Pre-Budget Report: Family support announced

THE Pre-Budget report today heralded a wave of positive measures for families and homeowners, while at the same time clawing an additional 0.5% in National Insurance from anyone earning more than £20,000.

Positive measures that will be welcomed by families included a 1.5% increase in child benefit and disability benefit from April.

Pensioners, meanwhile, will see their basic state pension increase 2.5% in April, while bingo duty will be cut from 22% to 20%.

Green measures included the introduction of a boiler scrappage scheme, which will see 125,000 homes replace inefficient boilers with newer models.

Mr Darling said around 400,000 families had already benefited from an average of £37 more a week in tax credits for those families that have seen their income fallen in the recession.

“I guarantee that anyone in work will always be better off than they would be on benefits,” he added.

And free school meals will be extended to 500,000 primary school children from low income families, which Mr Darling said would help to lift 50,000 children out of relative poverty.

He also announced that the government’s Home Backers scheme would be extended for a further six months, while the Stamp Duty holiday will end on January 1, 2010.

“Repossessions are now running at half the rate of the early 1990s,” he said.

However, a broadband tax of 50p will be introduced to all landlines, to help fund the roll-out of next generation broadband across the country.

Measures to tackle youth unemployment were also introduced. From the New Year, anyone under the age of 24 will be guaranteed employment of training if they have been without a job for up to six months, he said.

Although the Chancellor confirmed that VAT would return to 17.5% on January 1, 2010, he added that there would be no further changes to VAT. Some commentators had expected VAT levels to be increased to 50% later next year.

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