Rishi Sunak pledges to more than double spending on government research and development by 2024.

It wasn't mentioned in the Commons but as part of the Budget, the price of a 20-pack of cigarettes will rise by 27p as of 18:00 this evening.

The increase is part of a long-standing Treasury policy that tobacco taxes rise by 2% above the retail price index every Budget.

The government is defending the increase, arguing that smoking accounts for around 100,000 deaths a year in the UK.

It is only the second time in two decades that duty on all types of alcohol has been frozen.

Reality Check

The spending in this Budget is being largely paid for with a big increase in government borrowing.

The government expects to borrow almost £100bn more in this Parliament (before mid-2024) than was expected the last time we had any forecasts.

And that figure does not include £12bn to be spent on getting the economy through the coronavirus outbreak.

The Treasury documents say that money will be accounted for in the next Budget in the autumn.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has said today's Budget "looks like the biggest sustained giveaway since Norman Lamont's ill-fated budget in 1992".

The former Conservative chancellor had asked the Treasury to tweak the forecasted budget deficit to back Labour into a corner ahead of a close-run election. The forecasts were later revised higher after the election had been fought and won.

The OBR said the closest comparison to this Budget was Gordon Brown's Budget in 2000, when Labour's then-chancellor turned on the spending taps after cuts by the Conservatives.

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Personal finance expert Martin Lewis gives his reaction to the Budget on BBC Radio 5 Live.

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Budget is "bold" and will "help people and business through tough times" according to industry body the CBI.

"As the UK responds to the immediate challenge [of coronavirus], people are the first priority. So the measures to expand and ease access to sick pay and benefits are vital to protect people’s health and livelihoods," it says.

“The chancellor’s actions on business rates, emergency funds and loans will help ensure firms can weather the storm, especially smaller firms. Larger firms may also need support as the situation develops."

The lobby group also praised the boosts to infrastructure funding.

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The Budget shows how seriously the government is taking the coronavirus "health emergency" says Dr Sankalp Chaturvedi of Imperial College Business School.

"The sick pay relief is a huge step towards helping individuals and [small businesses]. This is something extremely generous for people who are not only told to self-isolate but also for people caring for those within the same household.

"These measures will definitely motivate individuals to self-isolate and stay home and not be worried and more importantly, spread it to other people.

"It’s better to be proactive with the measures than to be reactive. Extra budget for the NHS is also very useful and timely."

The pound has strengthened slightly against both the euro and the dollar after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a package of spending measures that is expected to boost economic growth.

The pound is up 0.2% against the euro and 0.6% against the dollar so £1 is now worth €1.1438 and $1.2958.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says the Budget is "an admission that austerity has been a failed experiment"

The new chancellor certainly found his stride as the astonishing scale of the government's first Budget became clear.

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Chncellor Rishi Sunak has "completely missed the opportunity to address the climate emergency" according to environmental campaign group Greenpeace.

"Instead, by announcing £27bn for new roads, it seems he’s driving in the opposite direction," says Rebecca Newsom, head of politics at Greenpeace UK.

The end of the red diesel tax break and the Nature for Climate fund "are just a fraction of what is needed to get the UK on track to delivering net zero," she says.

"The chancellor will only redeem himself by rapidly increasing spending on climate and nature to at least 5%, making our buildings highly efficient and significantly boosting public transport in the National Infrastructure Strategy and Spending Review later this year,” she adds.

Meanwhile, the AA has welcomed the infrastructure spending pledges.

"Putting more money from motoring taxation into potholes, freezing fuel duty, improving roads such as the A303 and A1 and spending £500m on electric vehicle charging, will all contribute to keep Britain moving in the years ahead and gets us out of a hole," says Edmund King, AA president.

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"The government can dress it up however they want," says Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB union, arguing: "There's nowhere near enough in the Budget to help working people who have to self-isolate."

"Statutory sick pay is £18 per day, no one can live on that, and that's what the government seem to expect the 20% of the population who may have to self-isolate to do," he says.

Issuing a challenge to government, he says: "If it's possible, let's see ministers do it."

"Coronavirus has highlighted the abysmal state of sick pay in this country. This Budget was an opportunity for the government to right a wrong, but typically they've completely ignored it."

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This was a "box-office Budget," says Jonathan Geldart, director general of the Institute of Directors, which represents senior business executives.

"Given the circumstances, the chancellor had to be bold, and he came through for business today," he says.

"With the coronavirus outbreak threatening a cashflow crunch, measures to cut costs and support loans to businesses are on the money.

"Wider reliefs around business rates and job taxes will also buoy firms as they look to weather Covid-19's implications.

He says directors have "long been crying out for transport and digital upgrades" but he warned the chancellor against writing a blank cheque.

"The question now is how we translate that money into real improvements for local economies."

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The free-market Adam Smith Institute pours a bucket of water on Rishi Sunak's big-spending budget, saying it's "seriously concerning" and accusing him of "ripping up the fiscal rules".

Research chief Matthew Lesh says the Conservatives are resorting to "debunked Keynsian stimulus theories".

He says: "Spending like a drunken sailor will not create a thriving entrepreneurial economy. Expansive vanity projects won’t make us better off. Bureaucrats picking winners does not support risk-taking by entrepreneurs."

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Welsh Secretary Simon Hart says cash is being provided during "exceptional circumstances".

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his first Budget in the House of Commons. Here's what you need to know.

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Tens of thousands of England's retail, leisure and hospitality firms will not pay any business rates in the coming year, under new plans announced in today's Budget.

The tax holiday will apply to companies with a rateable value of less than £51,000, Rishi Sunak told MPs.

The measure applies to firms including shops, cinemas, restaurants and hotels.

It forms part of a package of "extraordinary" measures to support the UK economy in the face of disruption from the coronavirus outbreak.