| March 2010 United Kingdom Budget | |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Previous Budget: | 2009 United Kingdom budget |
| Previous Year: | 2009 |
| Next Budget: | June 2010 United Kingdom budget |
| Next Year: | June 2010 |
| Presented: | 24 March 2010 (Wednesday) |
| Parliament: | 54th |
| Party: | Labour |
| Chancellor: | Alistair Darling |
| Total Revenue: | £541 billion |
| Total Expenditures: | £704 billion |
| Deficit: | £163 billion |
The March 2010 United Kingdom Budget, official known as Budget 2010: Securing the recovery, was delivered by Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 24 March 2010.[1]
The budget speech outlined the Labour Government's fiscal policies prior to the 2010 general election, which had to be called before July. It will be the last budget delivered by Labour until October 2024.
The Budget's main headlines included:
The Chancellor aimed for public sector net borrowing to fall to 8.5% of GDP by 2011-12, and 4.0% by 2014-15.Public sector net debt was projected to increase to 73% of GDP by 2012-13.
The Treasury published the Finance Act 2010 on 1 April, running to 240 pages.[4] After the General Election was called on 6 April, the Chartered Institute of Taxation expressed concern at the lack of time for debate on complex measures.[5] In the event, many of the clauses announced in the Budget speech were dropped from the Bill before Parliament was dissolved.[6]
| Receipts | 2010-10 Revenues (£bn) | |
|---|---|---|
| Income Tax | 146 | |
| Value Added Tax (VAT) | 78 | |
| National Insurance | 97 | |
| Excise duties | 46 | |
| Corporate Tax | 42 | |
| Council Tax | 26 | |
| Business rates | 25 | |
| Other | 81 | |
| Total Government revenue | 541 |
| Department | 2010-10 Expenditure (£bn) | |
|---|---|---|
| Social protection | 196 | |
| Health | 122 | |
| Education | 89 | |
| Debt interest | 43 | |
| Defence | 40 | |
| Public order and safety | 36 | |
| Personal social services | 33 | |
| Housing and Environment | 27 | |
| Transport | 22 | |
| Industry, agriculture and employment | 20 | |
| Other | 74 | |
| Total Government spending | 704 |