:00:21. > :00:25.We have been Askey you what you think of the budget and you have
:00:26. > :00:33.been getting in touch with your views and questions. -- we have been
:00:34. > :00:37.asking you. Let's take a look at some of those questions.
:00:38. > :00:48.That was an interesting budget. ISA at youth and sugar. Sugar tax
:00:49. > :00:53.probably a good thing. Does not seem much of a sweetener. I am
:00:54. > :01:01.disillusioned. He helped small businesses and that could be useful.
:01:02. > :01:06.I would give him a six. Five out of ten.
:01:07. > :01:08.To answer your questions we have our Personal Finance
:01:09. > :01:10.Correspondent Kevin Peachey and Katie Morley, Senior Personal
:01:11. > :01:25.Welcome to you both. Plenty to take a look at over the next while. A lot
:01:26. > :01:29.of questions in relation to savings and other issues as well. Before we
:01:30. > :01:35.enter those a reminder of what the Chancellor announced in his budget
:01:36. > :01:40.speech. From April next year I will increase
:01:41. > :01:46.the ISA limit to ?20,000 per year for everyone. For those under the
:01:47. > :01:50.age of 40 many of whom have not had such a good deal from the pension
:01:51. > :01:56.system, I'm introducing a completely new flexible way for the next
:01:57. > :02:00.generation to say. It is called the lifetime ISA. Young people can put
:02:01. > :02:04.money in, get a government bonus and use that to either buy their first
:02:05. > :02:10.home or save for their retirement. Here's how it works. From April 2017
:02:11. > :02:16.anyone aged under 40 will be able to open a Lifetime Isa and save up to
:02:17. > :02:20.?4000 each year the top for every ?4 you save, the government will give
:02:21. > :02:27.you ?1. So put in ?4000 and the government will give you ?1000 every
:02:28. > :02:30.year until your 50. You do not have to choose between saving for your
:02:31. > :02:33.first term or saving for your retirement. With the new Lifetime
:02:34. > :02:40.Isa the government is giving you money to do both. That is what the
:02:41. > :02:44.Chancellor had to say on the subject of saving for younger people in
:02:45. > :02:51.particular. We can start with Chris. How do tax-free ISA help the less
:02:52. > :02:57.wealthy who may not be able to save? It was a interesting spectrum of new
:02:58. > :03:02.savings products and there was something for the less wealthy, and
:03:03. > :03:07.help to save policy. That is where you can save up to ?50 a month and
:03:08. > :03:11.the government will give you a 50% bonus on top of that, up to ?600 a
:03:12. > :03:15.year for two years. For people on the incomes it is only available to
:03:16. > :03:20.people on low incomes by the way, on tax credits, it is a good way to
:03:21. > :03:25.boost their emergency funds for things like if they need to move
:03:26. > :03:30.house and need a deposit to put down or if they're in trouble with any
:03:31. > :03:35.kind of financial difficulties. It may be good for them to avoid
:03:36. > :03:40.getting into debt. So that was designed for people on a more modest
:03:41. > :03:44.income. But the tax-free ISA, you have got to have the money to put in
:03:45. > :03:48.in the first place. The idea was to have a savings buffer. A lot of
:03:49. > :03:52.questions about people on low incomes, are they better off with
:03:53. > :03:56.that buffer or do they simply not have the money to put into that kind
:03:57. > :04:00.of scheme. And might be better off paying off their debt. Quite a big
:04:01. > :04:05.issue to think about for them. Connected to that is there anything
:04:06. > :04:11.in the budget affecting young people, students in particular.
:04:12. > :04:17.Students, not very much. But young people, certainly. There was this
:04:18. > :04:22.Lifetime Isa idea, something completely new, we have not heard
:04:23. > :04:27.about this before. And the idea that it is a top up for people saving for
:04:28. > :04:32.a home or for their pension. Again they have a big decision to make. Do
:04:33. > :04:40.they put the money aside in a lifetime Isa or in their traditional
:04:41. > :04:44.pension. They might think we will put money into that but if you do
:04:45. > :04:50.not save early for a pension there could be problems down the line.
:04:51. > :04:55.They should seek advice on that kind of dilemma. If they can afford it,
:04:56. > :05:02.that is! Of course seeking advice is not cheap. One question, why is it
:05:03. > :05:06.people on low income and not pensioners given these savings in
:05:07. > :05:10.bandages. There were different savings products available, for more
:05:11. > :05:15.wealthy savers, who have several thousand a year to put into savings,
:05:16. > :05:23.the ISA limit, every year, is increasing up to ?20,000, currently
:05:24. > :05:27.?15,000. ?240 a year. That will benefit people who are higher
:05:28. > :05:35.earners, higher taxpayers, who have that bit more to say. So something
:05:36. > :05:38.for them as well. And an interesting debate about intergenerational
:05:39. > :05:43.fairness. It has been going on for a long time. Are people who are
:05:44. > :05:47.pensioners better or worse off over the last few years, are people in
:05:48. > :05:50.their 20s essentially paying for a better life for their parents and
:05:51. > :05:56.grandparents. It is a very big issue. And the debate will continue
:05:57. > :06:01.on that. Which generation has done better of late has been a major
:06:02. > :06:08.talking point. A lot of enquiries about pensions as well. Peter Ellis
:06:09. > :06:14.asks this. Why has women's inequality not been addressed in the
:06:15. > :06:17.pension statement, presumably a reference to when the state pension
:06:18. > :06:22.kicks in and at what age. Talking about heated debates, it is one that
:06:23. > :06:29.has been going on recently. This idea that women in their 60s have to
:06:30. > :06:32.wait longer for their state pension. They say they were not aware of it,
:06:33. > :06:37.the government says there was plenty of warning about it happening. There
:06:38. > :06:40.was quite a lot of speculation that something could be said in the
:06:41. > :06:44.budget, although the government stood its ground on this point for a
:06:45. > :06:50.while now. There was nothing in this budget on this particular debate. We
:06:51. > :06:57.have already had reaction on social media saying where was it? It was
:06:58. > :07:02.not there. Connected to that, I am a 62-year-old woman right Judy, I've
:07:03. > :07:06.worked for 42 years, why am I waiting until November for my state
:07:07. > :07:12.pension. There is a lot of confusion about the state pension. The state
:07:13. > :07:15.pension age is rising, there is a timetable for which different people
:07:16. > :07:20.have different state pension ages. The best way to check is to go
:07:21. > :07:25.online to the government calculator to find out when your state pension
:07:26. > :07:29.age is. It was a lot of confusion. Some people have to wait longer than
:07:30. > :07:33.I thought. Before they do get their state pension. It is difficult for
:07:34. > :07:40.some people who were not aware of that. Also on the 10th -- the
:07:41. > :07:44.subject of pensions, when are we going to year but the release of
:07:45. > :07:48.pension pots for those already getting payments? This is a
:07:49. > :07:53.reference I think to be pension reforms that we sought a year ago.
:07:54. > :08:01.People being able to access their pension savings. There was talk of
:08:02. > :08:06.going to pay for Lamborghinis and the like! In this case I think it is
:08:07. > :08:12.close to people already receiving their pensions. Already in receipt
:08:13. > :08:17.of that money if they saved and turned it into an annuity. We think
:08:18. > :08:23.there could be more than that but it was not in this budget. There were
:08:24. > :08:25.lots of things on pension is not referred to today and we understood
:08:26. > :08:30.for a long time that the government was planning a major change to tax
:08:31. > :08:34.relief on pensions. Which backed away from just last week. There was
:08:35. > :08:39.speculation about that until recently. We understood it was in
:08:40. > :08:42.the firing line. There were various plans on the table. Last week we
:08:43. > :08:47.understood there was a big government U-turn on that. For a
:08:48. > :08:51.number of reasons including not wanting to upset the middle-class
:08:52. > :08:59.voters. Who currently benefit from the pension tax relief they receive.
:09:00. > :09:05.There was nothing on that and no further changes to pensions this
:09:06. > :09:11.time in the budget. There could have been a reduction in the annual
:09:12. > :09:16.unlike time allowances. What we could see in future budgets,
:09:17. > :09:21.possibly after the exit referendum, we could see further changes to
:09:22. > :09:28.pensions then. And disability issues, which again is a
:09:29. > :09:32.significant, political debate. An anonymous text message. What are the
:09:33. > :09:38.cuts to disability benefit, because as far as this person is concerned,
:09:39. > :09:50.the Chancellor was unclear. This is to do with the debate about PIP. A
:09:51. > :09:55.reduction in what people can claim, but the Chancellor said it is going
:09:56. > :10:00.up. It is a points -based system which determines what benefits
:10:01. > :10:07.people received. People who have disabilities. Now, when we look at
:10:08. > :10:11.the numbers in the budget, it looks as though the Chancellor is saving a
:10:12. > :10:17.lot of money in this area. So the manner in which he is saving that
:10:18. > :10:23.money is what has led this allowed political debate in recent days. And
:10:24. > :10:29.a lack of clarity in the mind of this one correspondent? Very
:10:30. > :10:34.controversial. Given that middle and high earners are being given tax
:10:35. > :10:37.perks this time. Let's turn our attention to other matters in the
:10:38. > :10:43.budget. This was to do with businesses and some of the measures
:10:44. > :10:47.that were introduced by the Chancellor on that subject. We can
:10:48. > :10:49.look at his comments on some of his business measures first and then we
:10:50. > :10:55.will talk about them. This is what he said about corporation tax. We
:10:56. > :11:00.will reduce the rate of corporation tax even further. That is the rate
:11:01. > :11:07.written's profit-making companies have to pay. It is one of the most
:11:08. > :11:11.distorted and give taxes there is. Corporation tax was 28% at the start
:11:12. > :11:16.of the last Parliament so we reduced its so it is 20% at the start of
:11:17. > :11:24.this one. I set out to cut it to 18%. By April 2020 it will fall to
:11:25. > :11:29.17%. Britain is blazing a trail, let the rest of the world catch up. That
:11:30. > :11:35.is what he had to say corporation tax, were other measures with
:11:36. > :11:38.regards to business. Simon on e-mail asks, what has the Chancellor
:11:39. > :11:50.announced that it will benefit small as Mrs? Katie, you first. I think I
:11:51. > :11:52.will leave that to you. It was a budget, we have already heard from
:11:53. > :11:58.lots of small visitors in that they are cheering there are 630,000 small
:11:59. > :12:04.businesses that won't be paying business rates. That will be paid
:12:05. > :12:07.for by big business. If you run a small business and you think one day
:12:08. > :12:14.you will be a huge corporation, then maybe you will end up paying. But
:12:15. > :12:22.there was one in here for small businesses. Quite a lot of that is
:12:23. > :12:26.to do with local government as well. Local government are bringing in
:12:27. > :12:29.these taxes, so will it mean there is difficulties for that local
:12:30. > :12:36.government in dealing with that shortfall? Let's move some other
:12:37. > :12:42.matters. There is a whole array of other topics people are asking
:12:43. > :12:46.questions about. Stephen, if class two National insurance is abolished,
:12:47. > :12:55.how will the self-employed qualify for state pension? I love this one.
:12:56. > :13:01.If you love it, it is your question. It is a technical question. It was a
:13:02. > :13:08.bit worrying when I first saw it. I went through the budget document. A
:13:09. > :13:14.delightful document we read as journalists so others don't have
:13:15. > :13:18.too. There is a change, an end to reform, another part of the national
:13:19. > :13:23.insurance system that means you will not miss out in building up for the
:13:24. > :13:27.state pension. The national insurance is in order for you to
:13:28. > :13:31.build up and received the state pension. Although class two is being
:13:32. > :13:34.abolished, there will be a reform elsewhere which means you won't miss
:13:35. > :13:39.out on the state pension, essentially. I am glad we have
:13:40. > :13:45.sorted that out and I am glad you enjoyed your question. Emma says,
:13:46. > :13:50.what is the Chancellor doing for single parents and public sector
:13:51. > :13:57.workers? There wasn't anything aimed at single parents. Then maybe things
:13:58. > :14:02.she will be able to benefit from, such as arise in the personal which
:14:03. > :14:07.is the amount you can earn without paying tax. That is going up to
:14:08. > :14:13.?11,500. That will benefit many people. The help to save schemes,
:14:14. > :14:17.increased ISA allowances. All of these things will help parents who
:14:18. > :14:22.are trying to build financial security for their children and
:14:23. > :14:25.themselves. What are lots of public sector workers will say at the
:14:26. > :14:31.moment is what is happening to their page. It is only going up by 1% and
:14:32. > :14:35.will do for the foreseeable future. We had some forecasts today and they
:14:36. > :14:41.said inflation, which shows us what the cost of living will be, they
:14:42. > :14:45.forecast it will be below 1%. So in a sense, a real terms pay rise for
:14:46. > :14:51.the public sector workers. But the following year will be above 1%, the
:14:52. > :14:56.forecast says. So it will be a real terms pay cut for public sector
:14:57. > :15:01.workers. On that point, there was something announced I public sector
:15:02. > :15:04.pensions, the cost of those will increase, but the government has
:15:05. > :15:08.promised those costs will not be passed on to workers and their
:15:09. > :15:09.pensions will be preserved. If you are a worker, you shouldn't worry
:15:10. > :15:24.about that. Let's talk about what the Chancellor
:15:25. > :15:31.had to say about tobacco, we can't bring you a clip, but it will go up
:15:32. > :15:39.a similar amount to what it has gone up every year. Yes, seeing taxes. So
:15:40. > :15:48.tobacco is going up 2% above inflation. It is the highest rise
:15:49. > :15:51.amongst all those sins, if you like. Beer is staying frozen, as is
:15:52. > :15:59.whiskey and wine is going up alongside inflation. A lot of people
:16:00. > :16:03.who would be in every one of those rackets and there will be winners
:16:04. > :16:07.and losers at the same time. It makes a nice headline for things
:16:08. > :16:14.like beer and whiskey not to be going up in price. We can add sugar
:16:15. > :16:19.to those sins now. There will be a lot of lead in time, but there has
:16:20. > :16:26.been some suggestions this tax on sugary drinks could be passed on to
:16:27. > :16:31.the shoppers, consumers and they may pay a bit more for that fizzy drink.
:16:32. > :16:34.Don't steal all my thunder on that, because I have a question, but let's
:16:35. > :16:38.hear what the Chancellor had to say on that.
:16:39. > :16:46.I am not prepared to look back on Parliament while doing this job and
:16:47. > :16:51.say I am sorry, we knew there was a problem with sugary drinks, but we
:16:52. > :16:56.left the difficult decisions and did nothing. So today I can announce we
:16:57. > :17:00.will introduce a new sugar levy and the soft drinks industry.
:17:01. > :17:08.That is what he had to say about the sugar levy. Andrew King says,
:17:09. > :17:14.instead of legislating against them, why is he taxing sugary drinks and
:17:15. > :17:18.thereby, Andrew says, passing the cost onto the consumer? It works
:17:19. > :17:22.pretty well from a financial sense him. Basically he would like
:17:23. > :17:28.consumers not to be buying these drinks. The reason for that is
:17:29. > :17:32.further down the line, if people do eat or drink too much sugar, they
:17:33. > :17:36.are more likely to have diabetes, more likely to become obese and that
:17:37. > :17:42.presents a huge financial burden for the NHS. Billions of pounds a year
:17:43. > :17:45.is spent treating those conditions. What he is trying to do is steer
:17:46. > :17:51.consumers away from these drinks with this tax. If they don't buy
:17:52. > :17:56.them, then he doesn't get the money? He doesn't, but he is not going to
:17:57. > :18:04.spend it anywhere. He has said he will spend it on school sports. In
:18:05. > :18:08.England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be able to
:18:09. > :18:14.choose where they spend that money. The Chancellor isn't saying he is
:18:15. > :18:17.doing it in order to get some more in, to help cover the National
:18:18. > :18:24.credit card. He is saying the money will go directly to school sports.
:18:25. > :18:26.But just in England. It raises an interesting question and that
:18:27. > :18:31.question was hinting at this, in terms of what the role of taxation
:18:32. > :18:35.is in this kind of area, is it there to raise money? Is it there to
:18:36. > :18:44.change that habits? It is controversial because a few pence
:18:45. > :18:48.added onto a can of Coke will not do much to a wealthy person, but
:18:49. > :18:52.someone with less means, will prevent them from drinking it and it
:18:53. > :18:58.creates an inequality in society, which is a controversial thing. As
:18:59. > :19:03.ever, Kevin, with a budget we are on day one. It takes several days to
:19:04. > :19:10.get to the sort of, all of the details of it? It does. The joy of
:19:11. > :19:15.our jobs. We get to look through the detail. Thankfully there is some
:19:16. > :19:20.economic experts in the Institute for Fiscal Studies will be going
:19:21. > :19:25.through this, literally all night. And tomorrow, they will be giving us
:19:26. > :19:30.their take on it and often that gives us a bit more indication of
:19:31. > :19:34.what is going on. And there will be things in there where people need to
:19:35. > :19:39.look at the details, certainly things but things like the lifetime
:19:40. > :19:46.ISA. Not just what is happening but how it is implemented. That is a key
:19:47. > :19:51.for people to see if they are working or not. Katie, if people are
:19:52. > :19:55.watching this and trying to get a sense of what effect it will have on
:19:56. > :20:00.them, how best can be assessed that? There are a lot of solution in terms
:20:01. > :20:05.of savings. There seems to be something for everyone in terms of
:20:06. > :20:12.saving to build some security for the future. Some of those saving
:20:13. > :20:15.schemes, we need to look into the detail and see what they mean. Over
:20:16. > :20:21.the next few days a few more stories around those will unfold. Thank you
:20:22. > :20:26.both very much for answering those questions, especially the one you
:20:27. > :20:27.enjoyed as much as you did. Kevin Peachey and Katie Morley, thank you
:20:28. > :20:30.very much. The weather will stay mostly dry
:20:31. > :20:40.through the next few days, but dry does not
:20:41. > :20:42.necessarily mean sunny.