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Budget Report 2010 for the South West

"The Government's objective is to build a strong economy and a fair society where there is opportunity and security for all."

HM Treasury reports on how the Government will be delivering support to business and households to build strong, sustainable, growth whilst protecting the frontline services that people in the South West rely on.

The Government is acting to ensure sound public finances to provide a stable platform for growth and maintain macroeconomic stability. These measures include:

Supporting Business and Growth

Budget 2010 announces measures to strengthen regional, sub-regional and local capability to support growth and inclusion, including:

• Temporary increase in the rate of small business rate relief to benefit over half a million eligible small businesses in England.
• A National Growth Capital Fund with a regional presence to ensure SMEs across the South West access the finance it will provide.
• An increase in the threshold of the Annual Investment Allowance from £50,000 to £100,000. This will benefit particularly the manufacturing, transport/storage and construction sectors.
• HMRC will continue to offer the Time To Pay scheme: 31,300 arrangements in the region allow businesses more time to pay tax.
• Collocation of RDA, HCA and Government Office to simplify the regional tier
• £120 million to fund Accelerated Development Zone pilots in centres of growth, including combined authorities, in 2011-12.
• A £100m fund to repair local roads following the bad weather, and;
• An enhanced role for regional ministers (RM) to act as a champion for growth, inclusion and public sector reform in their region.

Achieving Fairness and Providing Opportunity

Budget announces an additional payment alongside this year's Winter Fuel Payment, worth £100 for households with someone aged 80 or more and £50 for households with someone over female State Pension Age. 230,000 of the 880,000 households in the South West which received a Winter Fuel Payment contain someone aged 80 or over.

Budget announces that the first Saving Gateway accounts will be available in July 2010, offering people the chance to receive 50p from the Government for each £1 they save. 565,000 people expected to benefit in the South West.

The Government is providing continued support to homeowners by freezing the interest rate used to calculate Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) payments at 6.08% for a further 6 months, until December 2010. Based on the most recent available regional data, the number expected to benefit in the South West is 15,900.

Protecting Public Services

Budget 2010 announces that, as of December 2009, the Government had relocated over 21,500 Civil Service posts out of London and the South East.

By December 2009, 3558 posts had been relocated to the South West.

Published alongside Budget is Ian Smith's independent review 'Relocation: Transforming where and how Government works'. The Government has accepted the recommendations in Ian Smith's review and will work towards implementing them in the coming months.

The national report of Total Place, published the day after Budget, announces significant freedoms for local public services to deliver better outcomes and greater savings. This is based on work by local partners in Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole.

Tackling Climate Change

Budget 2010 announces £60 million for infrastructure development, to meet the needs of offshore wind turbine manufacturers looking to locate new facilities in the UK. The wind energy industry employs around 5,500 people in the South West;

The previously announced £1.8 billion in funding for the low carbon sector is now supporting the following projects: £50 million for marine energy, establishing the South West as a marine energy hub, including a new £22 million fund for the early stage trial of six promising marine energy technologies; and

This Budget also announces the Government's intention to create a Green Investment Bank which will be UK wide, supported by up to £1 billion from the sale of infrastructure-related assets to boost investment in major low-carbon infrastructure projects. This will potentially benefit projects in the South West, including renewable energy.

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