'I'm a single mum on £41,000 and limit my weekly shop to £40.' What do you want from the Budget?

'I'm a single mum on £41,000 and limit my weekly shop to £40.' What do you want from the Budget?

Chloe, Emily and Robert all spoke to the BBC about what they would like to see in the Budget

Chancellor John Healey is due to set out his first Budget on Wednesday.

Compared with previous years, there have been very few leaks about what it will contain, although Healey's tax and spending plans will face intense scrutiny at a time when government borrowing costs are at "historic highs".

BBC News has been talking to people on different incomes about how they feel about their finances and what they want from the Budget.

Chloe says her biggest concern is the cost of living. Her husband died four years ago and she is raising their 16-year-old son on her own.

She is very thankful that the rent on her south London maisonette is supported by a housing association, but says things were easier when she shared the bills. "Two incomes make a massive difference."

Her energy bill has climbed sharply over the past year and she now pays about £200 a month for gas and electricity.

"We try to be more aware, we think more about how long we run the hot water when we do the dishes."

Chloe, 40, and her son have cut back on treats such as trips to M&S and the cinema, and she now tries to keep the weekly food shop to £40.

But she cannot do anything about her £200 council tax bill, or the amount she spends on medication for her various health conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis.

Chloe wants more support for single-parent families.

"I don't access benefits but I work full-time and it's hard. Can the government do anything else to help? Something on our tax bill perhaps."

Robert Portlock, 29, has always lived with his parents in Gateshead and would like to move out. But he does not think he can afford to.

Rent would be his biggest worry, he says, explaining that a small flat in his area would cost him about two-thirds of his monthly wage.

"Council tax and energy bills would add to it. Food too. I'd need a TV licence, broadband, my car and some money to socialise. By that point I'd be in the minus."

Robert's biggest current expense is his car, which he says he needs for his 32-mile round trip to work at Newcastle Airport. But he is paying £750 a month in car finance, insurance, fuel and tax.

He wants the chancellor to cut fuel duty and income tax, or raise the personal allowance - the amount of income you do not have to pay tax on - to about £16,000, up from £12,570 currently.

He would like to get on the housing ladder, but for now it feels far away. The government has announced a scheme to help first-time buyers in England who have a deposit of 2.5%, but Robert says: "Saving for a house is impossible at the moment."

Emily Nelson finished her A-levels last year and, like thousands of others her age, has been unable to find a job since leaving college.

The 19-year-old from Swindon wants to be an animator, but in the meantime she is applying for retail and sales jobs and apprenticeships. Most of the time, she hears nothing back from employers.

"I'm trying my best, it's all you really can do. It's kind of suffocating in a way. You see everyone else managing, and you feel like you're not."

She wants the government to give businesses more funding so they can hire more young workers. She would also like to see more money for training and the government's

But Emily thinks people should be eligible after a year.

She is living with her parents but hopes to move out one day. "My parents want me to get a job first. They are not putting pressure on me to go yet."

Dave Herbert, a professional driver who moves cars between showrooms and makes deliveries, says fuel prices have been "crazy" this year.

He spends around £350 a month on petrol for work and personal use. That is 40% to 50% more than at the start of the year, he says.

He has to commute into Cardiff, a 62-mile round trip from his home in Ynysddu. "I'd love to have a hybrid car but even an entry-level used car is too expensive."

The 48-year-old, who is married with a 12-year-old daughter, says he has to find the extra money for fuel "from an already tight budget" and "dreads" filling up at the pump.

"The best thing they could do at the Budget is drastically remove or reduce fuel duty for a period of time."

The main fuel duty rate has been frozen at 57.95p per litre since March 2011, but Dave says: "It sounds like they're giving us something by keeping it frozen but they're actually still taking it off us."

Jonathan Whitwam, who recently joined the Labour Party, works in finance and says that, alongside his mortgage, his biggest outgoing is supporting his two daughters through university. He and his wife, who live in Essex, pay their rent, which is around £18,000 a year.

His daughters will begin their working lives with between £45,000 to £60,000 of debt each, plus interest, which will be compounding at £5,000 to £8,000 a year.

"I have no objection to paying for degrees as I think they are a great way of broadening horizons and having great life experience. But I think the interest should be waived or capped below 1%, otherwise it's a noose around their neck for a substantial part of their lifetime."

More broadly, Jonathan, 52, would welcome higher taxes for earners like himself in the name of "redistribution". He would also like to see a one-off wealth tax for people with assets worth over £10m and new taxes on the oil and gas and banking sectors.

"If we want better roads, hospitals, schools we need to raise more tax."

Christine Morris, from Worksop, has been retired for eight years and lives on a state pension plus a small private pension left to her by her late husband.

"It is very difficult to balance the books," the 78-year-old says. "I do go on holiday, but I'm spending more of my savings to live."

Although the prime minister has asked ministers to look at removing standing charges from gas bills, Christine thinks there should be some relief for people who live alone when it comes to standing charges on electricity bills, which are usually higher.

She would also like the government to widen access to pension credit, a means-tested benefit for people who have reached state pension age and are receiving £238 or less a week. Christine currently gets £241 and so just misses out.

She was unconvinced by

Christine thinks the new service will take time to be introduced. In the meantime, she fears she will "get less pension and still have to pay out the same for any care I need".