Darling sets out Budget priorities

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Chancellor Alistair Darling has told Cabinet colleagues his Budget will tackle climate change and help hard-working families while maintaining Britain's economic stability.

He told ministers Britain is well placed to survive global economic turbulence - but stressed the bleak background to his statement to MPs on Wednesday afternoon.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said the Chancellor told Cabinet: "The priorities for the Budget were to act responsibly and maintain economic stability, to address the challenge of climate change and to provide targeted support for hard-working families."

The spokesman said Mr Darling received "strong support" from colleagues for the "responsible approach he was taking".

Details emerge

The Cabinet heard details of the Budget package at a 45-minute meeting.

Mr Brown's spokesman said: "Alistair Darling presented the main elements of the Budget to Cabinet. He said that the background to this year's Budget was the difficult situation in the world economy. The problems in world financial markets had resulted in the intervention from central banks."

The Bank of England joined banks around the world on Tuesday in pumping billions of pounds into money markets to ease a lending crisis.

Mr Brown's spokesman went on: "He said that the US economy was facing particular difficulties and that the oil price was now over 100 dollars a barrel. He emphasised that Britain remained well-placed to deal with the difficult economic circumstances."

"Inflation was low, which had enabled the Bank of England to cut interest rates. Public sector debt was low by both historical and international standards. Growth remained resilient, with Britain the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year, and unemployment was at a record low."