The Budget at a glance
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Your support makes all the difference.The main points in Chancellor Gordon Brown's 10th Budget were:
* Education spending up £2.4 billion to £8 billion over five years to bring investment in line with private schools.
* Road tax cut or frozen for half of all drivers, with a zero rate for the "greenest" cars rising to £210 for the most polluting.
* Petrol duty frozen until September.
* Cigarettes up 9p, wine up 4p, beer up 1p, duty on spirits, sparkling wine and cider frozen.
* Free off-peak national bus travel for pensioners and the disabled from April 2008.
* Free further education up to A-level standard for anyone up to the age of 25.
* A £600 million fund for elite athletes, an annual school Olympics around the country in the run up to the 2012 Games and a £34 million National Sports Foundation.
* Stamp duty exemption raised to £125,000 and inheritance tax exemption raised over the next four years from £275,000 this year to £325,000.
* Youngsters in receipt of Child Trust Funds to get an extra £250 or £500 at the age of seven.
* A £970 million shared equity scheme will help 35,000 first-time buyers onto the housing ladder.
* Public sector pay settlements will average 2.25%
* Funding for the armed forces up £800,000, with another £200,000 for peacekeeping operations.
* A £30 billion sell off of Government assets, including the Tote.
* Child-related benefits and tax credits up and personal income tax allowance raised from £4,895 to £5,035.
* Extra £100 million to pay for more Community Support Officers. Up from 6,300 last September to 16,000 by April next year, a year earlier than planned.
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