Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alastair Darling used his Budget to change the EMI scheme rules, but only slightly. He raised the individual limit on the value of options awarded from £100K to £120K, the first increase since the scheme began. This was widely welcomed. On the other hand, in order to comply with EU guidelines on state aid, he banned from using EMI options: companies employing more than 250 people and companies in the shipbuilding, coal and steel industries. However, since there are few companies with the qualifying gross asset value of less than £30m who employ more than 250 people and few in the banned industries who use EMI, the effects of his ruling will be slight.