13 Mar 2018
Chancellor Philip Hammond will deliver his first Spring Statement today at 12.30pm. We will keep you up to date on the latest forecasts, and a full summary will appear on our site tomorrow morning.
The Chancellor will respond to the latest economic and public finance forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), and announce some areas for consultation on the longer-term tax challenges.
Business groups, including the Trades Union Congress (TUC), have called on the Chancellor to take necessary action to help to boost UK growth, raise wages and invest in public services. TUC General Secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: ‘The government is paying too little attention to major problems in the economy.
‘The Chancellor should not wait until the Autumn Budget to act. We need urgent action to strengthen the economy and get wages rising.’
Meanwhile, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged Mr Hammond to reinforce his commitment to give business rates refunds to those firms adversely affected by the so-called staircase tax, and retain his promise to abolish Class 2 national insurance contributions (NICs).