I earn £30,000. I'm angry there was no fuel duty cut in the Budget

ByDaniel ThomasKris BramwellJemma Crew and Tom Espiner

He announced £100 energy payment for millions and a tax rise on banks, among other measures.

BBC News has been speaking to people on a range of incomes on how they feel about their finances and how the Budget affects them.

Dave Herbert is a professional driver on £30,000 a year. He moves cars between showrooms and does deliveries and says fuel prices have been "crazy" this year.

He spends around £350 a month on petrol for work and personal use. That's 40% to 50% more than at the start of the year, he says.

He has to commute into Cardiff, a 62-mile round trip from his home in Ynysddu. "I'd love to have a hybrid car but even an entry-level used car is too expensive."

The 48-year-old, who is married with a 12-year-old daughter, says he has to find the extra money for fuel "from an already tight budget" and "dreads" filling up at the pump.

"I'm pretty angry, really. Nothing has been thrown my way," he says.

The main fuel duty rate has been frozen at 52.95p per litre until the summer, but Dave says: "It sounds like they're giving us something by keeping it frozen but they're actually still taking it off us."

'I get £4,062 a year. I'm frustrated there's no action on NEETs yet'

The 19-year-old from Swindon wants to be an animator but in the meantime is applying for retail and sales roles and apprenticeships. Most of the time, she doesn't hear back from potential employers.

"I'm trying my best, it's all you really can do. It's kind of suffocating in a way. You see everyone else managing, and you feel like you're not."

Emily was initially disappointed with the Budget, and then frustrated that the government is waiting for the outcome of a review into youth unemployment before legislating next year.

"I'm glad the government is aware, and that they have a plan," she said. "But it's a bit frustrating that we have to wait a little longer to find out what it is."

She wants to see more funding to businesses so they can take on more young employees. She'd also like to see more money for training and the government's Jobs Guarantee, external scheme extended.

The scheme, being rolled out across England, Scotland and Wales, guarantees fully funded, six-month paid jobs for 18 to 24-year-olds who have been on universal credit and looking for work for 18 months. But Emily thinks people should be eligible after a year.

'I earn £22,000. Cost-of-living help doesn't go far enough'

Robert Portlock, 29, has always lived with his parents in Gateshead and would love to move out. But he doesn't think he can afford to.

Rent would be his biggest concern, he says, explaining that a small flat in his area would cost him about two-thirds of his monthly wage.

"Council tax and energy bills would add to it. Food too. I'd need a TV licence, broadband, my car and some money to socialise. By that point I'd be in the minus."

Robert's biggest expense currently is his car, which he says he needs for his 32-mile round trip to work at Newcastle Airport. But he's paying £750 a month in car finance, insurance, fuel and tax.

The Budget "doesn't go far enough", he says, adding he would have liked to have seen more help with the cost of living, including a cut in fuel duty.

The £100 household energy allowance over a year is less than £10 a month, he says, while action on tariffs on food items will save only £21 a year, or £1.75 per month.

He would like to get on the housing ladder but for now it feels a distant prospect. The government has announced a scheme to help first-time buyers in England who have a deposit of 2.5%. It also confirmed plans for a new First Time Buyer Isa, external, to replace the Lifetime ISA, which will see the government contribute towards the cost of a first home.

But Robert says neither policy will make much difference to him. "You can't save if you don't have money. They seem to be acting as if inflation hasn't happened."

'I earn £41,000. Energy support will definitely help'

She's very grateful that the rent she pays on her south London maisonette is set below the market rate as it is housing association accommodation, but says life was easier when she shared the bills. "Two incomes make a massive difference."

She lives with her 16-year-old son, and says her energy bill has risen sharply over the past year and she now pays about £200 a month on gas and electricity.

Chloe, 40, and her son have cut back on luxuries like going to M&S and the cinema, and she now tries to limit the weekly food shop to £40.

But she can't do anything to reduce her £200 council tax bill, the £250 a month she pays on car finance, or the amount she spends on medicines for her various health conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis.

Two mobile phone bills, and food and pet insurance for her dog also add to her costs. She says the amount she has left over at the end of each month varies, and sometimes she is left with as little as £50.

Cutting standing charges on gas, and the £100 household energy payment for households in council tax bands A to D this winter are "definitely going to help", she says.

'I earn £150,000. Higher earners like me should've been taxed more'

Jonathan Whitwam, who recently joined the Labour Party, works in finance and says, in addition to his mortgage, his biggest outgoing is supporting his two daughters through university. He and his wife, who live in Essex, pay their rent, which is around £18,000 per year.

His daughters will start their working lives with between £45,000 to £60,000 of debt each, plus interest, which will be compounding at £5,000 to £8,000 per year.

"I have no objection to paying for degrees as I think they are a great way of broadening horizons and having great life experience. But I think the interest should be waived or capped below 1%, otherwise it's a noose around their neck for a substantial part of their lifetime."

Jonathan, 52, says the Budget was "very safe", reducing energy costs for his household by getting rid of standing charges, while cutting bills for many people this winter.

However, he wanted taxes to be put up for higher earners like himself in the name of "redistribution" and says there was "nothing" in the Budget on that.

'I have a £15,000 pension. I'm even Stevens after the Budget'

Christine Morris, from Worksop, has been retired for eight years and lives on a state pension combined with a small private pension her late husband left her.

"It is very difficult to balance the books," the 78-year-old says. "I do go on holiday, but I'm spending more of my savings to live."

The chancellor said standing charges would be removed from gas bills, but Christine, who has a gas boiler, says it's not clear yet whether she will benefit, because those costs will be added on to the unit rate.

"I'm not sure I'll be better off," she says. Instead she thinks she will be "even Stevens".

She was unconvinced by Andy Burnham's pledge to end the triple lock so that from 2030 the state pension will rise at least by inflation or 2.5%, with the money saved used to create a free-at-the-point of use national care service for England sometime "in the next parliament".

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