:00:00. > :00:08.George Osborne delivers his Budget, as latest forecasts say growth
:00:09. > :00:15.In his red box today - the speech that has changed our
:00:16. > :00:22.He says the storm clouds are gathering.
:00:23. > :00:25.The outlook for the global economy is weak.
:00:26. > :00:30.It makes for a dangerous cocktail of risks, but one that Britain
:00:31. > :00:33.is well prepared to handle, if we act now, so we don't pay
:00:34. > :00:38.He's failed on the budget deficit, failed on debt, failed
:00:39. > :00:42.on investment, failed on productivity, failed on trade
:00:43. > :00:44.deficit, failed on the welfare cap, failed to tackle
:00:45. > :00:50.Mr Osborne announces a tax on sugary drinks.
:00:51. > :00:54.It's his new plan to tackle childhood obesity.
:00:55. > :00:59.But this is a tax for good, this is a tax that symbolic,
:01:00. > :01:04.this is a tax that will have ripples across the world.
:01:05. > :01:07.There are lower taxes for small business, and ways to make big
:01:08. > :01:12.We'll work out what today's Budget says about the UK economy,
:01:13. > :01:25.We are going to win, win, win, we are not going to stop. We will have
:01:26. > :01:28.great victories for our country. In America - big wins
:01:29. > :01:30.for Donald Trump in the race And coming up in the sport on BBC
:01:31. > :01:34.News: A remarkable comeback He wins the Queen Mother Champion
:01:35. > :01:37.Chase at Cheltenham, three years after heart
:01:38. > :01:57.problems were detected. Good evening and welcome
:01:58. > :02:02.to the BBC News at 6. George Osborne delivered his latest
:02:03. > :02:04.Budget today saying that Britain faced a challenge, with "storm
:02:05. > :02:06.clouds" gathering over There were changes that will affect
:02:07. > :02:14.take home pay and help for younger savers, in what the Chancellor
:02:15. > :02:16.called a "Budget for Labour called it
:02:17. > :02:19.a "Budget of failure." Latest forecasts suggest that
:02:20. > :02:21.economic growth is slowing down, but Mr Osborne said that
:02:22. > :02:23.still leaves Britain ahead Under the changes on personal taxes,
:02:24. > :02:32.you won't start paying income tax And, once again, there
:02:33. > :02:38.was a big surprise. He's introducing a sugar
:02:39. > :02:41.levy on soft drinks - More on that in a moment, but first,
:02:42. > :02:45.our Deputy Political Editor James Landale watched the
:02:46. > :02:57.exchanges in the Commons. The government likes to talk of
:02:58. > :03:01.fixing the roof when the sun is shining. At Westminster and
:03:02. > :03:07.elsewhere that is a long-term economic plan that is taking longer
:03:08. > :03:10.than expected. The George Osborne's budget box it contained worse
:03:11. > :03:15.economic news than he hoped, and therefore bigger cuts than he
:03:16. > :03:22.wanted. Cuts he has to make if he is to get his Budget in surplus by
:03:23. > :03:25.2019. But as he headed for the Commons he knew as well as the bad
:03:26. > :03:29.news feel so needed some better news ahead of a referendum where he needs
:03:30. > :03:37.the support of voters and Tory MPs if Britain is to stay in the EU. The
:03:38. > :03:41.Chancellor of the Exchequer. So his statement to MPs was deliberately
:03:42. > :03:46.cautious, no radical reforms but instead some tax cuts to soften the
:03:47. > :03:51.worsening economic news. Financial markets are turbulent. Productive to
:03:52. > :03:55.growth across the West is too low and the outlook for the global
:03:56. > :04:00.economy is weak. It makes for a dangerous cocktail of risks. With
:04:01. > :04:04.the economy and productivity growing slower than expected, he admitted he
:04:05. > :04:10.missed his target of cutting debt as a share of national income and would
:04:11. > :04:14.have to cut spending by another ?3.5 billion a year from 2019. Grim news
:04:15. > :04:18.he tried to sweeten with the surprise. I'm not prepared to look
:04:19. > :04:22.back on my time here in this Parliament, doing my job and say to
:04:23. > :04:25.my children's generation I'm sorry, we knew there was a problem with
:04:26. > :04:30.sugary drinks, we knew it cause disease but we ducked the difficult
:04:31. > :04:34.decisions and did nothing. So today I can announce we will introduce a
:04:35. > :04:39.new sugar levy on the soft drinks industry. A tax that will raise half
:04:40. > :04:43.?1 billion a year to be spent on extra sport for primary schools. But
:04:44. > :04:54.if Tory MPs liked that, somewhat less keen on the chance for using
:04:55. > :04:56.his Budget to make a case for the EU. Britain will be stronger, safer
:04:57. > :04:59.and better off inside a reformed European Union. I believe we should
:05:00. > :05:02.not put at risk all the hard work the British people have done to make
:05:03. > :05:07.our economy stronger again. But he cheered Tory MPs with a flurry of
:05:08. > :05:12.tax cuts, raising the tax-free personal allowance to ?11,500 from
:05:13. > :05:17.April next year. Raising the threshold for the higher rate of
:05:18. > :05:26.income tax to ?45,000 at the same time and there will be a new ISA.
:05:27. > :05:30.That was all, he said fuel duty would be frozen, corporation tax
:05:31. > :05:34.would be cut to 17% by 2020 and small firms would get their business
:05:35. > :05:40.rates cut permanent way. All good news for groups who often oppose the
:05:41. > :05:43.EU. A typical corner shop in Barnstable will pay no business
:05:44. > :05:48.rates. A typical hairdresser in Leeds will pay no rates. A typical
:05:49. > :05:56.newsagency in Nuneaton will pay no rates. Mr Deputy Speaker, a ?7
:05:57. > :06:00.billion tax cut for our nation of shopkeepers. But how will you pay
:06:01. > :06:05.for this? By posing a massive tax rise on big firms, scrapping schemes
:06:06. > :06:10.they used to avoid paying business tax. A ?12 billion crackdown on tax
:06:11. > :06:15.avoidance and public sector employers will have to pay more
:06:16. > :06:18.pension contributions. This is a Budget that gets the investors
:06:19. > :06:22.investing, savers saving and business doing business so we build
:06:23. > :06:29.for working people a low tax, enterprise Britain, secure homes,
:06:30. > :06:33.strong in the world. I commend to the house a Budget that puts the
:06:34. > :06:37.next-generation first. For a Chancellor with one eye on becoming
:06:38. > :06:42.the next Tory leader, those were the cheers he wanted to hear. But for
:06:43. > :06:47.all the talk of a bright economic future, Labour came out fighting,
:06:48. > :06:52.saying it was a recovery built on sand. Failed on a Budget deficit,
:06:53. > :06:57.failed on debt, failed on investment, failed an productivity,
:06:58. > :07:03.failed on trade deficit, failed on the welfare cap, failed to tackle
:07:04. > :07:07.inequality in this country. And inequality, he said, that was a by
:07:08. > :07:14.the Chancellor's welfare cuts for the disabled. Half a million people
:07:15. > :07:19.with disabilities are losing over ?1 billion in personal independence
:07:20. > :07:23.payments, corporation tax has been cut and billions handed out in tax
:07:24. > :07:28.cuts to the very wealthy. Outside Parliament, while some celebrated
:07:29. > :07:31.the sugar tax, others were disappointed by what they saw as a
:07:32. > :07:36.missed opportunity. This budget has very little for Wales. The bulk of
:07:37. > :07:42.the announcements regarding Wales we either knew already or they actually
:07:43. > :07:46.only affect England. It confirms the failure of George Osborne. Debt
:07:47. > :07:50.deficit, borrowing, everything pushed back. The so-called long-term
:07:51. > :07:54.plan wasn't, it has been abject failure from start to finish. The
:07:55. > :07:58.storm clouds are gathering but the economy is fit for the future. We
:07:59. > :08:02.will only know if he's right once the referendum is over and he has
:08:03. > :08:04.cut all that spending. James Landale, BBC News, Westminster.
:08:05. > :08:06.So let's look at George Osborne's new UK-wide sugar levy.
:08:07. > :08:12.There'll be two bands - of added sugar in each product.
:08:13. > :08:13.one for drinks like cordials and flavoured waters,
:08:14. > :08:17.and another band for the sweetest drinks, like most colas.
:08:18. > :08:19.Independent figures estimate that these drinks could go
:08:20. > :08:24.up by between 18p per litre and 24p per litre.
:08:25. > :08:27.The levy will be introduced in two years'
:08:28. > :08:29.time, and in England the money raised will go
:08:30. > :08:37.Our Health Editor Hugh Pym has more details.
:08:38. > :08:44.It was a big surprise and it could affect almost every family. Today
:08:45. > :08:46.the shoppers were working out what the new levy on sugary treat to take
:08:47. > :08:52.effect in two years' time might the new levy on sugary treat to take
:08:53. > :08:58.for them. I don't drink it often, it's only because the baby wants it!
:08:59. > :09:05.I think it is a good idea, stop the the shop and buying fizzy drinks all
:09:06. > :09:10.the time. And the cost of dentists. At the end of the day they are bad.
:09:11. > :09:14.Enjoyable but bad. Some campaigners weren't hiding how they felt about
:09:15. > :09:19.it. The celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has called for some time for a sugar
:09:20. > :09:24.tax as part of the drive to reduce childhood obesity. It is all geared
:09:25. > :09:28.to re-formulation. It is an anti-business. I would say is a
:09:29. > :09:34.symbolic slap, and that is what we wanted. How fine is it that business
:09:35. > :09:40.can do so well, be so prolific and have genuinely trackable marks, ill
:09:41. > :09:44.health marks on our children? The levy will be on manufacturers,
:09:45. > :09:48.excluding milk -based sugary drink. It is likely to be passed on to
:09:49. > :09:53.retailers and consumers. The industry argues such a move is not
:09:54. > :09:57.the way to tackle obesity. I think it is very fair and ironic almost
:09:58. > :10:01.that the soft drinks manufacturers who have been in the vanguard of
:10:02. > :10:05.re-formulation and making their products more widely available with
:10:06. > :10:11.great choice, should be the ones penalised through this measure. The
:10:12. > :10:14.Chancellor says the proceeds will be spent on school sport in England. It
:10:15. > :10:18.is up to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland how to use their
:10:19. > :10:23.shares. The move comes at a time of increasing concern about obesity and
:10:24. > :10:27.the consequences for help. There is already a strain on the NHS and
:10:28. > :10:33.problems often develop in the early years. About 10% of 4-5 year old in
:10:34. > :10:38.England starting off in school are said to be obese. By the age of ten
:10:39. > :10:45.and 11 that figure has gone up to 19%. And when it comes to adults,
:10:46. > :10:49.25% are obese. Treating conditions linked to obesity costs the NHS in
:10:50. > :10:53.England ?5.1 billion in the last financial year. To put that in
:10:54. > :10:58.perspective, the cost of treating smoking-related diseases, including
:10:59. > :11:05.lung cancer, costs 3.9 billion. All of that came out of a total health
:11:06. > :11:09.budget of ?113 billion in England last year. The head of NHS England
:11:10. > :11:12.says the new policy will help improve children's health, but he
:11:13. > :11:17.says it is just one of the series of measures to be unveiled this year.
:11:18. > :11:22.Is part of a much broader, contra Hanson strategy we need. Also we
:11:23. > :11:27.will have to take a part -- account of promotions and food formulation.
:11:28. > :11:33.Together we think these measures will severely, substantially tackle
:11:34. > :11:38.the problem we have got of childhood obesity. Health campaigners hope
:11:39. > :11:40.this is a game changing moment, but there is a lot of details still to
:11:41. > :11:44.be worked out. Hugh Pym, BBC News. So as we've heard latest
:11:45. > :11:46.forecasts for growth are down and George Osborne says
:11:47. > :11:48.Britain faces a turbulent Our economics correspondent
:11:49. > :11:52.Andrew Verity has been crunching The Chancellor's been preparing us
:11:53. > :12:00.for bad news since at least January, when he talked about his dangerous
:12:01. > :12:11.cocktail of risks to the economy, But what we found out is some of
:12:12. > :12:15.those risks are just out there in the rest of the world, they are
:12:16. > :12:21.happening here. Start with a cooling global economy,
:12:22. > :12:26.add some turbulent financial markets, chuck in a slump in oil
:12:27. > :12:30.prices are all the ingredients you need to make the world economy go
:12:31. > :12:34.and little wobbly. But as we imbibe its effects, we are slowing down as
:12:35. > :12:37.well. The Office for Budget Responsibility now thinks we will be
:12:38. > :12:41.producing far less per person than it had hoped as recently as
:12:42. > :12:48.November. The OBR slashed its prediction for economic growth this
:12:49. > :12:52.year from 2.4%, to 2.0%, largely because of that slower productivity.
:12:53. > :12:58.If that is not going up as fast as hoped, earnings won't go up as fast,
:12:59. > :13:02.economy won't grow and tax revenues will come in. That is the thing we
:13:03. > :13:05.ought to be talking about more than anything else. Because it really
:13:06. > :13:10.matters, not just that the Chancellor, but for how well off all
:13:11. > :13:14.of us are. Slower growth should mean less tax money for the Chancellor,
:13:15. > :13:17.but somehow, say the official predictions, he is still on course.
:13:18. > :13:23.He will still be spending more than his income, in other words running a
:13:24. > :13:31.deficit until 2019. But that won't produce as quickly until the final
:13:32. > :13:34.year, when it suddenly turns into a surplus of ?10.4 billion. That is a
:13:35. > :13:36.huge swing in the last year of the Parliament of ?32 billion. And
:13:37. > :13:42.what's more, he has somehow found the money for some big tax giveaways
:13:43. > :13:46.like the lifetime ices and freezing fuel duty. Raising tax threshold
:13:47. > :13:50.from next year except in Scotland will cost ?2.5 billion, and more
:13:51. > :13:57.relief from business rates for small businesses will cost him ?1.4
:13:58. > :14:02.billion. Giveaways to begin with and then take aways in 2019-20 and a
:14:03. > :14:05.year after, those are the years for which the government has a target to
:14:06. > :14:11.achieve a budget surplus. What is quite striking as we do have quite a
:14:12. > :14:18.big squeeze taking place in 2019-20 itself. That big squeeze will mean
:14:19. > :14:22.big spending cuts. ?3.5 billion in efficiency savings from government
:14:23. > :14:27.departments, but not until 2019-20, making public sector employers pay
:14:28. > :14:32.?2 billion more into pensions, but not until 2019-20. And making it
:14:33. > :14:36.harder to claim money for special equipment if you are disabled,
:14:37. > :14:43.saving ?1.3 billion, but not until 2019-20. Once it looks like
:14:44. > :14:47.austerity would be front-loaded, with a feel-good effect later, but
:14:48. > :14:51.now it has been back loaded, saving the big spending cuts and tax rises
:14:52. > :14:53.until the last year before the next election. Careful with cocktails,
:14:54. > :14:57.they can have a delayed effect. Well, among the other measures
:14:58. > :14:59.announced by the Chancellor today were investments in infrastructure,
:15:00. > :15:03.with backing for improvements There's an extra ?700 million
:15:04. > :15:08.for flood defences. There was a commitment to introduce
:15:09. > :15:11.new elected mayors for English And the Chancellor confirmed that
:15:12. > :15:19.all schools in England are to become academies - taking them out
:15:20. > :15:22.of local authority control. Well, let's pause for
:15:23. > :15:25.a moment and take stock. In a moment the view
:15:26. > :15:31.from Downing Street with our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg,
:15:32. > :15:48.but first to Westminster Lots of big ideas in the Budget
:15:49. > :15:52.today, but the Chancellor seemed to start out by thinking small fast.
:15:53. > :15:56.Small businesses were definitely the winner. One of his ideas was lifting
:15:57. > :16:01.many of them out of the business rates system, which is a big burden
:16:02. > :16:06.on them. That and the corporation tax cut are expensive so, where is
:16:07. > :16:08.he going to get the money well, this is where big business comes in,
:16:09. > :16:12.their ability to offset debts against profits has been curtailed.
:16:13. > :16:16.More bad news for the banks, because their ability to use losses in
:16:17. > :16:21.previous years, and there is plenty of those, to shelter profits going
:16:22. > :16:28.forward, has also been constrained. But big or small, the colour of the
:16:29. > :16:31.sky is the same wherever you are in this economy. And what we have
:16:32. > :16:34.learned, as Andy Verity was pointing out, is that the sky above us
:16:35. > :16:39.economically has been darkening somewhat. Laura, eye-catching
:16:40. > :16:44.measures like the sugar tax, but overall there are risks for George
:16:45. > :16:47.Osborne? Certainly, maybe we should call this the hold your nerve
:16:48. > :16:52.Budget. Compared to other countries we are doing quite well. But the
:16:53. > :16:56.economy is certainly slowing down and the picture overall is much
:16:57. > :16:59.bleaker than we thought. Hold your nerve, because George Osborne has
:17:00. > :17:04.chose to keep on cutting public spending. He will do that all the
:17:05. > :17:08.way through till 2020. The most sensitive cut of all, the biggest
:17:09. > :17:12.cut of all, taking money away from payments towards disabled people.
:17:13. > :17:16.And hold your nerve for George Osborne, because as well as doing
:17:17. > :17:20.all of that, he has also made some big promises, trying to show that he
:17:21. > :17:23.has not run out of big ideas. Whether that is tax cuts just before
:17:24. > :17:26.the next general election for millions of people, big promises to
:17:27. > :17:32.pass powers to regions around the country, away from Westminster, he
:17:33. > :17:36.is trying to do big things whilst still having to deal with the
:17:37. > :17:42.economy, which is recovering much slower than he had originally hoped.
:17:43. > :17:45.The big truth which we cannot ignore is that fundamentally for all of us,
:17:46. > :17:50.the country is less prosperous than we thought before today, and less
:17:51. > :17:54.productive, too. For this Chancellor, who has staked his
:17:55. > :17:59.reputation on fixing the colour me, all of those years ago, back in
:18:00. > :18:03.2010, after today, it is clearly very much still a work in progress.
:18:04. > :18:06.If you want to find out more about the Budget,
:18:07. > :18:08.and how it affects you, you can use the BBC's Budget
:18:09. > :18:12.Enter a few details and it will let you know if you're better
:18:13. > :18:26.George Osborne has delivered his budget, as independent forecasters
:18:27. > :18:36.say growth in the economy is slowing down.
:18:37. > :18:43.I am live here at a hairdressing course at a college in Stockport,
:18:44. > :18:47.asking if people feel better off or worse after the Chancellor -- after
:18:48. > :18:49.the Chancellor's statement. Coming up in Sportsday
:18:50. > :18:51.on BBC News... England have got their World T20
:18:52. > :18:54.campaign under way. How would they get
:18:55. > :18:56.on against West Indies? We'll have all you need
:18:57. > :19:00.to know from India. In the American presidential race,
:19:01. > :19:03.the Republican front-runner, Donald Trump, has warned
:19:04. > :19:08.of riots if he is denied Mr Trump strengthened his position
:19:09. > :19:11.after winning primaries in three states, though he lost in
:19:12. > :19:15.the key state of Ohio. In the Democratic race,
:19:16. > :19:17.Hilary Clinton extended Here's our North America
:19:18. > :19:26.editor Jon Sopel. He is young, articulate,
:19:27. > :19:29.telegenic and Hispanic. But Senator Marco Rubio
:19:30. > :19:32.is also a loser. Last night the great
:19:33. > :19:35.hope of the Republican establishment was crushed
:19:36. > :19:37.in his home state of Florida While it is not God's
:19:38. > :19:46.plan that I be president and while today my
:19:47. > :19:50.campaign is suspended... ..the fact that I've even come this
:19:51. > :19:57.far is evidence of how special Donald Trump made
:19:58. > :20:00.impressive gains last night, winning nearly all the races
:20:01. > :20:03.he fought and is now even further And he's achieved it
:20:04. > :20:08.by bringing in new We have a great opportunity
:20:09. > :20:13.and the people that are voting, Democrats are coming
:20:14. > :20:15.in, Independents are coming in and very importantly,
:20:16. > :20:19.people that never voted before. Donald Trump has had an emphatic
:20:20. > :20:24.victory here in Florida. But perhaps the most striking thing
:20:25. > :20:30.about tonight is what has happened It was to this man, the state
:20:31. > :20:38.governor John Kasich, a moderate Republican who has now
:20:39. > :20:42.vowed to carry on his fight We are going to go all
:20:43. > :20:46.the way to Cleveland and secure the Republican
:20:47. > :20:49.nomination. But the path is strewn
:20:50. > :20:53.with more than confetti. John Kasich staying in the race
:20:54. > :21:00.means the anti-Trump vote is now On the Democratic side,
:21:01. > :21:03.things couldn't be Last night she won
:21:04. > :21:09.all the contests that have been declared,
:21:10. > :21:21.leaving her rival lagging So, Hillary Clinton's path seems
:21:22. > :21:25.clear towards the Democratic nomination. On the Republican side,
:21:26. > :21:30.it is more complicated. Donald Trump is way out in front, with over half
:21:31. > :21:33.the delegate votes he needs. But to get an overall majority he would
:21:34. > :21:37.have to perform exceptionally well in the remaining primaries. That
:21:38. > :21:40.means we could have a situation where he arrives at the convention
:21:41. > :21:45.ahead, but not with the majority, and would the Republican leadership
:21:46. > :21:49.there to mount a kind of coup against him and his supporters to
:21:50. > :21:53.get someone else in? If they did that, our has warned there could be
:21:54. > :21:55.riots in the streets. And that is a threat which people are taking
:21:56. > :21:59.seriously. George. A man shot dead by the police
:22:00. > :22:02.in Brussels yesterday has been identified as an Algerian national
:22:03. > :22:04.who was in Belgium illegally. The raid was linked
:22:05. > :22:06.to the investigation that killed 130 people last
:22:07. > :22:09.November. Police say they found
:22:10. > :22:11.a Kalashnikov rifle and the flag of the Islamic State group
:22:12. > :22:20.near the man's body. Two armed men who fled the flat are
:22:21. > :22:24.still being hunted. Here are some other measures that
:22:25. > :22:29.could affect families up They include an increase
:22:30. > :22:32.in the limit for ISA savings Duty on beer, cider
:22:33. > :22:35.and spirits will be frozen. But tobacco duty will rise
:22:36. > :22:37.by 2% above inflation. My colleague Reeta Chakrabarti has
:22:38. > :22:39.been gauging reaction to all of today's measures
:22:40. > :22:57.at Stockport College in Greater Thank you. It looks like a hair
:22:58. > :23:01.salon, but this is one of the class is going on here at Stockport
:23:02. > :23:04.College. People here should be in an optimistic mood. The Chancellor
:23:05. > :23:07.today described the north-west of England as having the
:23:08. > :23:11.fastest-growing employment rate in the country. But for people here,
:23:12. > :23:13.students and teachers, the young and not so young, it is not all that
:23:14. > :23:16.straightforward. We are the builders,
:23:17. > :23:18.declared the Chancellor. The young adults learning
:23:19. > :23:19.the bricklaying trade 17-year-old Harvey
:23:20. > :23:24.is keen to get on. He is interested in George Osborne's
:23:25. > :23:26.proposed lifetime ISA, encouraging young people
:23:27. > :23:29.to save by giving them a pound for every four they
:23:30. > :23:33.put in, tax-free. You have got different
:23:34. > :23:35.types of ISAs you can put your money away in so you can start
:23:36. > :23:39.saving up for things that you need Just building up that money
:23:40. > :23:47.to get you off in life. I now call the Chancellor
:23:48. > :23:50.of the Exchequer... He is one of the Chancellor's Next
:23:51. > :23:53.Generation, the focus of today's Budget and supposedly one
:23:54. > :23:57.of its beneficiaries. 18-year-old Hayley has been
:23:58. > :24:01.listening to the message, She is training to be a chef
:24:02. > :24:07.while working part-time and she wants to own
:24:08. > :24:09.her own business. She likes the idea of being
:24:10. > :24:12.helped to save, but... The money I do make,
:24:13. > :24:16.I have to use it for public transport and buying food
:24:17. > :24:19.for myself during the week. At the end of the day
:24:20. > :24:23.it is a good decision, but it is how are you going to start
:24:24. > :24:27.saving if you don't have the money to start saving
:24:28. > :24:30.with in the first place? For those further on,
:24:31. > :24:34.who already have their own business, there was something
:24:35. > :24:36.to cheer, with the Chancellor raising the threshold
:24:37. > :24:38.at which they pay Good news for Karen,
:24:39. > :24:43.who teaches at the college and runs I have had a rate relief
:24:44. > :24:51.for the past two years and it has been able to sustain
:24:52. > :24:53.and help my business growth, because we have been
:24:54. > :24:55.able to keep the prices And if this continues,
:24:56. > :25:00.and gets better for the area, then hopefully
:25:01. > :25:04.the area will grow and my client But for car owners and anyone paying
:25:05. > :25:11.insurance, it was a different story - the tax on premiums will go
:25:12. > :25:14.up by half a percentage point, a smaller increase than expected
:25:15. > :25:17.but coming on top of a bigger We are not happy at all
:25:18. > :25:20.because that does affect me. I am trying to stand on my own two
:25:21. > :25:27.feet, I have done all my life, Welding together
:25:28. > :25:32.a vision for the country with people's personal ambitions
:25:33. > :25:35.is what Chancellors attempt George Osborne will hope that
:25:36. > :25:42.what he has produced is a suitably George Osborne will hope that
:25:43. > :25:44.what he has produced is suitably So let's recap on some
:25:45. > :25:49.of the main points in Latest forecasts suggest that
:25:50. > :25:52.economic growth is slowing down, but Mr Osborne said that
:25:53. > :25:54.still leaves Britain ahead Under the changes on personal
:25:55. > :25:59.taxes - from next April, you won't start paying income tax
:26:00. > :26:02.till you earn ?11,500. And he is introducing a sugar
:26:03. > :26:05.levy on soft drinks, Just time for a last word
:26:06. > :26:19.with our economics editor, We heard there from Reeta
:26:20. > :26:23.Chakrabarti about some of the people affected by this Budget. But what
:26:24. > :26:26.does it tell us about the big picture? I think it shows what
:26:27. > :26:30.difficulties George Osborne is facing. He set himself three rules
:26:31. > :26:35.on the economy, that there would be a welfare. That rule was broken last
:26:36. > :26:40.year. That debt would fall as a proportion of national income. That
:26:41. > :26:44.rule was broken today. It will now rise. And the final one, which
:26:45. > :26:49.George Osborne has put his reputation on - there will be a
:26:50. > :26:53.budgie surplus by 2020. Also, this productivity issue - the economy is
:26:54. > :26:57.simply not performing as well as was expected. The cocktail of
:26:58. > :27:02.difficulties is close to home and George Osborne will have to get
:27:03. > :27:07.through some pretty tough conditions to get to that budgie surplus by
:27:08. > :27:11.2020. He has missed two fiscal rules - will he get the third one right?
:27:12. > :27:14.We will see over the next three years.
:27:15. > :27:25.Time for a look at the weather, with Alex Deakin.
:27:26. > :27:32.The dry weather persisting, but the sunshine does make a big difference.
:27:33. > :27:38.Just a few hours later, the sun was out... Temperatures really
:27:39. > :27:42.responding. Many of us saw some sunshine today. Across the south, we
:27:43. > :27:45.are fighting against a brisk and cold wind, still in evidence
:27:46. > :27:55.tonight. Most of us having a dry night. Increasingly misty and murky
:27:56. > :28:05.around Easter Scotland. Temperatures will get down to freezing in some
:28:06. > :28:13.rural areas. Elsewhere, any cloud should gradually break up. We have
:28:14. > :28:16.seen a lot of sunshine over recent days across western Scotland. Subtle
:28:17. > :28:22.change tomorrow, especially around the coast, it will be a bit more
:28:23. > :28:30.dull. Again, quite murky on the eastern coasts. Central Belt should
:28:31. > :28:36.eventually brighten up. Some cloud and a bit of sunshine across
:28:37. > :28:42.Northern Ireland. Still a keen breeze in the far south, but perhaps
:28:43. > :28:48.not as strong as today. Friday, again, largely dry and bright for
:28:49. > :28:57.Wales and the south-west of England. Maybe a few spots of drizzle on the
:28:58. > :29:02.east coast. The settled weather continues. High pressure controlling
:29:03. > :29:06.things into the weekend. A lot of dry weather this weekend, but do not
:29:07. > :29:12.expect huge amounts of sunshine. And it will still be on the chilly side.