Universal credit and alcohol tax changes in Sunak's budget

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One of the biggest savings for the chancellor is the change in policy on the state pension triple lock.

The temporary removal of the earnings link was announced in September. Now, the Office for Budget Responsibility says that will save the Treasury £5.4bn in the next financial year.

There will be a rise of 3.1% in the state pension in April. That will add £4.25 more a week to £141.85 for those on the older state pension, and an increase of £5.55 to £185.15 a week for the newer flat-rate state pension.

It does mean that pensioners will get a predicted real terms cut – as inflation is forecast to be 4% next year.

Had the government stuck to the triple lock, the rise would have been 8.3% - which it describes as an anomaly caused by the pandemic.

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The cost of living could rise at its fastest rate for 30 years, the UK's fiscal watchdog has warned.

The Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast says that inflation, which measures the change in the cost of living over time, is set to jump from 3.1% to an average of 4% next year.

But it adds that figures released since its report was compiled suggests inflation could hit almost 5%.

Read more here about the cost of living and where it is heading.

Rishi Sunak portrays himself as a light touch Tory who doesn't like heavy taxes and who doesn't like big government.

But he's not using the fading of the pandemic emergency to call time on hefty spending.

Nor is the chancellor seizing a moment to argue for a leaner state.

Instead, his plans seem to increase spending everywhere, in a Budget that on first examination has something for everyone.

Sunak even chose to emphasise how he's restoring spending in some areas to levels not seen since Labour was in charge - though he is less keen to remind you they were cut back by successive administrations made up of his Tory colleagues.

Despite dangling the promise of tax cuts by 2024, the Budget seems to confirm the political conclusions of Sunak and Boris Johnson - vows to shrink the state are not going to win them the next election.

But with the threat of inflation, higher taxes and puny, if better growth, the seeming largesse may not be toasted by the public in the months to come, even they could do so with cheaper cider or prosecco.

In Scotland, many of the big decisions about tax and spending are made by the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, but Rishi Sunak has given an extra £4.6bn per year to Holyrood to allocate to departments.

In Wales, Welsh government budgets will increase by an average of £2.5bn a year, with a total of £120m also earmarked for ten Welsh levelling-up projects.

And in Northern Ireland there will be an additional £1.6bn a year for public services with infrastructure spending increasing by an average of 2.5% a year up to 2025.

If you missed Rishi Sunak's Budget statement earlier, here's a quick recap of some of the main points:

• Inflation is set to rise to 4% over the next year but unemployment is expected to peak at 5.2% in 2022, lower than 11.9% previously predicted, and the UK economy is forecast to return to pre-Covid levels by 2022
• Whitehall departments will receive a rise in overall spending, totalling £150bn over the course of this Parliament
• The universal credit taper rate will be cut by 8%, no later than 1 December, bringing it down from 63% to 55%, meaning people earning and claiming universal credit will keep more of their benefit
• The planned rise in fuel duty is to be cancelled amid the highest pump prices in eight years
• A £5bn fund to remove unsafe cladding will be funded by a levy on property developers

• Schools will get an extra £4.7bn by 2024-25 with funding to return to 2010 levels in real terms
• An extra £2.2bn for courts, prisons and probation services, has been announced - including £500m to reduce courts backlogs
• Ahead of the COP26 climate summit, a cut in air passenger duty for internal UK flights was revealed - but there will be a tax rise on "ultra long haul" flights

You can read our main story on the Budget here.

For those short on time, you can read the key points at-a-glance here.

And for those of you even shorter on time you can watch this video with the main announcements in 126 seconds.

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Just minutes before PMQs - and less than an hour before the chancellor delivered his Budget speech - the Labour Party leader tested positive for Covid.

Sir Keir Starmer had been due to respond to both the prime minister and Rishi Sunak in the Commons.

But instead he had to isolate at home, passing on the job to his shadow business secretary (and former leader) Ed Miliband and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves.

He has now released a video, saying he is "absolutely gutted" to miss the political moments, but it is right to follow the rules.

And Sir Keir says he is feeling "fine" - well enough at least to criticise the Budget that "does nothing for working people and nothing about the cost of living crisis".

The chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog, tells the BBC that Brexit will have a bigger impact on the UK economy in the long run than the pandemic.

Speaking after today’s Budget, Richard Hughes says “leaving the European Union is going to reduce our long run potential output by 4%”, whereas he believes “the pandemic is going to reduce that potential output by a further 2%".

In the OBR’s overview of the UK's economic and fiscal outlook, it also states “supply bottlenecks have been exacerbated by changes in the migration and trading regimes following Brexit".

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A former Tory chancellor is welcoming the Budget as "fiscally responsible", but warns it is also a "gamble" amid rising inflation and costs.

Ex-MP Ken Clarke - now Lord Clarke - told BBC News the chancellor's speech was "sound and sold very well".

He says Rishi Sunak has "made the most of increases in spending he's got... he's keeping the level of debt under control and he hopes to reduce the level of annual deficit if - and it's a big if behind all this - the economy can maintain its recovery".

But Clarke says the economy is in "a pretty sad state and faces a lot of dangers", adding: "I hope it comes off because everything really depends on inflation, costs, growth over the next year or two".

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Now back to some more reaction to the Budget we've been hearing this afternoon.

Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, says for many manufacturers and producers the 50% cut in business rates for hospitality announced in the Budget and the simplification of alcohol duty are “welcome news".

However, he says the Budget does “little to address” labour shortages and adds it is also “worryingly short on action to tackle rising inflation”.

“Given the pressures they are facing, many manufacturers will simply have no choice but continue to pass costs down the chain,” he says.