Watch the Budget statement and views expressed by MPs live on Parliament TV.

The link below will take you to the live video and audio feed from the Commons Chamber.

• Video and Audio: Commons Chamber

The link below will take you to a recording of the Budget statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne and the response by the Leader of the Opposition, Ed Miliband. The recording includes the final questions asked at Prime Minister's Questions.

• Video and Audio: Budget 2011 statement

Budget documents

The documents related to the Budget, including the Red Book can be found on HM Tresaury website.

• HM Treasury: Budget 2011 documents

Budget statement

The Budget usually takes place in March or April. Every year the Chancellor of the Exchequer makes a major speech to the House of Commons on the state of the national finances and the Government's proposals for changes to taxation. This statement is known as the Budget.

What is in the Budget?

The Budget statement will include:

• a review of how the UK economy is performing
• forecasts of how the UK economy will perform in the future
• details of any changes to taxation.

What happens after the Budget statement?

It is customary for the Leader of the Opposition to respond to the speech given by the Chancellor rather than the Shadow Chancellor. The Shadow Chancellor makes his response the day after the Budget statement.

The Budget Debate will continue on Thursday 24 March, Monday 28 March and will conclude on Tuesday 29 March.

The Budget statement will be shown live from when the Chancellor begins his statement on Wednesday 23 March and can be viewed live on the Parliament website from 12.30pm.

House of Commons Library Analysis

The House of Commons Library regularly produce briefing notes which inform MPs about key issues. The Library has produced a Reserach Paper on economic indicators and a briefing paper on background to the 2011 Budget.

• Commons Library Research Paper: Economic Indicators, Budget update (PDF 638KB)
• Commons Library briefing paper: Background to the 2011 Budget (PDF 413KB)

Further information

More information about the 2011 Budget can be found on HM Treasury website. The Parliament website has information about the history of the budget as a parliamentary occasion and frequently asked questions about budget speeches and financial documents. 

• HM Treasury (external link)
• About Parliament: The Budget
• Education: The Budget
• Frequently Asked Questions: The Budget
• Podcast: The Budget

http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2011/march/budget-2011-statement/

Chancellor George Osborne's Budget today boosted the Big Society with new Gift Aid proposals and took forward plans to increase taxes on super-strengh beers, but there was no let up in the government's programme of cuts.

Charities will be allowed to claim new Gift Aid on up to £5,000 of small donations per year, while the Gift Aid benefit limit is increased from £500 to £2,500 from April 2011 as part of an attempt to support the voluntary sector. Osborne said this was “a big help for the Big Society.”

As previously signalled, an additional duty will be introduced on beers over 7.5% alcohol by volume, equivalent to an extra 25% on standard duty from October 2011. General duty is also rising by 2% above inflation from next week.

The move was welcomed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists though it bemoaned the lack of action to increase taxes on cider, which are relatively low compared with beer duties.

Osborne was also criticised for not announcing any change in his austerity measures that have seen many frontline social care services cut by councils.

David Congdon, Mencap's head of campaigns and policy, said: "The Budget today does little to ease our concerns about the future of frontline services.

"Although the government has said that these services should be protected, we know that local authorities are already cutting vital care and support for people with a learning disability.

"We regularly receive calls from people with a learning disability and their families who feel terrified about the cuts and the impact it will have on their lives."

Osborne said with growth forecasts being downgraded from 2.1% to 1.7%, the government was unable to give away much, but did not have to raise new taxes as he unveiled his "Budget for growth".

As anticipated, he announced the launch of savings accounts for children in care. He also announced help for struggling families, through measures such as the council tax freeze and more child tax credit for lower income families and a pay lift for public servants on less than £21,000.

Pensioners and the low-paid gained some benefits through a rise in the personal tax allowance by £630 to £8,105 next April, which had been widely trailed, meaning that 1.1 million lower paid people have now been taken out of income tax altogether.

He signalled that the state retirement age will be increased and that a single-tier state pension will be introduced, worth some £140 a week. He also signalled a cut in employment regulations that has raised concerns among some disability groups.

This will take years to come into effect and will not apply to current pensioners.

The government will also be consulting on merging national insurance and income tax. However, he insisted the contributory principle was not being abolished nor would national insurance be extended to pensioners.

"It's time we take this historic step to simplify our historic tax system and make it fit for the modern age," Osborne said in Parliament today.

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2011/03/23/116524/budget-boosts-...

• Watch the meeting: Budget 2011
• Treasury Committee

The Committee will hear from experts, special interest groups, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), HM Treasury officials and the Chancellor on the measures announced in the Budget and on the state of the economy.

Witnesses

Thursday 24 March at 10.15am in the Wilson Room, Portcullis House  

• Jonathan Portes, Director, NIESR
• Ray Barrell, Director of Macroeconomic Research and Forecasting, NIESR
• Stuart Green, Chief UK Economist, HSBC
• Roger Bootle, Managing Director, Capital Economics
• Simon Hayes, Chief UK Economist, Barclays Capital

Further details of meetings arranged for next week with the OBR, HM Treasury officials and the Chancellor will be announced in due course.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-sele...

• Report: Departmental Business Plans
• Public Accounts Committee

The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, today said:

"The Business Plans set out how Departments will implement the Coalition Agreement and deliver the cuts required in the 2010 Spending Review.

The published plans are intended to serve as a basis for the public to hold Government to account for the delivery of its reform programme.

However, planning is at different stages in different departments, and much of the detail is still being developed.

To achieve its aim of empowering local people, Government must put much more of the detail behind departmental plans into the public domain.

This information must be relevant, robust and easily accessible if it is to serve as a basis for proper accountability.

If Parliament and the public are to use this data to monitor performance and assess value for money, they also need to be able to understand the quality and limitations of that data."

Margaret Hodge was speaking as the Committee published its 37th Report of this Session.

Background

The Spending Review 2010 set out the Government’s policy and financial priorities, and a spending framework requiring significant cuts to most departmental budgets. Subsequently, the Government published 17 Departmental Business Plans which focus on the priorities set out in the Coalition Agreement and are designed to provide a basis for accountability for delivery of those actions. The Plans do not cover all departmental responsibilities or spending and must be supported by more detailed planning across all budgets within departments.

The Business Plans provide detailed coverage and accountability for implementation of the Coalition Programme. The plans set out a policy intention to shift power from central government to local communities and locally based public, private and voluntary bodies. The Government wants to empower local people and embed local accountability by making more data more freely available so that people can assess value for money and services providers can be accountable. However, the planning to support the implementation of the reforms and new models of service delivery is at different stages in different departments with much of the detail under development or not yet in the public domain.

The Business Plans also contain key indicators of input and impact which the Government intends should provide high level accountability to Parliament and others for overall departmental performance. The Plans will also be a source of information for Parliament as they underpin the allocation of resources within departments and the subsequent accountability for the use of those resources. The management of the full range of departmental activity, however, will require more detailed operational planning and information.

The committee's findings

The committee took evidence from officials from the Cabinet Office and the Treasury; and from two line departments - the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Home Office. We also heard evidence from the Minister of State for the Cabinet and the Chief Secretary, HM Treasury who explained the political rationale for the plans and the structural reforms. We examined the business planning process as a basis for managing reform, for reducing costs, and for departmental strategic management and accountability.

This report identifies a number of important areas that departments should consider that will aid them to: clarify accountability; support cost-effective implementation of Government policies; and secure effective performance management.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-sele...