Given the current state of the UK housing market, Alistair Darling has done little in today's budget to appease the woes of the average first-time home buyer desperate to get onto the property ladder.
With the Government set to miss its target of halving child poverty by 2010, Chancellor Alistair Darling has used today's budget to increase assistance to children in the form of upping the child tax credit in the hope of pulling 250,000 million UK children out from under the poverty line.
Leading business and financial adviser Grant Thornton says that the Government’s move not to introduce measures to counter 'income shifting' immediately, but rather to press ahead in the Finance Bill 2009, might only delay misery for entrepreneurs unless it is accompanied by a review of the policy.
Leading business and financial adviser Grant Thornton says that Alistair Darling's first budget, delivered against the backdrop of a slowing economy, stayed true to predictions and raised revenue through green taxes while offering little in concessions to UK business or individuals.
Faced with growing unrest from business and the City, the Chancellor's Budget must allay fears that the UK is becoming uncompetitive and promote measures to encourage growth.