The FTSE 100 has pared the gains it made this morning as the Autumn Statement approaches. 

The benchmark index is 0.3%, or 21.5 points, higher at 6,841.27. 

We'll be keeping a close eye on the market for the rest of the day

Businesses would be willing to put up with a marginal rise in taxes to take some of the complexity out of the tax system, according to accountancy firm BDO, which polled 500 of its clients.

David Brookes of BDO says: "The sheer volume and complexity of tax legislation is a major obstacle to growth. With little room for tax changes or new reliefs amidst Brexit uncertainty, the Chancellor must address simplification in today’s speech to help firms succeed in the future.

 "Fifty-seven percent of businesses polled said they support tax simplification even if it results in tax rises - a huge indicator of how important this is to UK plc."

Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor

The real story today will be the likely downgrade of the country's economic outlook in light of the Brexit vote, says Laura Kuenssberg, BBC political editor.

"Whatever measures the Treasury comes forward with today, they acknowledge privately, everybody knows, that the probable biggest headline is going to be how bad the outlook is in terms of the economy. 

"Of course, as we have seen in recent months, the Treasury has been proved wrong in terms of its outlook for the immediate aftermath of the referendum vote. So as ever, you will need to take these forecasts with a pretty heavy dose of salt."

Image source, Land Rover BAR

Martin Whitmarsh, chief executive of boat racing business Land Rover BAR, says companies like his will be hoping Philip Hammond provides encouragement to invest. 

Anything that can stabilise and "give us some confidence we can invest, our partners can invest in research and development, is a good thing", he tells the BBC. 

Quite a moment: this Autumn Statement is the first time since 2005 that George Osborne is neither chancellor nor shadow chancellor.

Kenneth Clarke was chancellor from 1993 to 1997. Alan Mak was elected an MP last year.

The minimum wage will increase to £7.50 per hour, the chancellor will say. Some social media users welcome the news, but others say more needs to be done.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will come in for criticism whatever changes it makes to its forecasts following the Brexit vote, says Torsten Bell, director of the Resolution Foundation - a living standards think tank.

House of Commons
Parliament

Prime Minister Theresa May is now at the despatch box for the start of PMQs.

And other big government players are on the frontbench too...

And here we were thinking Philip Hammond might have decided to walk to the House from Downing Street...

BBC News Channel

Financial markets are expecting growth downgrades in the Autumn Statement, says Sue Noffke, a fund manager at Schroders.

Investors are "braced for bad news", which could include slower growth and lower tax receipts.

That leaves less room for "giveaways" from the chancellor, she adds.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) warned the Treasury last month that the UK is facing a "critical rental shortfall" of 1.8 million homes. It says today that Philip Hammond's house-building policy may help alleviate that.

Kamal Ahmed
Economics editor

Economics editor Kamal Ahmed says one of the key figures to watch out for is the forecast for the government deficit.

Before the EU referendum, the public finances were expected to be in surplus by 2019-20. 

Forecasters at the Institute for Fiscal Studies say there's now likely to be a budget deficit of about £15bn.

Read Kamal's blog here.

Nicholas Watt
Political editor, BBC Newsnight

For years Philip Hammond has been dubbed the ultimate boring accountant whose idea of fun is to spend his holidays poring over spreadsheets.

Well, he is certainly not an accountant.

And there is mixed evidence on the boring front. Hammond does - according to his former ministerial colleague Sir Peter Luff - infuriate his wife Susan by taking spreadsheets to the beach.

But friends dating back to Hammond's days at Shenfield High School in the 1970s recall a long-haired teenager who, with a twinkle in the eye, drove fellow sixth-formers to the pub for lunch.

Nina Stratford, one of his pub lunch partners, told us something about Hammond that has probably never been said publicly before about a chancellor of the exchequer.

"I remember going round to his house once. We got hold of half a bottle of sherry and proceeded to drink it, and very randomly we ended up having a bit of a cheeky snog," she says. "Who'd have thought that Philip Hammond was such a good kisser?"

Read Nicholas Watt's blog here.

A higher personal tax allowance tops an Autumn Statement wishlist, according to consumer credit report firm Clearscore in a poll of 2,000 people aged 18 to 55.

1. Increase personal allowance (45%)
2. Reduce VAT (42%)
3. Increase the state pension (41%)
4. Reduce taxes for people of a similar group (35%)
5. Increase the minimum wage (34%)

BBC Newsnight

Newsnight's Policy Editor has been thinking about the word of the day.

"Jams" - or people who are just about managing - is a "woolly term, which seems to be code" for terms like 'deserving poor', or the statistician's phrase 'phantom poor', Chris Cook says.

"Jams" don't always show up in stats measuring poorer households, he says, before going on to offer a fruit preserve acronym of his own... 

Political editor Laura Kuenssberg tweets:

While many tenants are happy, it's perhaps no surprise that some landlords and estate agents are less enthusiastic about the proposed ban on letting fees.

As Philip Hammond gets ready to deliver the Autumn Statement at 12:30, Gladstone the Treasury cat has also been preparing.

UPDATE: The Treasury press office has called. It's apparently concerned that readers may not realise @HMTreasuryCat, external is an unofficial account - but now you do.

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