What time is the autumn budget speech, and what is Rishi Sunak likely to announce?

Rishi Sunak and the Treasury team will be finalising this year’s autumn spending review in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, as the UK economy is still recovering from the pandemic.

A number of measures have already been announced which will see the tax burden increase for working people, and more rises could be still to come.

The government has trailed a number of announcements prior to the budget, including big spending capital promises on the NHS and transport.

But the Conservatives have all but ruled out further borrowing to fund much-needed spending on the economic recovery and battle against climate change.

When will the autumn budget be announced?

The autumn budget, or spending review, will be presented to Parliament by Rishi Sunak on Wednesday 27 October.

The Chancellor will deliver the speech at 12:30pm, straight after PMQs.

It will be the second financial statement this year, following the spring budget in March.

Since then, a number of major changes have been announced including a significant increase in National Insurance, which could limit the scale of the announcements this time around.

How can I watch the budget?

Most news channels will be covering the budget speech in full, either on TV or live on their YouTube channels.

NationalWorld will also be running a liveblog, which will feature a stream of the speech.

You can also watch the full speech on Parliament Live.

What is Rishi Sunak expected to say?

The Chancellor is set to strike an upbeat tone as he talks up building a “stronger economy of the future”, with the promise of rising wages, cash for the NHS and investment into regional transport projects.

Mr Sunak’s spending plans are likely to be bolstered by forecasts of faster growth than predicted in the spring as the economy roars back into life since the lifting of coronavirus restrictions, according to analysts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the independent body whose forecasts guide Budget spending, is expected to up its growth outlook for 2021, cut its unemployment prediction and pencil in lower borrowing thanks to higher tax receipts.

During his speech, Sunak is expected to say: “Today’s Budget begins the work of preparing for a new economy post-Covid.