Is alcohol getting cheaper?published at 16:56 British Summer Time 27 October 2021

16:56 BST 27 October 2021

Paul asks a question on many people's minds...

Helen Catt
Political Correspondent

The chancellor is going to change how duty on alcohol works - he's going to move it to a system where the stronger the alcohol is, the more duty you're going to pay. So some drinks will be cheaper, others more expensive.

So if you're partial to a G&T in a can, that will go down by about 9p per can, and rosé will go down too.

Prosecco and other sparkling wines will become cheaper as the premium for sparkling drinks is being removed because they are no longer considered, well, "premium".

It's bad news, though, if you're a fan of very strong cider or red wine, that's likely to go up a bit.

You can read more about these changes here.

What effect will the Budget have on interest rates?published at 16:54 British Summer Time 27 October 2021

16:54 BST 27 October 2021

Dharshini David
Economics Correspondent

Just a reminder that you can watch our Q&A live by pressing the play button at the top of the page.

Now a question from Andrew - who asks what, if any, effect today's announcements will have on interest rates.

The short answer is the Bank of England will make that call.

But the chancellor has increased the amount being given away to be used for all sorts of things, so in some senses the government is adding fuel to the economy.

This might mean the Bank of England are tempted to raise interest rates.

But the government has also made clear one of biggest threats to all our prosperity is inflation and a higher cost of living.

And because it has been so explicit, and the bank is worried about it, they might not raise them.

But we will have to wait and see.

What about the nurses pay rise?published at 16:51 British Summer Time 27 October 2021

16:51 BST 27 October 2021

Jackie asks...

Helen Catt
Political Correspondent

So we found out before the Budget that there would be a general unfreezing of public sector pay.

It comes after a temporary freeze of pay last year.

But there were no specifics in the speech today.

This is because it will now be up to independent pay review bodies to make their recommendations to government, so we will have to wait and see.

What about help for universal credit claimants who don't work?published at 16:48 British Summer Time 27 October 2021

16:48 BST 27 October 2021

Dharshini David
Economics Correspondent

Stephanie asks: The universal credit changes are of no benefit to those who are on the benefit and are not working - what help is there for them?

So what did the chancellor announce? Sunak revealed the taper rate will be cut by 8 percentage points no later than 1 December, bringing it down from 63% to 55%.

This means, for those people who work as well as claim the benefit, they will be allowed to keep more of their universal credit benefit on top of their wages.

The chancellor says his policy is meant to encourage people to work but yes, unfortunately Stephanie, that's of no comfort to people who can't work and claim universal credit.

Was there anything about the threshold for repaying student loans?published at 16:45 British Summer Time 27 October 2021

16:45 BST 27 October 2021

Helen Catt
Political Correspondent

This relates to a rumour that was doing the rounds just before the budget that the chancellor might have been looking at changing the point at which you have to start repaying your student loan and bringing it down considerably.

From memory, a figure of around £23,000 was mentioned.

In the end, that wasn't in the Budget that was announced today. So nothing further on that.

Why is Sunak lowering Air Passenger Duty?published at 16:43 British Summer Time 27 October 2021

16:43 BST 27 October 2021

Dharshini David
Economics Correspondent

We are answering your questions live and you can watch the stream live at the top of the page.

First up, a question about why the chancellor is lowering duties on flights within the UK.

Well. this policy is sure to raise eyebrows in the week before the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

The government's targets appear to clash - they want to make it cheaper to fly, but it also sends out an interesting message on the Net Zero target.

There are definitely going to be some awkward moments if Rishi Suank shows his face at the conference.

Image source, Getty Images

There has been some cautious welcome for today's announcements from the business community, but some are looking for more.

The director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Tony Danker says the chancellor has shown "a genuine willingness to listen to business with measures that will get firms innovating and help the economy to grow".

But he says the plan isn't "bold enough to deliver the high investment, high productivity economy the government seeks", and that Downing Street "missed the opportunity to truly reform a business rates system that diminishes Britain's high streets and factories".

The director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, Shevaun Haviland, is more positive, saying Rishi Sunak's announcements showed he had "listened to long-standing calls for changes to the business rates system [which] will be good news for many firms".

But she warns that with difficult months ahead, the chancellor "must be prepared to take further action to enable the economy to fire on all cylinders again".

Image source, Green Party

The Green Party is less than impressed with Rishi Sunak's announcements today, asking if he "missed the memo about us being in a climate emergency".

Co-leader Adrian Ramsay says the chancellor "simply does not understand the scale of what is required to tackle the climate crisis" - pointing to plans for air passenger and fuel duties.

"He is taking us in the wrong direction," he adds. "We’re being held back by a chancellor who sees the green transition as a cost rather than an opportunity."

Still have questions about today's Budget? Let us answer them!

BBC business expert Dharshini David will join political correspondent Helen Catt to give you the breakdown of the chancellor's plans and what they could mean for you.

Tune into our Facebook Live at 16:30 BST at the top of this page or on the BBC News Facebook page., external

We'll be bringing you the questions and answers here too.

Image source, PA Media

Among the chancellor's announcements was for £5bn to remove unsafe cladding from the highest-risk buildings, which Rishi Sunak said would be paid for through a 4% levy on developers with profits over £25m.

But homeowners trapped in buildings with unsafe cladding are unimpressed, saying the government must be "operating in a time warp" to have announced the same £5bn funding for a fourth time.

Lucy Brown, from the End Our Cladding Scandal Campaign, said the Budget speech confirmed that the tax on developers won't provide additional help to homeowners, but will instead replace existing funding.

She says estimates for fixing hundreds of buildings with fire safety defects range between £15bn and £50bn - with flat owners expected "to pick up the can".

Meanwhile, the largest developers have earned £15bn in profits since the Grenfell Tower fire and had only a "slap on the wrist", she says.

"We have already witnessed the start of bankruptcy filings and repossessions, not to mention warnings from the Bank of England and the mental health crisis brought about by the stress of financial ruin and living in flammable flats. It’s time for this government to end a scandal that is ruining so many lives," Brown says.

Image source, PA Media

The SNP is criticising the chancellor for "short changing" Scotland in his Budget.

The party's Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, says the plans do "nothing to tackle the Tory cost of living crisis".

He adds: "The piecemeal measures won't even offset Tory universal credit cuts, National Insurance hikes or rising inflation, let alone boost incomes."

He adds: "It beggars belief that the Tories expect us to be grateful even though they are making families poorer and robbing Scotland of investment."

You can read the BBC's analysis on what the Budget means for Scotland here.

Image source, Greenpeace

Labour is criticising the chancellor for a lack of action over climate change in his Budget, and the same message is being shared by campaigners.

Greenpeace's head of politics, Rebecca Newsom, says while the crisis should have been the "centrepiece" of Rishi Sunak's speech - especially ahead of the COP26 climate conference next week - "[he] spent more time discussing duty on domestic cider".

She adds: “The chancellor appears to have delivered just 5% of what’s needed to roll out green homes, clean transport, nature protection and support for workers to transition to green jobs, and is actively making things worse by making it cheaper to fly between UK cities.

"He’s missed the memo that an increase in green investment would not just lower carbon emissions and energy bills, but would also boost jobs and productivity."

Image source, PA Media

Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, is on the BBC's Politics Live programme.

He says he was really surprised the chancellor "failed to invest in our schools" because he had more money from tax receipts to play with.

"They really didn't step up to the plate with that challenge" he says, despite the hit to lots of young people's mental health during the pandemic, with big inequality issues not addressed.

"This was the moment to invest in our future" he says - yet there was "literally nothing" in the Budget for unpaid carers either.

Alison Holt
Social affairs correspondent

The pressure on the chancellor to do something significant on universal credit has been huge.

Many from his own party were deeply unhappy with his decision to end the £20 uplift to the benefit just three weeks ago.

With the cost of living rising, the argument was that families - many working hard in low paid jobs - would face real hardship.

His answer is to increase the money that someone on benefits can keep if they are earning.

At the moment, a person who earns more than a set allowance a week will have 63p deducted from their benefit for every extra pound they earn. Within weeks that will change to 55p in the pound.

The chancellor estimates that about two million families will benefit by around a £1,000 pounds a year.

But since it is targeted at those with jobs, it won’t help people unable to work, including those with disabilities, who face the same rising food and heating bills.

And overall, it helps far fewer people than the 5.5 million who benefited from the £20 uplift.

Kate Goodman, the owner of Reserve Wines, which supplies alcohol to restaurants and bars, is delighted about the Budget cut on duty for sparking wines but wants to see it come into force sooner rather than later.

"Christmas is our busiest period," she says. "It would have great to introduce this before that time. We need help to get back on our feet after a pretty crippling 18 months."

She adds: "I need to know the details on the new rates for alcohol duty, but in principle, this helps offset price rises or [could] even offer discounts to consumers."

"More than that the cut in business rates will be the bigger help for a company like mine."

Just to remind you, what's been announced in that respect is a 50% business rates discount for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors in England in 2022-23, up to a maximum saving of £110,000.

Universal credit has been hitting the headlines after the government faced criticism for cutting the weekly extra £20 given to claimants during the pandemic.

But what changed today?

The chancellor said he would reduce the taper rate of universal credit.

This affects the amount of money lost by working claimants if they earn more through work.

Currently, the taper rate is 63%, which means if you earn an extra pound you lose 63p in benefits.

Sunak plans to reduce this to 55%.

What does that mean in reality?

The £20 weekly cut meant every one of the 5.8 million people on UC lost around £1,000 a year.

The new taper rate would reintroduce a similar amount for 40% of those who work and claim the benefit.

What has the response been?

Tory MPs welcomed the announcement; Labour did not.

Director of the Resolution Foundation think tank, Torsten Bell, said he thought the move would improve the welfare system. But he warned it would help better off UC claimants, while giving nothing to the poorest to compensate for the recent £20 cut.

Read our explainer here.

Just joining us? Politics Live presenter Jo Coburn has given us this quick guide to some of the key announcements from the chancellor in his Budget.

Image source, PA

The chancellor announced a £170m increase by 2024-25 in the funding paid to nurseries and early years providers.

But Neil Leitch, of the Early Years Alliance, said the funding “goes nowhere near what is needed to safeguard the future of the sector”.

"With huge rises in national living and minimum wages set to come into effect next April, alongside increases in national insurance contributions, the cost of delivering early years places is set to soar," Leitch said.

"The harsh reality is that the investment announced today – likely to amount to little more than a few pennies extra per hour for early years providers – won’t come close to covering this.

"As a result, nurseries, pre-schools and childminders are still likely to face a choice between increasing fees or risk going out of business altogether, meaning parents across the country are likely to face a significant hike in childcare costs at a time when the government is supposed to be tackling the rising cost of living."

Reality Check

The chancellor twice used the phrase “debt down” in his Budget speech.

Public debt is measured in different ways.

If you look at "headline" debt, in the year to the end of March 2021, UK debt stood at £2.2tn, external, up from £1.9tn the previous year.

That was also an increase as a proportion of GDP, which is a measure of the value of everything produced by the economy, from 83% to 104%.

But in his speech, the chancellor was referring not to "headline" debt, but to the measure of "underlying" debt - which excludes Bank of England schemes.

Underlying debt is predicted to be 85.2% of GDP this year, 85.4% in 2022-23 and 85.7% in 2023-24, before falling in the following three years.

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Universal credit boost, the rising cost of living, pay packets, a "sin" tax overhaul....there is a lot to digest in the Budget.

The measures as a whole will have a significant impact on your finances.

Read here about all the ways the money in your pocket will be affected.