The rate at which prices are rising - also known as inflation - remains near a 40-year high of 10.1%.

The main driver of price rises has been the cost of energy such as oil and gas.

Energy is a key cost for individuals to heat their homes as well as for businesses, which use it for things like production and transportation.

As global economies reopened from Covid lockdowns, there was more demand for these sources of energy, which drove up prices.

Then Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia is a major oil and gas producer but after its assault, many countries banned imports of these goods.

Ukraine and Russia also produce a lot of the world’s grain. Disruption to shipments means that the raw ingredients for food as well as the cost of feed for livestock have jumped, making some food more expensive.

Read more here.

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As we mentioned earlier, free childcare for working parents in England is expected to be expanded in today's Budget to cover one and two-year-olds.

Currently, working parents with three and four-year-olds are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare per week.

The plans are part of a government drive to encourage more people back to work to boost economic growth.

Equivalent funding is expected to be announced for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Treasury is not formally commenting ahead of the Budget, but childcare costs in the UK are among the highest in the world and the government has been under pressure, including from some of its own MPs, to provide more help for parents.

Read the full story here.

A key announcement in today’s Budget will be how the UK economy is expected to perform over the next five years.

A growing economy benefits us all. It usually means people spend more, there are more jobs, more tax is paid and many get decent pay rises.

A number of economists – as well as the Bank of England - had predicted that the UK economy would shrink and fall into recession. This is usually defined as two three-month periods of shrinking growth.

The good news? So far the UK has defied those predictions. In January, it grew by 0.3%.

The bad news, however, is that over a longer period - in the final three months of last year - it stagnated. Jeremy Hunt wants to boost growth. The Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent forecaster, will assess whether his Budget will achieve that.

Watch out for the OBR’s predictions when the chancellor gets up to speak.

The chancellor of the exchequer - who is in charge of the government's finances - makes a Budget statement to MPs in the House of Commons in March every year.

It outlines the government's plans for raising or lowering taxes. It also includes big decisions on what the government will spend money on - including health, schools, police and other public services.

After Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivers his speech Labour leader Keir Starmer will give his response.

The March Budget is usually followed by the Autumn Statement, which is an update half a year later that looks at how things are going. But sometimes it can be just as significant, especially when things have changed a lot.

Image source, PA Media

Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the 2023 Spring Budget.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will be setting out the government’s tax and spending plans in the Commons at about 12:30 GMT, just after Prime Minister’s Questions.

His budget is expected to be aimed at halving inflation and boosting economic growth.

It is thought that free childcare for working parents in England will be expanded to cover one and two-year-olds.

The Budget will be accompanied by a forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which is the government’s spending watchdog.

Stay with us as we bring you what he says, as well as analysis on what it means for all of us.