Hunt concludes his speech by recapping his "four Es" to unlock the UK's potential.

He wraps up saying: "We must never forget the ingenuity and optimism that is our hallmark.

"Being a technology entrepreneur changed my life. Being a technology superpower can change our country’s destiny."

The final "E" is "everywhere", Hunt says, which he explains means ensuring the benefits of economic development are felt not just in London and the South East but across the whole of the UK.

He calls it "socially divisive" and "economically damaging" for young people to feel that they need to head south "to make a decent living".

"That's why levelling up really matters," Hunt adds.

Hunt turns now to the third "E" of his pillars - employment. He says if companies cannot employ staff the staff they need, they cannot grow.

"High employment levels have long been a strength of the British economic model," he continues.

But the Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on workforce participation and Hunt addresses this. He says that total employment is nearly 300,000 people lower than pre-pandemic levels with around one-fifth of working-age adults economically inactive.

Ultimately he wants to fix what he describes as the "productivity puzzle".

On to pillar two now, and Hunt says "dramatic progress" has been made in education but more needs to be done.

"We don’t do nearly as well for the 50% of school leavers who do not go to university as we do for those who do," he says.

"If we want to reduce dependence on migration and become a high skill economy, the ‘E’ of education will be essential - and that means ensuring aspiration and opportunity is as open to those who do not go to university as to those who do."

Hunt turns to "the first E", which he says is "enterprise"

If the UK is to be Europe's most prosperous economy, we need to have its most dynamic and productive companies, he says.

Hunt also says high taxes directly affect the decisions of investors about investing in Britain.

Our ambition should be to have "the most competitive tax regime of any major country", Hunt says, which he says means "restraint on spending".

The chancellor says he wants to turn the 'E' into an enterprise culture built on low taxes, reward for risk, access to capital and smarter regulation.

Moving on from Brexit, the chancellor says he wants to set out his priorities under four pillars.

These are essential for any modern, innovation-led economy, Hunt says.

"For ease of memory they all happen to start with the letter ‘E’," he says.

Hunt next moves on to pointing out what he sees as the advantages of Brexit.

"Brexit will become a catalyst for bold choices as we take advantage of the nimbleness, flexibilities and freedoms it makes possible," he says.

"This is a plan for growth and not a series of measures or announcements, which will have to wait for budgets and autumn statements in the years ahead."

Hunt continues now by saying "the golden thread running through the industries where Britain does best is innovation".

He states that those innovation industries now account for around a quarter of the UK's output.

In the audience today there are people from Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Google, among others, he says, who he adds are some of the world's largest tech companies, all with major operations in the UK.

The chancellor says to them: "You are vital to Britain's economic future; but Britain is vital for your future too."

He says he wants their help to "turn the UK into the world's next Silicon Valley".

Turning now to the green energy sector, Hunt says the UK is powerfully positioned to be a world leader in cleaner energy.

He also says the UK can lead in digital technology as he lists the country's successes.

Hunt now cautions against an attitude of “declinism” about Britain, which he says is "just wrong".

He says there is reason to be optimistic, he adds.

Hunt goes on to claim that since the Brexit referendum, the UK has grown at about the same rate as Germany - although he says we haven't returned to pre-pandemic output levels.

Ione Wells
Political correspondent

The chancellor's defended not cutting taxes right now by saying the "best tax cut right now is a cut in inflation".

The government's argument is that cutting taxes would make inflation worse - by giving people more money in their pockets to spend, which could push up demand for goods, and consequently push up the prices of them.

It's the same argument they've used for not raising public sector wages as much as unions want, which has led to widespread strike action.

But the government has also spent the last year or so blaming inflation on global factors such as the war in Ukraine or the pandemic.

A question for ministers, then, is how they square this with their argument that it's the government - not external factors - which can bring it down.

Hunt says the Conservatives know better than other parties the importance of low taxes and "fostering the animal spirits that spur economic growth".

However, the chancellor adds risk-taking can only happen when governments provide economic stability.

Hunt outlines the importance of cutting inflation - which is currently 10.5% and close to a 40-year high.

He continues by saying he wants the UK to be one of "the most prosperous countries in Europe" and says he will outline today how the government plans to get there.

Opening his speech, Hunt talks about technology transforming our lives and using artificial intelligence (AI). He says that ChatGPT helped him write the opening lines of the speech.

"Who needs politicians when you have AI?" he says to a smattering of laughter.

He notes that the UK has been dealing with economic headwinds for a decade - noting the economic crash, the global pandemic and the recent cost of living crisis.

The chancellor is at the podium and starting his speech about his vision for the UK economy and his long-term plan to boost growth.

He is speaking in front of a backdrop showing Rishi Sunak's five key priorities as prime minister.

We'll bring you the latest updates on what he says and you can watch the speech live by clicking the Play button at the top of the page.

Jeremy Hunt is a few minutes away from beginning his speech in central London, where he'll set out the government’s long-term plan for economic growth. He was due to start his address at 9.20am but he's still not on stage.

It's not an official forecast like November's Autumn Statement but we'll hear what ideas he has to tackle challenges in the UK economy.

Ione Wells
Political correspondent

The government's said one of its top five priorities is growing the economy.

But there have been grumbles from some Tory MPs who want ministers to outline how.

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss's pitch was all about growth - major tax cuts, as well as reforming things like housebuilding planning rules, infrastructure planning rules and childcare provision to try to grow the economy.

Her plans spooked the markets, and ultimately led to her and her chancellor resigning. But some Tory MPs feel the problem with her plans was the speed and delivery, not necessarily the ambition.

The chancellor has argued getting inflation down is a key reason why tax cuts can't happen right now.

But many MPs want to know what the alternative is instead.

Simon Jack
Business editor

The chancellor is facing calls from corners of the private and public sector for more money.

The steel industry wants hundreds of millions of pounds to offset high energy prices and support the transition to less carbon intensive production - calls supported by some cabinet colleagues.

Business groups want a more coherent industrial strategy and attendant subsidies to encourage investment, and the public sector want him to acknowledge the real-terms pay cuts millions are feeling by offering more generous wage settlements.

He’s ultimately expected (but not necessarily today) to oblige steel makers with extra money with green strings attached, repeat his emphasis on sectors in which the UK excels, give insurance companies the freedom to invest more in long term infrastructure projects, but maintain a hard line on wage deals.

Very little of this is new and the voices calling for more help will be disappointed if there aren’t any new ideas - and new cash - to support his ambitions for a more prosperous, productive Britain.

We were expecting Jeremy Hunt's speech to start at 9am, but we are now hearing it will start at about 9:20am.

Stay with us and we'll bring you all the build up and the address as it happens.

We’re due to hear from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt shortly – and one of the things we’re expecting to hear him talk about are his plans for economic growth in the UK, particularly in the tech sector.

Let’s take a quick look at what economic growth actually means. In the UK - and all around the world - gross domestic product (GDP) is used for looking at how well, or badly, an economy is performing.

In a growing economy, each quarterly GDP figure will be slightly bigger than the quarter before – a sign that people are doing more work and getting (on average) a little bit richer.

If GDP is falling, the economy is shrinking - bad news for businesses and workers.

Image source, PA

The most recent report in the UK, which looks at some of the final months of last year, revealed that the economy grew in November by 0.1% – something economists weren’t expecting.

The data made it less clear whether Britain officially entered a recession at the end of last year, experts said, but this will change when the figures for December are published in a few weeks.

Hunt could reference this progress in his speech, but it’ll be interesting to see how he frames it considering the cost of living crisis and the general feeling that the UK economy remains under pressure.

Image source, Getty Images

The government needs to prioritise its policies in areas that "drive innovation, investment and growth", the boss of business and accounting software firm Sage Group has told the BBC.

Speaking to the Today programme, Steve Hare said the UK shouldn't be "complacent", adding "the UK and London as a place to invest needs to work hard to retain its differentiation and competitiveness".

He said the UK needed "hard actions that help us to be the most attractive digital economy in the world".

Sage is based in Newcastle, and Hare said the company was continuing to invest and hire in the UK.

"We find that engineering talent in the North East is exceptionally good."