Pre-Budget Report 2005 Summary Leaflet

			Pre-Budget Report 2005 Summary Britain meeting the global challenge: Enterprise, fairness and responsibility


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Building a fairer society

The Government's aim is to build a fairer society in which everyone can contribute to and share in rising national prosperity. The Pre-Budget Report sets out the steps the Government is taking to tackle child and pensioner poverty, to support families and children, and to promote savings. The Government is also continuing to build a modern tax system in which everyone pays their fair share.

Introduced in April 2003, the Child Tax Credit provides a secure stream of income for families with children, helping to tackle child poverty. 10.5 million children are benefiting from the support it provides. The Pension Credit, introduced in October 2003, provides extra help for pensioners on low- and modest-income and rewards those who have saved for retirement.

In the Pre-Budget Report, the Government takes further steps to promote a fairer society, including:

a continuation of Winter Fuel Payments of £200 for households with someone aged 60 or over, and £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over, for the rest of this Parliament;
an additional £300 million over three years to enable pensioners on Pension Credit to have central heating systems installed free of charge and to provide a £300 discount on central heating systems to all other pensioners;
an increase in the taxation of North Sea oil companies, striking a balance between promoting investment and ensuring fairness for taxpayers;
an additional £53 million to expand Youth Opportunity Funds, enabling young people to secure the amenities and activities they want in each local authority;
a series of steps to increase certainty of awards for tax credit claimants, while maintaining flexibility to respond to changes in income and circumstances; and
measures to promote fairness in the tax system, including action to tackle tax fraud, avoidance and tax motivated incorporation.