Northern Ireland
Budget 2010 announces further action the Government will be taking in Northern Ireland, including:
Families
- To increase the support available to families with young children and to continue to drive progress in tackling child poverty, from April 2012 the Child Tax Credit for each child aged 1 and 2 will be increased by £4 per week. Around 30,000 families in Northern Ireland are expected to benefit.
- To encourage people to save for the future, 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. 279,000 people in Northern Ireland are expected to benefit.
- On 11 March the Chancellor launched Moneymadeclear nationally, providing free impartial information and guidance on personal finance issues online and over the phone in Northern Ireland. The service has been piloted in the North East and North West since last April and the Government and the FSA have together committed £20m for the service in 2011 enabling it to help one million people by March 2011.
Business
- HMRC will continue to offer the Business Payment Support Service allowing viable businesses in temporary financial difficulty to spread their tax payments over an agreed timetable. 7,210 arrangements have been reached through this Time to Pay scheme with businesses in Northern Ireland to allow them more time to pay their tax.
- £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 3,800 people in Northern Ireland.
These schemes build upon actions and investments that are already being undertaken in Northern Ireland to support businesses and families, including:
Families
- All 18-24 year olds who have been claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for 6 months or more now have access to the Young Person's Guarantee, providing a guaranteed job, work experience or training. It is estimated that 17,630 people in Northern Ireland are benefiting. And from next month, participation will be mandatory.
- Around 230,825 families and 433,370 children are benefiting from the January 2009 increase in Child Benefit.
Business
- Over 7,170 agreements, worth nearly £120m, made through the Business Payment Support Service have enabled businesses in the region to spread their tax payments over a timetable they can afford.
- The Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme enables up to £1.3bn of bank lending to small and medium-sized businesses across the UK, the scheme has, to date, meant that nearly £16m of eligible applications from 85 firms in Northern Ireland have been granted, are being processed, or assessed.
Investment
- The Northern Ireland Executive will benefit from increases of £33million as a consequence of increased spending by UK Departments. In addition Northern Ireland will benefit from increased spending in reserved areas such as support for business.
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