What's likely to be in today's Budget announcement?

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt will unveil his Budget today as the country faces high inflation and a cost of living crisis.

He will pledge to tackle labour shortages and get people back to work.

Announcements on childcare costs, energy bill support, benefits reform and pensions allowances are all expected to form part of the Budget package when Mr Hunt addresses MPs on Wednesday lunchtime, even if he is expected to resist calls from Conservative backbenchers to go further on tax cuts.

“Today, we deliver the next part of our plan: a Budget for growth,” he is expected to say.

“Not just growth from emerging out of a downturn.

“But long term, sustainable, healthy growth that pays for our NHS and schools, finds good jobs for young people, provides a safety net for older people… all whilst making our country one of the most prosperous in the world.”

What will be in the Budget?

Most of what will be in the budget is under wraps, but a few things have already been confirmed and lots of other things have been rumoured. Here's what we know:

Energy bills

Mr Hunt is expected to cancel the planned £500 hike in average energy bills which was due to come into force next month, in a move that would see bills for the average household staying at around £2,500, instead of going up to £3,000 as was previously announced.

The Treasury has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks to cancel the rise, which was set to come into force from April 1.

Fuel Duty

On fuel duty, some Tory backbenchers have urged the Chancellor to act to support motorists facing a 12p-per-litre hike in fuel duty in March.

A 23% increase in the duty is pencilled in for this month, but chancellors have repeatedly frozen the levy in the past.

Mr Hunt has so far not said what he will do.

Benefits, childcare and getting people back into the workplace

Mr Hunt will promise a growth plan that will remove “the obstacles that stop businesses investing” while also “tackling the labour shortages that stop them recruiting” and “breaking down the barriers that stop people working”.

At the centre of that plan will be a range of measures designed to encourage the over-50s, the long-term sick and disabled, and benefits claimants back into the workplace, with the Chancellor specifically set to announce the axing of the system used to assess eligibility for sickness benefits, paying parents on universal credit childcare support upfront and increasing the amount they can claim by several hundred pounds.

It's also rumoured that the existing free childcare for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds will be brought forward to cover those with youngsters aged 1 and 2, with an increase in the amount being paid directly to nurseries and childcare providers to fund that.

Pensions

The Chancellor is understood to be looking at increasing the lifetime pension allowance, in what could help support a wider ambition to encourage older workers back into the jobs market, to help with the UK’s shrinking workforce.

The PA news agency understands Jeremy Hunt is considering allowing workers to put more money into their pension pot before being taxed as part of his Budget package.

Edinburgh festivals

Up to £8.6 million of funding for Edinburgh’s festivals is expected to be announced in today's spring budget.

Some of the funding may go towards creating a permanent headquarters for the Fringe festival, which draws thousands of performers to Scotland’s capital each summer.

Swimming pools

The Chancellor has confirmed that £63 million will be made available in his Budget to help public swimming pools stay open in the face of high energy bills.

More than £20 million of the one-year fund will be made available in grants to leisure centres with pools that are dealing with immediate cost pressures, while £40 million is earmarked for investment in decarbonisation and long-term energy efficiency measures.

New 'investment zones'

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is to set out plans for 12 new investment zones to “supercharge” growth in hi-tech industries in his first Budget today.

Officials said the scheme – backed by £80 million of investment over five years in each of the new high-growth zones – is designed to accelerate research and development in the UK’s “most budding industries”.

They will be focused on one of a series of key sectors – technology, creative industries, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and the “green” sector.

Eight areas in England have been shortlisted – the East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Liverpool, the North East, South Yorkshire, the Tees Valley, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire.

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