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Enterprise zone locations unveiled

Date: 24/3/2011 06:39:30

Search: enterprise zones regional growth

David Cameron and Nick Clegg are due to announce the first enterprise zones designed to kickstart regional growth as they promote the Budget to the country.

The Prime Minister and his deputy will hit the road together as they try to reinforce Chancellor George Osborne's message that the coalition is "putting fuel into the tank of the British economy".

After the Government's independent growth forecast was downgraded for the next two years, respected think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned on Wednesday night that Mr Osborne's fiscal strategy was now heavily reliant on an economic bounce back from 2013.

His tight fiscal strategy would be breached if the Office of Budget Responsibility's predictions for increased output had been overestimated by as little as 1.5%, the IFS said.

Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg will disclose the locations of the first batch of a planned 21 enterprise zones meant to help the private sector excel as public spending is cut by £81 billion over the next four years. Mr Osborne said the first 10 zones would be in "urban areas of highest need but also potential".

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In them, businesses will get special allowances, including discounts on rates of up to 100%, and superfast broadband. Local authorities will be asked to reduce planning restrictions in return for keeping all growth in business rates.

The IFS will deliver its forensic examination of the fine details of the Budget later on Thursday. But in an initial analysis it flagged up higher-than-expected borrowing over the coming years and a downgrade in GDP growth forecasts, from 2.1% to 1.7% in 2011 and from 2.6% to 2.5% in 2012.

The Chancellor announced a range of measures which he said would make the UK the best place in Europe to start and grow a business, including staggered cuts in corporation tax, bringing it down to 23% by 2014/15.

He also offered a helping hand to motorists by lopping 1p off a litre off fuel duty and introduced a "Fair Fuel Stabiliser", funded by £2 billion of new taxes on the windfall profits of oil companies.

Most taxpayers will benefit from a heavily-trailed boost of £630 in the personal tax allowance to £8,105 - worth £126 a year in cash terms. Together with this year's rise, the change will mean an extra £326 a year for basic-rate taxpayers and will take 1.1 million of the low-paid out of tax altogether, Mr Osborne said.

2012 © Press Association

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Man shot in pub in Manchester
The victim, named by sources as 23-year-old Mark Short, was gunned down in the Cotton Tree pub in Market Street, Droylsden, Greater Manchester shortly before 11.50pm yesterday.Three other men, believed to be related to Mr Short, were also injured and are

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