Locally here in Scarborough & Whitby, Chancellor Gordon Brown's message that this is "good news for children, families and pensioners here at the Yorkshire Coast" was warmly welcomed.
After listening to the Chancellor deliver the Budget alongside Health minister, Dr . Stephen Ladyman and local party members. I said to the local media...
" A Budget which announces that every pensioner household - 65 and over - paying council tax, would receive a council tax refund of £200 responds to my lobbying of many many months... with well over a third of local residents benefiting from widescale reform of the Council Tax and local government finance expected in the next Parliamentary session.
"Together with the Winter Fuel Payment that means around 16,800 pensioner households locally will receive £400 and those aged 80 or over will receive a total of £500 this year.
"There is more good news for pensioners as well. From next year all pensioners in Scarborough & Whitby will be able to enjoy free local bus travel. And because Labour believes in an NHS free at the point of use, Gordon Brown has announced that no pensioner will ever again lose any of their pension or benefits while in hospital - no matter how long their stay."
"Gordon Brown's Budget is a Budget for Britain's hardworking families.
"This Budget also provides more support for hard working families at the Yorkshire Coast. Already 7,200 families in Scarborough and Whitby benefit from Labour's Child Tax Credit and I'm delighted that Gordon Brown has announced plans to increase it in line with earnings every year for the next three years.
"Following today's announcement the effective income tax rate for a family with two children earning 25,000 pounds a year will be just 6 per cent and at 30,000 pounds just 10 per cent - a family tax cut that does most to help low and middle income families.
"And Gordon Brown also announced he would double the point at which stamp duty is paid from £60,000 to £120,000 and provided new help for first time home buyers.
"Gordon Brown outlined today how Labour is making the necessary investment in schools, skills, training and enterprise to ensure our continued economic success and to lock in economic stability for a generation.
"Today's Budget also announced extra cash to rebuild or renovate half of the country's primary schools. This new money will ensure most schools gain facilities such as parents centres, ICT suites in schools and other extended services.
"Hard working families in Scarborough & Whitby will never forget the Tory years when interest rates soared to 15 per cent and there were three million unemployed. The Tories are committed to cutting £35 billion from public services - that would translate to deep and damaging cuts to schools, health services and the fight against crime here in Scarborough & Whitby
"This Budget shows we are delivering on the promises I made to people here in Scarborough & Whitby. More jobs and improved skills, better schools and hospitals, more help for families and more help for pensioners - that's what local people voted for, and that's what we are delivering."
And across the Country...
The Government's economic objective is to build a strong economy and a fair society where there is opportunity and security for all - good for workers and trade unions.
Budget 2005 sets out how the Government will achieve this goal, building on a platform of stability and growth to ensure the UK can succeed in the increasingly competitive global economy.
Since 1997, the Government has sought to end decades of boom and bust. The decisions we have taken - Bank of England independence, cutting the national debt, tough fiscal rules and the new deal to help unemployed people into work - have helped to build a strong platform of economic stability.
Inflation is now the lowest for 30 years and interest rates are the lowest for 35 years. And employment has reached new record levels.
It is because we understand the concerns of hard working families, let down in the past when mortgage rates were at 15 per cent and inflation at 10%, and know how much damage recession did to family finances, that the Government's first commitment, as always, is and remains to lock in stability. Britain must never return to the high inflation, high unemployment, high interest rates of the 1980s and early 1990s, the days of negative equity when hundreds of thousands of families had their homes repossessed.
From 1979-1997 inflation averaged 6%; since 1997 it has been 2.4%. From 1979-1997 interest rates averaged 10.4%; since 1997 they have been 5.3%.
Since 1997, in Britain there are:
2 million more jobs.
150,000 more people are self-employed.
300,000 more businesses.
1.5 million more homeowners.
While 2 million children and almost 2 million pensioners are no longer trapped in absolute poverty.
Fairness for Hardworking Families
The Government's goal is to abolish child poverty and support families to balance their work and family life.
Budget 2005 announces:
From April 2005 the child element of the Child Tax Credit will rise to £1,690, an increase of 3.8 per cent in line with earnings.
A future commitment to increase the child element of the Child Tax Credit at least in line with earnings every year up to 2007/08. With the increases in the child tax credit the effective income tax rate for a family with two children earning 25,000 pounds a year will be just 6 per cent and at 30,000 just 10 per cent - a family tax cut that does most to help low and middle income families.
Confirms the adult rate National Minimum Wage will increase to £5.05 an hour in October 2005, and to £5.35 an hour in October 2006.
The existing higher Individual Savings Account limits will be extended to April 2010, to further promote saving.
Doubles the rate at which stamp duty is paid from £60,000 to £120,000 - exempting 300,000 more home buyers from stamp duty every year.
Increases the threshold for inheritance tax to £275,000 in 2005-06, £285,000 in 2006-07 and £300,000 in 2007-08 exempting more estates from inheritance tax - 94 per cent of estates will pay no inheritance tax.
An investment of up to £100 million over the next three years, to deliver the Government's response to the Russell Commission report on youth volunteering.
An additional £25 million in 2006-07 and 2007-08 for early learning partnerships and an extra £10 million will be allocated in 2006/07 and 2007/08 for the Parenting Fund to support parenting programmes provided by the voluntary and community sectors.
To ensure that VAT does not obstruct the delivery of the Government's vision for childcare, and in recognition of the role that local authorities play in delivering the strategy, the Government will refund local authorities all of the VAT that they incur in the provision of welfare services, such as childcare and Children's Centres.
Maintaining a Stable Economy
Over the past eight years, the Government has taken tough economic decisions.
Budget 2005:
Continued economic stability has enabled the UK to benefit significantly from stronger international conditions. UK GDP grew by over 3 per cent in 2004, above its assumed trend rate and the fastest growth for four years.
The UK has been the only G7 economy to grow in every quarter since 1997. As the world economy accelerated in 2004, the UK grew faster than all other G7 economies apart from the US.
Projections for the public finances show that the Government is meeting both fiscal rules over the economic cycle, and spending plans are fully costed and fully affordable.
Inflation is set to remain low and stable.
Long-term interest rates are at the lowest level since the 1960s.
Employment has increased by two million since 1997. Unemployment is at its lowest level for a generation.
There are now 1.5 million more homeowners since 1997.
Employment Opportunity for All
The Government's goal is full employment in every region and nation of the UK.
Budget 2005 announces:
Employment opportunity
Extra support for people on incapacity benefit who want to return to work, by improving the operation of linking rules. This will provide reassurance to IB claimants during the transition from benefits to work.
A package of measures to simplify and improve Housing and Council Tax Benefit administration including improved IT links for faster and more accurate benefit processing. This will help ensure that delays in HB processing do not dissuade tenants from entering work.
Response to the recommendations set out by the National Employment Panel in its report on raising ethnic minority employment to help more ethnic minority people find work and further close the employment gap.
£60 million over two years to pilot Activity Agreements and an Activity Allowance for 16 to 17 year olds not in employment or learning in eight areas of England from April 2006.
Boosting skills
Additional funding to help implement the union-led proposals for a Union Academy - to drive a step change in the level of learning and development delivered through unions.
Extra £65m to ensure that the Employer Training Pilots are funded to continue to meet employer/skills demand, by providing an additional £65 million in 2005/06.
Extension of entitlement to Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit and Income Support from April 2006 to 19 year olds completing a course of non-advanced education or training. Benefiting around 80,000 individuals a year, this change will ensure that more young people achieve their qualifications rather than dropping out at 19 due to financial pressures.
Extension of entitlement to Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit from April 2006 to unwaged trainees on work-based learning programmes arranged by the Government.
Rollout of a National Employer Training Programme from 2006-07 to cover the whole country by 2007-08.
£80 million over two years to pilot a negotiated Learning Agreement for 16 and 17 year olds in work with no training in eight areas of the country from April 2006.
£20m over two years in pilot areas to boost employer and work based learning pre-16.
Dignity for Every Pensioner
The Government's goal is to tackle pensioner poverty and build a fairer society in which pensioners share in rising national prosperity.
Budget 2005 announces:
To every pensioner household - 65 and over - paying the council tax, a refund not of £50 but £200 paid alongside the Winter Fuel Payment.
Free off peak local bus travel for over 60s in England from April 2006 benefiting around 11 million pensioners.
All pensioners who are sick or disabled entering hospital from April 2005 will continue to receive their full basic state pension and full entitlement to Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance and Income Support for the duration of their stay in hospital.
The Pension Credit guarantee will rise to £109.45 for single pensioners and £167.05 for couples from April 2005.
Confirms that the Pension Protection Fund will come into being from April 2005. This is the UK's first scheme for ensuring that individuals in defined pension schemes receive a meaningful proportion of their expected income if their sponsoring employer becomes insolvent.
As a result of measures implemented since 1997, the Government is spending around £11 billion a year more on pensioners.
World Class Public Services
The Government's goal is to deliver world-class public services through investment and reform.
Budget 2005 announces:
Increases in capital investment for primary schools in each of the next five years, so that total investment over this period of £9.4 billion to deliver twenty-first century learning facilities in primary schools in England.
Half of primary schools will be rebuilt or radically refurbished over 15 years starting in 2008 with most schools receiving additional facilities such as centres for parents, ICT suites in schools and other extended services.
An increase in the grant paid directly to every primary and secondary headteacher in England in 2006-07 bringing the payment in that year for a typical primary school up to around £34,000 and for the typical secondary school up to around £109,000. For 2007/08 payment for a typical primary school will be up to around £36,000 and £115,000 for the typical secondary school.
A further £25m ICT capital funding in 2006-07 and 2007-08, allocated to schools in deprived areas to bridge the digital divide. Budget 2005 also announces that DfES will double their contribution to the e-Learning Foundation to £500,000 a year from 2005-06 in England.
An additional £350 million of capital investment in further education to be made over 2008-09 to 2009-10 in England - supporting the longer-term transformation of the sector.
Boosting Productivity and Enterprise
The Government's economic ambition is that UK productivity should grow faster than that of our main competitors as we close the productivity gap.
Budget 2005 announces:
Taking forward the ten-year Science and Innovation Investment Framework, including a UK stem Cell initiative to formulate a ten-year vision for stem cell research.
Guaranteeing at least 2.5 per cent of public sector R&D contracts will be with SME providers.
Enhanced R&D credit for mid-sized firms.
Package of support for enterprise, through a new Local Enterprise Growth Initiative worth £150m per year by 2008-0, to boost enterprise in the most deprived areas of England.
Action to increase the contribution of creativity to productivity growth, including a review into how best to develop the creativity of small firms; and action by the RDAs to support the integration of design into corporate strategy and development, including through the Design Council's Design Programme.
The introduction of a direct financial incentive for local authorities to promote local business growth - Local Authority Business Growth Incentive, starting in April 2005.
