Summary of the key announcements in Alistair Darling's pre-Budget report are:-

• Economy forecast to shrink 4.75% in 2009, worse than 3.5% forecast in April
• Growth of 1%-1.5% expected in 2010 and 3.5% in 2011 and 2012
• Forecast borrowing of £178bn in 2009, £3bn higher than predicted in April
• Estimated borrowing of £176bn in 2010 and £140bn in 2011, falling to £96bn in 2013
• Budget deficit to be halved by 2013
• Estimated public cost of bank bailouts cut from £50bn to £10bn
• Total spending in 2010-11 to rise by £31bn.
• Current spending to fall by 0.8% between 2011-2 and 2014-5
• One-off 50% tax on bank bonuses of more than £25,000
• Inheritance tax to be frozen at £325,000 until 2011
• VAT to return to 17.5% from 15% from 1 January 2010. No other changes to VAT
• All national insurance rates to rise by 0.5% from April 2011
• Increase in corporation tax for small businesses to be deferred
• Stamp duty holiday on certain properties to end on 1 January 2010
• Under-24s to be guaranteed work or training after six months out of work
• Basic state pension will rise by 2.5% in April 2010
• Child and disability benefit to rise by 1.5% in 2010
• Contributions to public sector pensions to be cut by £1bn a year
• All public sector pay settlements to be capped at 1% for two years from 2011
• Bingo duty to be cut from 22% to 20%
• £160m investment in low-carbon and renewable projects
• £200m extra investment for Warm Front insulation scheme, helping 65,000 households
• Boiler scrappage scheme for 125,000 households
• Electric cars to be exempt from company car tax for five years
• New 50p tax on landline phones to pay for superfast broadband
• New 10% tax on income from patents to boost science development
• Free school meals to an extra 500,000 low income families