Cigarettes and alcohol:

REAL ale enthusiast Tony Goulding praised the Chancellor for freezing duty on beer.

But Mr Goulding, a member of Oxford CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) for the past 40 years, said a reduction would have been even better.

Mr Hammond froze duty on beer, wine and whisky and said there would be a new duty band from 2019 to target ‘white cider’.

Mr Goulding said: “Freezing duty on beer has to be welcomed because it’s an unfair playing field, with pubs competing against supermarkets, which are able to sell beer more cheaply.

“Landlords will welcome this and hopefully it will encourage drinkers to visit their local more often instead of drinking at home.”

Mr Goulding said drinkers in Oxford could pay from £3.40 to £4.80 for a pint.

Cigarette pack prices are up by two per cent.

Family view:

MUM Alex Jenkins said she was pleased Philip Hammond was injecting more money into the NHS.

Mrs Jenkins, 30, from Chilton, near Didcot, lives with husband Michael and daughter Fleur, who is nearly two.

The toddler needed treatment at Oxford Children’s Hospital shortly after she was born and has returned for different treatment since.

Mrs Jenkins, who works as a learning development specialist for the Horticultural Trades Association, welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement of a £350m cash injection this winter, and a £10bn programme of capital investment to 2022.

She said: “We are so lucky to live near the John Radcliffe Hospital and the Children’s Hospital – I’m pleased to hear about any additional investment in the NHS.”

Mrs Jenkins also welcomed the decision to cancel the annual fuel duty rise for petrol and diesel. The increase in income tax personal allowance to £11,850 would also help, she added.

Oxford Mail:

Housing:

LETTINGS director Nicholas Jones welcomed the help given to Oxford’s first-time buyers in the Budget.

The Chancellor announced the Government will abolish stamp duty for all first-time buyers for homes worth up to £300,000, and buyers will pay £5,000 less on purchases between £300,000 and £500,000.

The director of Nicholas Jones Residential in Woodstock Road said: “It’s very positive that the housing market was high on the Chancellor’s agenda and the stamp duty move will certainly help first-time buyers.

“At the same time it could increase the flow in the private rental sector as some long-term renters will be encouraged to buy.

“There are plenty of smaller properties out there for £300,000 or below.”

Mr Jones said he also welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement that local authorities will now be able to charge a 100 per cent premium on council tax on empty properties.

Pollution:

EXPECT to see more charging points for drivers in Oxford to add to the 100 already being installed across the city.

Philip Hammond pledged the Government will spend £400m on a new charging infrastructure fund.

To boost the take-up of electric vehicles, that money will be boosted by an extra £100m for a new plug-in vehicle grant, while another £40m will be ploughed into providing research into charging.

A new £220m clean air fund will also support the implementation of local air quality plans around British cities.

Oxford is already home to a major trial of new charging points, which is the largest of its kind in the world. It is operated by Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council. As part of that, 100 of the points will be operating in Oxford by 2018.

The pilot seeks to increase the number of people able to charge their electric cars.

Before the pilot begun, some of the city’s residents would have struggled to find a place close to their home if they lived in terraced streets.

Oxford Mail:

GP services:

THE Chancellor’s promise of an extra £2.8bn for the NHS will not make a difference, says a former Abingdon GP.

Chairman of the Oxfordshire Local Medical Committee, Dr Prit Buttar, has said the ‘feeble pledge’ to give an extra £350m for this winter was not enough to make a difference to the health crisis.

He added: “At the moment, general practitioners amount for nine per cent of total NHS spending and the deficit in general practice at the moment would mean it will eat all this money up.”

Dr Buttar said in order for the health service to make any plans for the future, the Chancellor would need to be pledging that type of money for a sustained period of time, not just for one winter.

He said: “It is ridiculous that he is spending more on Brexit contingencies than he is on our own healthcare system.

“If it was not so tragic it would be funny that those wanting to leave the EU believed they would be getting millions more for their NHS and this is just not the case.”

The extra £2.8bn of money Philip Hammond has pledged to the health service will be spent over the course of this winter as well as 2018 and 2019.

Schools:

A NEW £40m fund to train teachers in underperforming schools in deprived areas has been cautiously welcomed.

The Chancellor also placed renewed emphasis on maths, science and computing, with 8,000 new computer science teachers to be recruited and £600 for secondary schools and sixth-form colleges for each new pupil taking maths.

Lynn Knapp, headteacher of Windmill Primary in Headington, said: “Any new finance is a good thing, especially if it helps children who may need extra support.

“But I would have liked to have seen a recognition that we are in the midst of a teacher recruitment crisis and pay is one of the main reasons for this.

“Graduates aren’t considering teaching in Oxford because the cost of living is so high.”

Driverless cars:

AN OXFORD-BASED company developing driverless cars has welcomed a commitment to developing the new technology.

Staff at Oxbotica in Summertown have been conducting trials of autonomous vehicles and could be on Oxford’s roads next year.

Red tape will be slashed to allow firms to test autonomous cars on public roads.

Speaking after Mr Hammond’s budget announcement, Oxbotica chief executive officer and consortium leader Graeme Smith said: “This support demonstrates that the Government continues to be serious about ensuring the UK is an amazing place to develop autonomous vehicle technology.

“The research undertaken by us at Oxbotica, and leveraged in our self-driving road trials, would not be possible without funding from Central Government.”

Armed forces:

COMMUNITY facilities at three military bases in Oxfordshire have been given a boost in the Budget.

The Chancellor announced a grant for £250,000 for RAF Brize Norton, to help improve welfare facilities.

The grant, funded by the LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) charity funding scheme, will renovate welfare facilities and provide a safe space for children, young people and their families.

Witney MP Robert Courts met the Minister for the Armed Forces, Tobias Ellwood, to raise concerns about the state of facilities for servicemen and women and their families on the base.

He also raised concerns about housing in Carterton which is in need of redevelopment.

He said: “I am pleased that the Chancellor has listened to the concerns of the community.”

Oxfordshire Play Association was also given £98,535 to provide community facilities for families at RAF Benson near Wallingford and Dalton Barracks in Abingdon.