Hunt is grilled on why the only tax cut announced yesterday was for the wealthiest people, to which he says it's important to remember that the government's giving thousands of pounds to households struggling with issues such as energy costs.

Pushed on the original question, Hunt says there's a "particular problem in the NHS", with a large number of doctors reducing their hours because of the way pension taxes work. He says it's important to change this, and get them to stay.

Asked whether this is an extraordinarily high price to pay - and potentially a display of the "wrong values", Hunt says he doesn't agree. "It's not wrong to support our NHS," he says.

Hunt says the NHS is spending too much on agency workers and the government's new policy is the "simplest and quickest" way to resolve this issue. This is an important measure to get the NHS working, he adds.

Hunt's interview with the BBC's Nick Robinson kicks off with Robinson asking the chancellor why he looks "so cheerful", considering the tax burden and other issues.

Hunt admits there are some challenges ahead, but says there's a lot to be "really proud of".

He says he's setting out a long-term plan "to make us one of the most prosperous countries in Europe", and that the Budget yesterday outlined ways to help families in areas they need it - like the energy crisis.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's not done yet. He's now due to talk to Radio 4's Today programme about yesterday's Budget.

We'll bring you anything he says which we haven't just heard on BBC Breakfast. You can also listen to Today by clicking the icon at the top of this page.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has also just appeared on the radio show, which we'll listen back to and bring you any new lines from.

We appreciate it's a lot of information this early in the morning - don't worry, though, we'll compile all the key points in some catch-up posts soon enough.

Finally, Hunt is asked whether there will be a deal on NHS pay today?

He says he hopes so, adding that the government is "working really hard" to solve issues around pay.

Next, Hunt is grilled about public finances, after it's put to him that everyone is "worse off" in terms of things like income tax.

He says the government spent billions during the pandemic to save businesses, and is doing similar this year to help households through the energy crisis.

This means the burden of tax will be higher for a while, he admits, but says he has chosen to "help families".

Asked whether people have to simply accept that life will be harder, he says announcements yesterday showed he was committed to helping those who need it. He lists the following as examples:

• expansion of the energy price guarantee
• freeze on fuel duty
• targeted support

Hunt is pressed on his pensions policies next, which he says have been put in place to address the big issue of doctors reducing their hours or leaving the NHS to retire due to tax reasons.

Challenged on why he is implementing a policy that could be seen as favouring the wealthiest earners, he says the policy is aimed at tackling the "big issue" in the NHS quickly, with the policy being brought in just two weeks' time.

He says it is "potentially transformative" for the NHS and means "doctors won't leave".

Jeremy Hunt's asked about childcare first - specifically the funding.

He says this is the "biggest expansion of childcare" of his lifetime, meaning thousands more nurseries, staff and childminders will be needed. He admits this will take time.

"I want to take the cliff edge away for parents," he says, before explaining it's an annual investment of £5bn.

On the timeframe, he says he wants to get this going as quick as possible, but it'll take time to get everything in place.

The chancellor is asked specifically about where the money's coming from to fund childcare for one and two-year-olds, due to nursery managers saying they're already struggling to fund three and four-year olds, to which he repeats the £5bn-a-year figure.

Hunt says the UK wants to create a model similar to Denmark and Holland, but again admits this will take time. Pushed on where the money is coming from for one and two-year-olds, he fails to give a specific answer.

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is up next on BBC Breakfast.

He will be quizzed on the many policies he announced in yesterday's Budget.

Stay with us as we bring you live updates.

Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

Some had wanted to see more money put aside to settle public sector pay disputes in the Budget.

That didn’t happen.

But we could be on the brink of breakthrough on NHS pay.

Several sources have said the talks have made a lot of progress in the past couple of days. Unions are weighing up the latest proposals from ministers, likely to include a lump sum for 2022-23.

Several people close to the process say it’s possible there could be a new offer confirmed today.

But there a lot of different unions involved in the process and nothing is guaranteed.

Next, Reeves is grilled on Labour's reaction to the announcement yesterday that prepayment energy meter customers will be charged the same as those on direct debits.

She says it's frustrating that this change won't come into power until July, because some of the people on these meters are "the most vulnerable". She also references reports of people being forced onto them by their energy suppliers.

But Reeves says she "welcomes" the policy.

And that's it for Reeves' appearance, next we'll hear from the Chancellor himself, Jeremy Hunt.

Next Reeves is questioned on the latest changes to the lifetime tax-free pensions allowance.

She says Labour will force a vote on this, and would reverse the policy - though says that it should be kept in place for doctors.

"We have consistently said there needs to be a fix for doctors," she says. "But you don't need to have an across the board change for pensions that is helping some of the very wealthiest people."

Rachel Reeves begins by saying, as a "working mum myself", she knows that childcare is important for parents to get into work.

She says Labour has been asking for reforms "for some time now", so this is good news, but questions why the new plans will take so long to come into effect.

The shadow chancellor says, if in power, Labour would aim to push through policies like abolishing non-dom status and extending free childcare as a matter of urgency.

Pushed on her timeframe, she refuses to give a clear date, but says the party will "set all that out" in the run up to the next election. "No-one should be in any doubt about Labour's commitment to childcare," she tells the BBC, adding it wouldn't take her party 13 years (the time the Conservatives have been in power).

The first of this morning's major morning programme appearances is up now, with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves on BBC Breakfast.

We're expecting her to give reaction to yesterday's Budget, including what we already know: that, if in power, Labour would abolish the new policy to scrap the abolition of the £1m tax-free cap on pension savings.

Stay with us for live updates of what she has to say.

We've just been hearing from Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader, who was on BBC Breakfast to give his thoughts on yesterday's slew of financial announcements.

A major policy set out by the chancellor was an extension of free childcare for working parents in England, to now cover one and two-year-olds (instead of only three and four-year-olds), from April 2024.

With Scotland under pressure to follow suit, Flynn refused to commit to it until the party could be sure there was proper funding. "The Scottish Parliament operates on a fixed budget from the UK government," he said, adding the party needs to know where the money's coming from - and that it'll actually come - before committing to any new policies - including an extension of free childcare.

"But the broad answer is, yes, we want to," he eventually said.

Yesterday, the chancellor announced that the lifetime limit on tax-free pensions savings will be abolished.

At present, you can save just over £1m before an extra tax charge is levied. The impact will be lots of money being put into pensions by wealthy savers.

In addition, the Treasury announced that the annual tax-free pension allowance will rise to £60,000.

That is a policy directed primarily at keeping doctors and consultants working in a stretched NHS, instead of retiring early, reducing hours, or turning down overtime for tax reasons.

However, it will also help other wealthy pension savers and public servants who have been in their roles for a long time.

Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

As we prepare to hear all kinds of reaction to yesterday's Budget, Labour has made its stance on one new policy very clear.

The party has said it would reverse the government's decision to scrap the abolition of the £1m cap on pension savings, with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves calling it "the wrong priority, at the wrong time, for the wrong people".

In a statement, Labour says the policy will result in the "top 1% of pension savers getting a massive tax break for their retirement" - potentially netting an average of £45,000, according to its own analysis.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled the contents of his first Budget in the House of Commons yesterday. Here's a summary of what he said:

Taxation and wages: The cap on the amount workers can accumulate in pensions savings over their lifetime before having to pay extra tax will be abolished

Energy: Typical household energy bills in Britain will remain at £2,500 until the end of June. They had been due to rise to £3,000 a year from April

Jobs and work: 30 hours of free childcare for working parents in England will be expanded to cover one and two-year-olds, and rolled out in stages from April 2024

Economy and public finances: The Office for Budget Responsibility predicts the UK will avoid recession in 2023, but the economy will shrink by 0.2%

Business and trade: The main rate of corporation tax, paid by businesses on taxable profits over £250,000, will rise from 19% to 25%

That's a brief summary of the main announcements but to see the Budget measures in full, click here.

Nathan Williams
Live reporter

Welcome back to our live coverage following Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's 2023 Spring Budget announcement yesterday.

Today we'll be bringing you all the latest reaction and will be diving deeper into what the Budget means for you and your finances.

First up this morning, Jeremy Hunt and his shadow, Labour's Rachel Reeves will be giving interviews to BBC Breakfast and Radio 4's Today programme.

I'm joined my colleagues Alys Davies and Sam Hancock. Do stay with us as we bring you all the latest.

That's all from us. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest reaction and analysis following the Budget announcement.

If you want to wrap your head around the key points from Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget, click here.

Want to know what the Budget means for you and your money? Look here.

To get Labour's take on it all, look here.

And to find out what the government's independent forecaster, the OBR, has to say about it, we've explained it all here.

Today's live page was brought to you by Alys Davies, Adam Durbin, Andrew Humphrey, Gemma O'Reilly, Emily McGarvey, Sam Hancock, Heather Sharp, Jennifer Meierhans, Dearbail Jordan, James Harness, Chas Geiger, Sarah Fowler, Kate Whannel, Emma Owen, Rachel Russell and Jasmine Taylor-Coleman.

Image source, PA Media

We're pausing our live page shortly but here's a reminder of the key developments from today's Budget announcement:

• Jeremy Hunt unveiled plans to expand free childcare in England and scrap the £1m limit for tax-free pension savings - a move which Labour says will help only the richest 1%
• The independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said the UK economy would shrink this year but avoid recession, with inflation predicted to more than halve by the end of this year
• The chancellor insisted his Budget would get young parents and over 50s back into work
• He said he wanted to fill a million vacancies across the UK so firms can "grow faster"
• Inflation, the rate at which prices are increasing, is forecast to fall from 10.7% in the final quarter of last year to 2.9% by the end of 2023, according to the OBR
• The OBR is also warning of a big drop in living standards, which it says will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2027

• The economy is predicted to return to growth - but house prices are projected to fall by 10% by 2025
• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the government of being "out of touch" and putting the country "on a path of managed decline"