LIVEJeremy Hunt Budget 2023 LIVE: Key points and reaction as the Chancellor delivered a pensions and childcare shake-up

That's it folks, the Budget live blog is now closed. You can still follow how the day unfolded and the reaction to it below or check out all our Budget stories tonight and tomorrow on This is Money.

Was that a good Budget? It was certainly a lot more optimistic than November's Autumn Statement.

Beyond the pension shake-up, it was much less action packed but arguably that was what we needed.

The good news is that Britain should avoid recession and some commentators hope that full expensing will be a short in the arm for business investment.

But as the Budget rolled on and the reaction rolled in, the stock market was taking a beating. The fallout from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse continues, with bank shares hammered today.

The FTSE 100 closed down 3.83 per cent. Let's hope the second half of the week ends better than the first half.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed the long-awaited corporation tax rise from 19 per cent to 25 per cent. Although many smaller firms will be exempt, it will leave some with higher costs and could act as a barrier to investment. 

And as the 'super deduction' scheme winds down at the end of the month, Hunt offered a new system of 'full expensing' in its place.

We take stock of what the Budget means for small businesses, explain the rules around the new rate of corporation tax, and look at what full expensing is and whether it will offset higher costs elsewhere. 

> What the Budget means for small businesses

House prices are set to fall 10 per cent from their most recent high before picking up again in 2026, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Property transactions are also set to fall, dropping 20 per cent from compared to the final quarter of 2022. 

In its report the OBR put these falls down to 'low consumer confidence, the squeeze on real incomes, and the expectation of mortgage rate rises'.

> Read the full report on the OBR house price forecast

A full round-up of key changes that could affect your personal wealth. 

Martin McTague, national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses:

'The Chancellor has set high expectations for supporting small firms during these challenging times, but today’s Budget will leave many feeling short-changed. The distinct lack of new support in core areas proves that small firms are overlooked and undervalued.  Budgets are about tough choices, and with today’s £billions being allocated to big businesses and households, 5.5million small businesses and the 16 million people who work for them will be wondering why the choice has been made to overlook them.

'We’ve got a Budget that on energy helps households but not small firms.  On business taxes, it spends £27bn extra on big businesses, arguing that small businesses are already catered for. This will leave to a feeling of being left behind instead of being considered equal partners in economic recovery - trickledown economics here simply does not work.

'Proposals to help people with health conditions are ill-designed and won’t help people get back to work, and we fear the work capability assessment changes won’t happen for years. The Chancellor has failed to take any action to make it easier for small firms to recruit people locked out of the labour market. Those with health conditions and disability have been let down by a Government that does nothing to work with small employers and is continuing with its failing Jobcentre-focused approach. Small measures on subsidising occupational health are welcome but not the big bang needed.

'Measures on the over 50s are token efforts at best, though we are pleased the Government is committing to the skills bootcamp model.

'While there are some positive words in today’s Budget, the Government’s lack of support for small firms in critical areas is glaring. The Chancellor stressed that the UK is one of the best places to do business and we’ll avoid a technical recession this year – but small businesses need more ambition and more focus.

'Action is what counts if we are to reverse the 500,000 small businesses lost over the last two years. It’s high time the Government put small firms at the top of the agenda and lend them the necessary support on the path to economic recovery.'

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt went further than expected with major pension saving changes in his Budget today. 

The biggest step came as Hunt abolished the restrictive pensions lifetime allowance completely, rather than raising it from just under £1.1million to £1.8million, as expected.

He also raised the annual allowance on contributions that can be made from £40,000 to £60,000. 

James Taylor, executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope:

'The government is redrawing the welfare system in this country, and they’ve made many, many mistakes when they’ve done this in the past.

'Disabled people and charities have long-called for the separation of benefits and employment support, but to work we need to make sure people are in the right group because sanctions are being ramped up.

'With the welcome scrapping of the Work Capability Assessment, the government must make sure it doesn’t replace one out of touch test with another.

'We know that you can’t sanction disabled people into work, and it’s reassuring that the Universal Support scheme will be voluntary.

'The government has got a mountain to climb to win back the trust of disabled people. For far too long, disabled people have been faced with degrading benefits assessments, cruel sanctions and a dearth of tailored support to find suitable jobs.

'Disabled people face major barriers getting into work, such as discrimination from employers and long delays getting the right support. There is much work for the government to do to get this right and rebuild trust.'

Chief economist at the Institute of Directors Kitty Ussher: 

'Our economy has been held back in recent years because people running businesses have felt nervous of committing to investment when the climate is so uncertain. The introduction of 100% full expensing for the next three years is therefore very welcome and we urge it to be continued thereafter.

'It simplifies the system, removes confusion about whether digital investments count as capital and crucially incentivises investment by reducing the up-front cashflow risk.

'Our members have been very worried about prospects for the UK economy so will be reassured at the upgrading of official forecasts, and the news that the OBR expects a technical recession will be avoided this year.

'It’s also hugely encouraging that they felt able to lift further their assessment of Britain’s growth potential as a direct result of supply-side policy decisions announced today; this is evidence-based policy-making at its best.

'Having said that it is disappointing that the Chancellor has chosen to target R&D tax credits to some parts of the economy. While good news for the sectors concerned, it could lead to less innovation across the economy more widely. We would also like to see greater understanding of the intervention required to support businesses of all sizes to transition to net zero, particularly those who have not yet engaged with the issue.'

Britons flying abroad on family holidays this summer could see their trip hit by a rise of more than £50 thanks to taxes on fliers being upped in line with inflation.

Air Passenger Duty (APD) is now set to be raised by £11.47 per person - from £91 to £102.47 - on economy seats in long-haul flights to the likes of Thailand and Australia.

The tax will also be going up by £10.96 per person - from £87 to £97.96 - on economy class to medium-haul hotspots like Egypt, Cape Verde and the Caribbean.

Chief executive of Siemens Carl Ennis:

'Investment incentives and commitments to support regional growth are always good news, but we also need to be thinking much longer-term.

'It was good to hear the Chancellor reference an industrial strategy, but this remains the missing piece of the puzzle, which would give businesses the confidence to invest meaningfully in boosting economic growth, driving productivity and cutting carbon.

'From a net-zero perspective, this will be vital to positioning the UK at the forefront of global industrial emission reductions. We’ve got the technology, it’s already here, we need a long-term framework that identifies priorities and delivers a stable policy environment.'

The average cost of 20 cigarettes is set to soar past £13 as Jeremy Hunt confirmed tobacco tax will increase with the rate of inflation.

The move will hit the UK's more than 6.6million remaining smokers in the pocket by a whopping £1.63.

According to the ONS the average price of a pack of 20 was £12.84, meaning that an increase at the 12.7 per cent RPI rate of inflation plus the additional 2 per cent added to pre-rolled cigarettes would take the price to £14.47. 

Jeremy Hunt today handed a Brexit lifeline to UK pubs as he unveiled a promise to keep tax on draught pints lower than that paid on supermarket cans and bottles.

The Chancellor unveiled a Brexit Pubs Guarantee that will keep the levy 11p lower amid changes to the way alcohol is taxed.

He told MPs: 'From August 1 the duty on draught products in pubs will be up to 11p lower than the duty in supermarkets, a differential we will maintain as part of a new Brexit pubs guarantee. British ale may be warm, but the duty on a pint is frozen.'

David Stevens, retirement director at LV=, said:

'Increasing the Money Purchase Annual Allowance to £10,000 is good news for retired people returning to work. Last year the Government announced a drive to coax those aged 50 and over to re-join the jobs market.

'However, many of these early retirees will have flexibly accessed a pension and would have been stung by a money purchase annual allowance tax charge after returning to work. A quarter of savers over 55 contributed more than £4,000 to their pensions in 2020/21.

'Increasing the limit back to £10,000 will help over 55s to return to work, navigate the cost of living crisis and boost the economy, without the risk of been hit by complicated and unfair tax charges as a result of auto-enrolment.'

Jeremy Hunt insisted he wants a million more women working today as he unveiled a Budget with free childcare for under-threes and abolished pension pot limits to stop doctors leaving the NHS.

Hailing a marginally brighter outlook in the Commons, the Chancellor said the country is now expected to avoid a technical recession this year - although it will stall. Inflation is on track to be more than halved, Mr Hunt said. 

He told MPs that the more stable situation since he and Rishi Sunak took over the government had paved the way for measures to enhance growth. 

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in his Spring Budget fuel duty will remain frozen for a thirteenth consecutive year - and he will extend the 5p-a-litre cut for another 12 months.

Easing some of the burden of higher petrol and diesel prices on Britain's motorists, during his statement in the commons on Wednesday, Mr Hunt said: 'Because inflation remains high, I have decided now is not the right time to uprate fuel duty with inflation or increase the duty. 

'For a further 12 months I'm going to maintain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty too.'

It is estimated the freeze will save drivers around £6billion-a-year, with the RAC calculating that the 12-month extension to the 5p-a-litre fuel duty will save motorists around £3.30 each time they fill up.

Vivek Paul, UK chief investment strategist, BlackRock Investment Institute

The UK spring budget highlights the difficulties for the government in this new regime of higher macro, market and geopolitical uncertainty.  Supply constraints are driving inflation: the UK has a labour shortage due to an ageing population, Brexit and long-term sickness after Covid. The government’s task in the budget is to try to tackle the cause of the problems (supply), as well as the symptoms (cost of living crisis), while also maintaining market confidence in the UK’s credibility around fiscal discipline.

'Several key measures deal explicitly with the symptoms rather than the cause.  Freezing fuel duty and extending energy price guarantees will dampen headline inflation. But unless labour supply can grow again, the economy needs to shrink to get core inflation under control.  Measures attempting to tackle the labour supply issue at source include: extended childcare provision to encourage new parents back to work, and pension changes to entice more over 50s back into work.  Whether or not this will improve labour supply enough to offset the other impacts, like Brexit, remains to be seen.

'The near-term outlook remains challenged for UK and global risk assets, but there will come a point to turn positive again. The Windsor Framework agreement should set the table for a better future UK-EU relationship. The government and opposition have both moved back towards centre ground in recent years. And the prospect of a break-up of the UK is diminished vs. the recent past.   

'But the UK’s standing in the eyes of international investors is not where it was a decade ago – and rebuilding a reputation can be slow. Risk premia can resurface; be wary of this as the election battlelines get drawn up in the 18 months ahead, and the market tests the UK’s willingness and ability to stimulate growth while balancing the books.'

Pensions dashboards strategy advisor at Moneyhub Richard Smith: 

'While higher earners will benefit from the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance (LTA), the reality is it will affect a very small proportion of savers and does little to address more pertinent pension challenges. Upper limits like the Annual Allowance play an important role and extending these will allow higher earners to put more away for retirement and may even encourage more to stay in the workforce for longer as the government aims.

'The reality is that 90% of the working age population will not reach anywhere near this number. Indeed, according to the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP) own data, nearly 9 in 10 of UK workers are not currently on target for a comfortable retirement which is estimated to be a pre-tax annual income of £39K for a single person outside of London.

'And many will be far below this target. We need pension policies that support everyone in saving as much as they can for the future. At Moneyhub we are working with pension providers, using the power of Pensions Dashboards, to improve involvement and customer understanding of their wealth so they can take control of their retirement savings, make more informed decisions, and adjust what they are saving now to give them a better standard of living in later life.'

The average household energy bill will stay at £2,500 until July, as the Government has stepped in to avoid April hikes to £3,000.

Energy regulator Ofgem has announced that its price cap will fall from £4,279 to £3,280 on April 1. That price cap effectively sets energy bills for more than 80 per cent of homes that are on variable-rate tariffs and pay by direct debit.

Those figures are based on a home using the average amount of energy, so those who use more will pay more. 

But Government changes to its energy bill support programme mean that typical energy bills will stay at £2,500 until then July, then start to fall. 

The Chancellor had been expected to lift the lifetime pension allowance - or how much you can save before being taxed - instead he has decided to scrap the cap entirely. It had been set at £1.07m.

The annual allowance has been lifted by 50 per cent to £60,000.

Hunt lays out plans to get more people back into the workforce. 

A white paper is being published today on disability benefits, which will include plans to abolish capability assessments and to separate benefits from capacity to work. This, he says, will allow disabled people to look for work without fear of losing government support.

In addition, a greater threat of sanction will be imposed on those working 18 hours a week.

For the over-50s, 3.5m of which are not part of the labour force - 320,000 more than before the pandemic, the Chancellor offers three steps.

1. Boost career guidance offering 

2. New apprenticeships for over50's, including 'returnerships' working alongside existing schemes. 

3. Reform to 'unpredictable pension tax charges'...more to come on that

On the environmental front, Hunt has committed up to £20milion over 20 years to reduce the carbon emissions

This will also support up to 50,000 jobs, according to the Chancellor, while helping to attract private sector investment.

The Climate Change Agreement scheme has also been extended for two years, giving businesses £60million of tax relief on energy efficiency measures.

The Annual Investment Allowance will rise to £1million, Hunt says, meaning most firms can deduct the value of their investment from taxable profits. 

Chancellor also confirms the introduction of 'full expensing', which allows all UK-based qualifying capital expenditure to be written off against taxable profits. 

Treasury estimates put the cost of 'full expensing' would cost £11billion at peak, falling over time.

Chancellor reveals 12 new investment zones - '12 potential Canary Wharfs,' he says. 

The zones will cover the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, the North East, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, East Midlands, Teesside and Liverpool.

£80million will go to each zone over five years.

At least one will be in each of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Each of the regions will also get extra local government funding, with £320million for the Scottish government, £180illion for the Welsh government and £130million for the Northern Ireland executive.

Britain will see no recession in 2023, according to the OBR, with the economy contracting by 0.2 per cent.

The UK economy is now expected to grow by 1.8 per cent next year, before rising 2.5 per cent, 2.1 per cent and 1.9 per cent in the following three years, respectively. 

The OBR also expects unemployment to rise by less than one percentage point to 4.1 per cent. 

Britain is on track to meet the fiscal rules set by the government in November, according to OBR forecasts. 

Under the rules, government debt must be falling as a percentage of economic output in five years' time and the budget deficit must be below 3 per cent of gross domestic product within the same time-frame.

Underlying debt is set to be 92.4 per cent of GDP by 2024, falling every year after until 2027-28.

Good news for pubs. 

Following up with a continued booze duty freeze, Hunt says duty on draught products will now be 11p lower than in supermarkets under new plans.

And good news for motorists, as Chancellor maintains 5p cut and freezes fuel duty - he says it will save average driver £100 next year. 

The Office for Budget Responsibility says UK CPI is to fall from its 2022 peak of 10.7 per cent to 2.9 per cent by the end of 2023.

Hunt confirms Energy Price Guarantee will remain at £2,500 cap for the next three months - set to save average family a further £160.

Hunt begins by saying the British economy is 'proving the doubters wrong', with the cost of serving Government debt falling and growth 'on the right track'

'The UK will not now enter a technical recession this year,' he claims. 

Amid a wave of strikes by state workers, public sector pay spiked by 4.8 per cent annually in the three months to January.

Although that was lower than the 7 per cent in the private sector, it was the highest since the three months to February 2006 - which saw a 5.2 rise.

However, from health to transport, many unions are demanding a better deal on pay. How will the Chancellor respond?  

A priority for Jeremy Hunt will also be supporting British businesses, may of which are still struggling against soaring prices, labour shortages and lacklustre growth.

The Chancellor is expected to plough ahead with a planned hike in corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent, despite calls for a u-turn from some sectors.

Reports suggest an impending multi-billion dollar package of capital allowances, as well as tax breaks for businesses making investments

Hunt will also likely reveal policies designed to encourage UK investors, including pension funds, to invest in British start-ups, particularly within the tech sector.

Labour shortages could be targeted via an easing of restrictions on migration, as well as incentives for those currently ‘economically inactive’  – including the large numbers of long-term sick – to return to work.

Businesses will also keep a close eye on any mention of business rates reform. 

At 12.30 today Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver a Spring Budget promised to be a 'budget for growth', as the Government moves to revitalise the country's flagging economy. 

The Office for Budget Responsibility will also publish its forecasts for UK growth, which will give the Chancellor an indicator of how much fiscal space he has to deliver growth-driving policies. 

A key target for the Chancellor will be to get more Britons back into the labour market, falling a sharp rise in economic inactivity over the last three years. But the Treasury also faces pressure to help Britons at a time of stubbornly high inflation and a cost of living crisis. 

Jeremy Hunt is expected to play it safe when he delivers his first Spring Budget as Chancellor today.

After announcing a series of stealth taxes in his Autumn Statement, there could be a few tax giveaways.

Even though public finances are slightly rosier than in November — borrowing so far this year is said to be £30 billion lower than forecast — Mr Hunt is likely to remain cautious about spending.