On the eve of the first full Budget from Chancellor Gordon Brown, right, Telegraph & Argus reporter Joanne Earp talks to business leaders and ordinary residents in the Bradford district about their expectations.

With new Labour currently under fire over its welfare reforms financial experts are predicting Gordon Brown will redress the balance and deliver a Budget for families.

Help for parents is likely to be a priority, with the Chancellor expected to unveil a tax break to make up for benefit cuts.

Family Credit could be replaced with a system aimed at encouraging work and helping families on low pay. Parents with a total income of less than £20,000 are set to get special childcare credit which will help mums get back to work.

Jose Nichols, a single mum from Tyersal, says the changes are well overdue: "The Government says it wants to help single parents back to work, which is brilliant, but what about the parents who have worked for the past decade? I had to pay for my son's child-minding fees out of my own pocket. As a result I have nothing in reserve to help him through further education."

As with every Budget there will be winners and losers. The Chancellor may decide to raise the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes by as much as 25p to provide a cash boost for the NHS.

The cost of a pint of beer looks set to increase by 6p and a similar rise in line with inflation would work out at 30p on a bottle of wine.

Petrol could go up by 6p per litre as the Government struggles to persuade people to abandon their cars in favour of public transport.

Road tax is expected to rise by £5 to £155, the tax on company cars could also be increased and some employees may have to pay tax and national insurance on company car parking spaces.

Chris Maslen, a tax partner at Baker Tilly in Bradford, said the Budget it could be painful for certain individuals and companies.

He said: "Companies, particularly medium-sized businesses, could be hit by quarterly payments for corporation tax."

Small businesses in Bradford are keeping their fingers crossed they will not suffer too badly.

Eric Hudson, President of Bradford and District Chamber of Trade, said: "We are losing small businesses hand-over-fist because they can't afford to compete.

"Our members know the Government has higher priorities - such as education and health - but they want to see promises made to small businesses kept in this Budget."

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