Budget: your questions have been answered

Q5: Which motorways are being widened?

A: The M1, M25, M6, M62, M3 and M4 are currently undergoing hard shoulder widening work.

The Chancellor has announced no new schemes in the 2009 Budget announcement.

Q6: What happened in the 2008 Budget?

A: Key changes made in the 2008 Budget included:

1. An overhaul of the car tax system. 13 new bands were added, with higher rates for the most polluting cars and lower rates for vehicles which emit less CO2

2. A new first-year tax rate for cars bought in 2010 ? ranging from £0 for cars which emit less than 140g/km of CO2 to £950 for vehicles emitting more than 255g/km

3. A 2p per litre fuel duty postponement to October 2008

4. Fuel duty to rise by 0.5p per litre in 2010

5. Funding set aside for road-pricing proposals, which were later canned. This would have seen motorists charged for entering cities at peak times.

Q7: What is the pre-Budget report?

A: An annual speech from the Chancellor of the Exchequer which explains the government?s plans for the following Budget.

It?s usually announced in autumn, ready for the actual Budget the following spring. Sometimes new policies are discussed and dismissed in the report.

Q8: What was said in the 2008 pre-Budget report?

A: Four major changes were announced:

1. Car tax to increase by £5 per band, not the maximum £90 as originally planned
2. Tax rates for 2010 to be lowered with a £30 limit ? down from £100
3. VAT cut from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent to help increase car sales. This is due to rise again in December 2009.
4. A 2p per litre rise in fuel duty
5. Around £3 billion worth of spending brought forward, so motorway widening schemes could start earlier

For more information read our full coverage of the 2008 pre-Budget report.

Q9: What does the Budget include?

A: New taxes and funding are set for a range of non-motoring areas, which include:

? Air travel
? Alcohol
? Armed forces
? Benefits ? including council tax, incapacity and poverty
? Businesses
? Cigarettes
? Education
? Environment ? for example new green schemes
? Housing ? including mortgages and stamp duty
? Pensions
? Public services
? Savings accounts ? such as the annual cash ISA limit

Q10: What else was announced in the 2009 Budget?

A: Some of the key changes include the following: