The budget - at a glance

THE BUDGET - AT A GLANCE

These are the main points of Chancellor Gordon Brown's 11th Budget:

t TAX

Basic rate cut from 22p to 20p from April next year.

10p band removed on non-savings income.

Inheritance tax threshold extended to £350,000.

Upper limit for cash ISAs raised to £3,600 pa.

600,000 pensioners exempted from income tax.

Pension credit guarantee to rise to £130 a week by 2010.

Raised thresholds for top rate of tax to £43,000 by 2009.

t VEHICLES

Fuel duty up 2p a litre this year and next year - but this year's rise deferred to October.

Biofuel discounts extended.

Band B fuel-efficient cars see road duty cut from £50 to £35.

Road duty for top-band vehicles raised to £300 this year, and £400 next year.

t ALCOHOL AND SMOKING

Duty on spirits frozen.

Pint of beer and litre of cider up 1p each, wine up 5p a bottle, sparkling wine up 7p.

From 6pm today, pack of 20 cigarettes up 11p.

VAT cut from 17.5 per cent to 5 per cent on anti-smoking aids, such as patches.

t ENVIRONMENT

New zero-carbon homes costing up to £500,000 exempt from stamp duty.

£800 million for Environmental Transformation Fund.

Energy-efficient mortgages planned.

£300 to £4,000 available for grants to pensioners installing insulation and central heating.

Landfill tax to rise by £8 for each year to 2011.

Tax relief on empty premises restricted to three months.

t JOBS

Jobs partnerships announced with major UK companies including M&S, Sainsbury's and Tesco, which could help up to 100,000 jobless people back into work over five years.

And 50,000 16-17-year-olds to receive training wages.

t CHILD BENEFIT

Raised annually to £20 a week for first child.

200,000 more children to be lifted out of poverty.

Free nursery education extended to 15 hours a week.

t EDUCATION

England spending to rise to £74 billion by 2010. Announcements on rest of the country later.

Education spending will increase to 5.6 per cent of national income - as compared with 4.5 per cent in 1997.

HEALTH

£8 billion more for the NHS.

t BUSINESS

Science investment to rise to £6.3 billion.

Corporation tax down from 30p to 28p - lowest of all major economies.

Small companies tax rate rises from 20p to 22p from 2009.

All companies given £50,000 investment allowance.

t PENSIONS

Help for workers whose pensions have collapsed extended from £6 billion to £8 billion.

HOMES

New shared equity competition to help first-time buyers.

t SECURITY

Extra £400 million for the Armed Forces.

Extra £86 million for security and intelligence counterterrorism.

t ECONOMY

Net borrowing set to be £35 billion, or 2.7 per cent of income, this year, reducing to £24 billion by 2012.

Capital investment set to rise to £60 billion by 2012.

75 per cent of new spending to be on frontline services.