Mr Darling’s finished going through his budget now and there weren’t any huge surprises in there.

What are the key announcements?

The top 10 highlights include (in my opinion):

  1. The ISA allowance will increase to £10,200 next month and then annually thereafter.
  2. The planned 3p fuel duty hike has been spread out over future months. 1p will be added in April; 1p in October and then again in January 2011.
  3. Increase in the stamp duty 0% threshold to £250,000 – but critically, it’s for 1st time buyers only.
  4. Inheritance tax threshold is frozen for 4 years
  5. Tax on cider has been increased by 10%
  6. 15,000 civil servants to be relocated outside of London
  7. £94bn in new business loans will be provided by RBS & Lloyds over the next year
  8. 20,000 university places to be funded by £270m extra, in subjects such as science, engineering & maths
  9. £285m for motorway improvements & £100m set aside for local road repairs
  10. Offshore wind industry to be supported with £60m investment to develop ports to host turbine manufacturers