Chancellor: Stamp Duty Cut Maintained, Mortgage Guarantee Created

On housing:

• "The cut in stamp duty I announced last summer has helped hundreds of thousands of people buy a home and supported the economy at a critical time. But due to the sheer volume of transactions we're seeing, many new purchases won't complete in time for the end of March So I can announce today the £500,000 nil rate band will not end on 31st of March, it will end on the 30th of June. Then, to smooth the transition back to normal, the nil rate band will be £250,000, double its standard level, until the end of September – and we will only return to the usual level of £125,000 from October 1st. Even with the stamp duty cut, there is still a significant barrier to people getting on the housing ladder – the cost of a deposit. So I'm announcing today a new policy to stand behind homebuyers: a mortgage guarantee"
• Mortgage guarantee: those providing mortgages to 5% depositors will have mortgages guaranteed by the gov't.