Ten things you need to know about today's budget

The minimum wage will rise to £9 an hour by 2020... and it will be compulsory. Next April it will go up to £7.20

Good news for higher rate tax payers - the threshold has been raised to £43,000

Good news here too, particularly for low earners - the tax free personal income allowance will go up to £10,800 next April and £11,000 the following year

It's not such good news for families, especially larger families on lower incomes. Parents will not receive tax credits for a third child after April 2017

From 2017 the government will phase in a £175,000 family home allowance for houses left to children or grandchildren. But the total estate can add up to £1 million for a couple before inheritance tax kicks in

There's bad news for cash-strapped students - maintenance grants for those on lower incomes will be replaced with loans, which will be increased to £8,200. You'll have be earning more than £20,000 before you start automatically paying it back though

From 2017 new cars will fall under one of three new tax bands, based on emissions, starting at £140 a year. But fuel duty has been frozen

There is some good news for small firms - national insurance contributions have been reduced

And big business owners will be happy to hear corporation tax is to be reduced to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020

Local councils will be left to decide on Sunday trading hours, which could see supermarkets and other stores open longer