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The money will be used to:

• Increase capacity in the motorway network;
• Improve and build new social housing;
• Renew primary and secondary schools;
• Invest in energy efficiency measures.

Empty properties tax relief

Temporary increase in the threshold for empty property relief. Empty commercial properties with a rateable value below £15,000 will be exempt from business rates.

Sustainability

• An additional £100m and another £50m brought forward to help up to 60,000 more households insulate their homes.
• £535m invested more quickly on energy efficiency, rail and environmental protection.

Housing and mortgage lending

Package of support worth £1.8bn, including:

• An additional £775m this year and next to invest in thousands of new and modernised social housing and regeneration projects.
• Plans for £100bn in government guarantees for banks’ new mortgage lending.

SMEs

£7bn package of measures, including:

• Government to offer £1bn of credit via a temporary small business finance scheme.
• Firms in difficulties will be allowed to spread their tax over a longer timetable.
• Monitoring of banks receiving government funding, to ensure they maintain lending to SMEs at 2007 levels.
• Increase in corporation tax deferred.
• Scope of tax repayment system extended to businesses which were previously profitable but are now making losses, which enables them to receive tax repayments. Losses of up to £50,000 can be offset against profits made for the last three years, rather than one year as at present.

Larger companies

• Exemption for foreign dividends in 2009.
• Other taxation measures.
• VAT cut from 17.5% to 15% until the end of 2009.
• From April 2011 all rates of NI contributions, for both employees and employers, increase by 0.5%.
• From April 2011 a new rate of income tax of 45% on income over £150 000.
• Offset the VAT reduction by increase in fuel duty.