4.25pm: Summary of statement
For anyone just clocking in, here’s a brief summary of what chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled in his autumn statement.
Tax cuts will indeed come in the form of relief for firms which invest earnings in the likes of IT and equipment, alongside reductions to national insurance.
Hunt proposed a plan to simplify pensions for employees, which could be given legal powers to require their new employers to pay into retirement funds of their choice.
Billions of pounds will be made available to incentivise investment in the likes of clean energy, manufacturing and the auto sector. £500 million will be granted to boost artificial intelligence development.
The government will take a harder line on those claiming benefits, with Hunt revealing plans to require those unsuccessfully seeking work for eighteen months to take part in apprenticeships or risk losing out on payments.
Benefits themselves will rise though, alongside state pensions and the national living wage, as Hunt put to rest rumours that the government was looking at ways to reduce such increases.
Planning applications for both energy infrastructure and business projects will also look to be streamlined, meanwhile, including through a scheme offering people money off bills for the former.
4.10pm: Reaction so far
Following Hunt’s long and sweeping list of pledges, analysts and industry members have been quick to have their say on the likes of tax cuts and promised funding.
One group which seemed pleased by what Hunt had to say was the energy sector, with industry body Energy UK backing news of proposed funding and speedier grid connections.
“The government’s focus on this issue of critical national importance is good news,” the group commented, “today’s measures are a step in the right direction but we need the government to maintain this focus in its actions”.
National Grid boss John Pettigrew also welcomed Hunt’s promises to speed up energy project connections, meanwhile.
“A spatial energy plan and accelerated planning consent will bring clarity, authority and urgency to what needs to be built and where, while new community benefit proposals will ensure local people remain at the heart of the energy transition,” he said.
“The intent is clear and welcome; now these plans must be implemented at pace.”
EY pensions consultant Paul Kitson delved into Hunt’s plan to tackle the issue of lost retirement funds, arguing any changes in how contributions are made - while beneficial on a personal level - would need careful consideration and that short term results were unlikely.
Chris Sanger, also of EY as the firm’s tax policy head, highlighted the £80 billion worth of tax cuts that will take place over a six year period under Hunt’s statement plans.
“All in all, this was much more of a traditional budget than an autumn statement,” he said.
“Perhaps, indicating that the chancellor felt he didn’t have time to wait for the spring to begin nurturing growth.”
London's main market was down following the announcement, however, with NatWest among those falling after the chancellor said he would look at a retail offer for the shares in the lender still owned by the government.
BT and drinks maker Diageo reacted positively meanwhile, following the chancellor's comments on business tax relief and freezing alcohol duty.
3.45pm: What else was said?
Aside from the likes of cuts to national insurance and relief for businesses, Jeremy Hunt also announced a host of funding packages.
One of which was for the likes of supercomputing centres and other facilities developing artificial intelligence.
“I will invest a further £500 million over the next two years to fund further innovation centres to help make us an AI powerhouse,” Hunt pledged.
On top of this, some £4.5 billion could be granted to the manufacturing sector over the five years to 2030 in a bid to attract investment.
“For our advanced manufacturing and green energy sectors, international investors say the biggest thing we can do is to announce a longer-term strategy for their industries,” the chancellor reckoned.
Of this, £2 billion will be set aside for zero emission investments in the automotive sector, just shy of a billion will be reserved for aerospace and £520 million for life sciences.
The last £960 million will be offered up for the likes of offshore wind, electricity networks, nuclear, carbon capture and hydrogen projects.
Hunt also extended the financial incentives offered through investment zones which he previously promised would become “twelve mini Canary Wharfs”.
As a result, these freeports will offer the likes of tax reliefs and other incentives for ten rather than five years.
1.55pm: Analysis of the tax cuts
Mark Littlewood, director general at low-tax thinktank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said Hunt's proposals were "a step in the right direction towards lower taxes and economic growth, but not a leap".
"The introduction of permanent 'full expensing' will encourage businesses to invest in buildings, structures and equipment. The 110 supply side reforms, encompassing benefits, financial services and planning, will help boost growth. Cuts to national insurance return a substantial sum to the pockets of the average worker."
He said there was "far more work to be done to reduce the tax burden, decrease spending, cut red tape, and reform public services."
Samuel Tombs, economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said fiscal policy "remains set to dampen GDP growth in 2024, despite the tax cuts announced by the Chancellor today".
This is based on estimates from the OBR, which judges that the Autumn Statement policy measures boost aggregate demand relative to supply by 0.1% at their peak impact in 2025/26.
Tombs noted that the Chancellor’s stand out tax measure today, the reduction from January 6 in the main rate of employees’ NI contributions to 10%, from 12%, will boost households’ disposable income by just 0.5% in the 2024/25 tax year and that OBR thinks that changes to income taxes have a first-year fiscal multiplier of just 0.33, because many people that benefit will save the extra money and spend some of it on imported goods, so the tax cut will boost GDP by just 0.16%.
"Accordingly, the Chancellor’s policy announcements today will do little to alter the MPC’s forecasts for the economy or the timing of the first reduction in Bank Rate, which we still expect to occur in May."
1.40pm: Hunt signs off and grilling begins
“As a country we’re sticking to a plan that’s working,” Hunt says in a closing statement.
“This autumn statement for growth will attract £20 billion additional business investment a year in the next decade, bring tens of thousands of people into work and support our fastest growing industries.”
And that’s a wrap, following Hunt’s statement shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is invited to grill Hunt on the statement.
1.35pm: National living wage hiked
The national minimum wage will be increased from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour come next April, the chancellor said.
“A central part of our plan for growth is to make work pay,” he added, with the move marking a 9.8% increase.
The new highest wage bracket will apply to 21 and 22 year olds too, rather than starting at 23, as is currently the case.
1.35pm: National insurance cut from January
Emergency legislation will see main national insurance cut from January, Hunt has revealed, with the rate being slashed from 12% to 10%.
This means people will be able to see the benefits on payslips come the start of the new financial year in April.
Further cuts will come for self-employed people, with class four national insurance being reduced from 9% to 8%.
1.30pm Benefit clampdown
Hunt has confirmed that the government will take a harsher stance on those claiming benefits, with mandatory work placements becoming a requirement for those seeking but unable to find work after 18 months.
If they fail to take part in the placements within six months, benefits will be removed, Hunt said.
Treatment will take greater precedence over time off, Hunt added, in a bid to keep people at work.
1.30pm: Business tax breaks to become permanent
Tax breaks offered to businesses which invest earnings will be made permanent, the chancellor has unveiled.
Through “full expensing,” businesses will be granted up to 25p back in corporation tax on every £1 invested in the likes of IT and machinery.
Claiming the move is among the largest business tax cut in modern history, Hunt said the move would cost some £11 billion a year.
Class two national insurance scrapped for self-employed
Class two national insurance payed by self-employed people will be abolished “altogether,” according to Hunt.
This will save such self-employed workers up to £192 a year, he says.
1.20pm: Pension contributions to be simplified
Consultations will be launched to give employees a legal right to require new employers to pay pension contributions into existing pots.
This could unlock billions in financing for high growth companies, while simplifying how people’s pension funds are kept, Hunt says.
The move would allow people to keep just on pension pot "for life," the chancellor adds.
1.15pm: Money off bills for those near new pylons
Hunt has confirmed a plan that will aim to encourage people to back plans for electricity pylons to be built near their houses.
Under these, people living near proposed sites for pylons will receive money off energy bills.
People could be given up to £10,000 over 10 years for those “living closest to new transmission infrastructure.
Hunt added the move could cut grid access delays by 90%.
1.10pm: Home conversion policy update
Discussing various plans to boost housing numbers, Hunt has proposed a “new permitted development right,” which he says could allow any house to be converted into several flats given the exterior remains unaffected.
1.05pm: Planning approvals to be sped up
Local authorities will be able to recover the full costs of major business planning applications from next year.
Hunt says this will be in return for them being able to meet “guaranteed faster timelines”.
“If they fail, fees will be refunded automatically, with the application being met free of charge.”
Equating the system to that found in the private sector, Hunt claimed the reform could speed up planning application processes.
1.00pm: Pension ‘triple lock’ remains in place
State pensions will rise by 8.5% to £221 a week from next April, the chancellor has confirmed, marking one of the highest ever cash increases to the scheme.
This will translate to over £900 more a year, as Hunt confirmed the government would stick with the “triple lock” system that determines rises based on previous average wage increases or inflation.
“Today, we honour our commitment to the triple lock in full,” Hunt told ministers.
Rumours had circulated that the government would alter the system, as to avoid fueling inflation.
12.51pm: Alcohol duty frozen until August 1 2024
Alcohol duty will remain frozen heading into the new year, Hunt has confirmed, in a bid to to alcohol prices in pubs down.
12.50pm: Benefits to increase by 6.7%, housing allowance increased
Citing cost of living pressures for the poorest households, Hunt has confirmed that benefits will rise in line with September's inflation reading of 6.7%, rather than a rumoured increase of 4.6% based on the October figure.
This will mark an average increase of £470 for 5.5 million households next year, the chancellor added.
Hunt also looked to reassure those renting homes, announcing an increase in housing allowance rates to the "30th percentile" of local market rents, which he says will give 1.6 million households an average of £800 of support next year.
12.40: Hunt kicks off statement
And we’re off, Hunt has just begun delivering his statement in the Commons, kicking off the update by assuring that the work was “not yet done” in tackling inflation.
Confirming there are 110 measures within the statement, Hunt repeated the conservative government’s aims to boost economic growth and “reward work”.
He also reiterated government priorities in tackling inflation, highlighting October’s inflation reading of 4.6%.
“I will not take risks with inflation,” he says, claiming forecasts suggest his autumn statement measures will not fuel price rises next year.
12.15pm: Chancellor to speak next as PMQs underway
Prime minister’s questions are well underway now in the House of Commons, with ministers currently getting their queries to Rishi Sunak in the packed-out chamber.
Jeremy Hunt is expected to begin delivering his autumn statement at around 12:30 following the questions and is aptly sat by Sunak’s side at the ready.
Follow live coverage of the chancellor’s statement here.
11.30am: Chancellor expected to discuss taxes, benefits, pensions, energy policy and more
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is due to deliver the autumn statement to the House of Commons shortly, finally shedding some light on what he will hope can be election winning tax cuts.
For those who might have missed the rumours, expectations are that Hunt will unveil personal tax cuts, alongside business rate relief for firms which reinvest earnings.
Changes to streamline the process of building pylons and speeding up energy grid connections are also anticipated, alongside schemes to incentivise those living near power lines to back local plans with money off bills.
Pension rule tweaks to give employees more control of their retirement funds are reportedly set to be unveiled too, alongside cuts to benefits for those deemed fit to work by the government.