Education over the next three years. And £10 million will be ploughed into science over the next five.

£26 million has also been proposed to help families cut fuel bills.

Child benefit will also rise from April 2009 to £20-a-week, which comes into a force a year earlier than already proposed.

For drinkers and smokers:
Unsurprisingly smokers and drinkers will be hit harder than most. Cigarettes go up by 11p on a pack of 20. Alcohol in general will rise by 6p above the rate of inflation. Beer is up by 4p a pint, wine by 14p a bottle, spirits by 55p a bottle, and cider by 3p a litre.

For drivers:

There will be a major reform to Vehicle Exise Duty, manufacturers will be encouraged to produce cleaner cars and incentives will be there for drivers too. So-called gas guzzlers will face a higher first year rate of tax while new cars that emit less.

From April 2010, Cars which emit less than the proposed 130 grams per kilometre European standard of carbon dioxide emissions will pay no car tax at all in the first year, but a higher first-year rate of £950 will be introduced for the most-polluting cars.

But an increase on fuel duty has been postponed until October.

For pensioners:
£11 billion a year will be spent on pensions with over half the extra money going to pensioners on the lowest incomes.

From this April, as a result of changes made last year, a further 600,000 pensioners will be taken out of paying income tax.

The pension Credit now guarantees a minimum income of £124 per week from April. Winter fuel payment for over 60s will go up from £200 to £250 and for the over 80s from £300 to £400.

For women:
The Government has proposed a £12.5 million fund with the aim of helping women entrepreneurs.

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