The apprenticeship levy is the "big revenue raiser" in the Autumn Statement, says the Chartered Institute of Taxation, "raising an extra £3bn a year from business by 2020" that "will mean a hefty additional cost for some businesses".

John Cullinane, tax policy director of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, says:

Following the pensions reforms put in place last year, the Chancellor has taken a "wait-and-see" approach this year says Andy Cummings, head of asset management firm Close Brothers.

He says the state pension should not be solely relied upon as a source of income as the population, and therefore retirement, becomes longer. He says the chancellor should have encouraged more long-term saving.

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If George Osborne thought tax credit cuts were a good idea several months ago, why has he scrapped them altogether now? Treasury minister David Gauke says the public finances are in a stronger position than initially forecast "so we've got greater scope for flexibility", meaning the £12bn welfare cuts can be found elsewhere.

Labour's shadow business secretary Angela Eagle said the chancellor was forced into a rethink by the Lords defeat and opposition. But she says the "small print" suggests the same families will still lose money as a result of other cuts. She says government should be creating "higher value, better paid" jobs.

Who will build the 400,000 houses promised in the Autumn Statement, recruitment firm Randstad asks?

Ross Hawkins
Political correspondent

Image source, PA

The chancellor has reversed some of his tax credit cuts but says he has still managed to save the £12bn in welfare he promised before the election.

How come?

The Treasury says the £12bn saving was always intended to be made in 2019. By then tax credits will make up just a small part of the planned savings, because they will be a legacy of an old system as people move on to Universal Credit.

So the U-turn will cost the Treasury £3.4bn next year - when lots of people will still be claiming tax credits - but in 2019 when more are claiming Universal Credit the cost be just £910m.

The chancellor has made up for that £910m by other welfare savings in the Autumn Statement including a cut to housing benefit, a change to Universal Credit for the self-employed and delaying social care reforms.

The way temporary accommodation for the homeless is funded will change, and it will be counted as local government spending, not welfare, in future.

Taken together they fill the hole which is much smaller in the year the Treasury say matters than the debate about a U-turn before today might have led you to think.

Welcoming today's Spending Review announcements, The Institute of Public Policy Research think tank warned more needs to be done to tackle possible financial problems in the future. 

They were pleased that spending on education, adult skills and science would be maintained, alongside an increase in infrastructure. 

Former Labour shadow chancellor Chris Leslie on tax credits: "Don't be under the illusion it's a u-turn. It's a delay."

The Spending Review has revealed smaller cuts to government departments than were previously expected says the Institute for Government. 

However they say councils receiving extra financial responsibilities will lead to "higher council taxes".

They add there are also "big challenges" to achieve "ambitious" plans of moving government services online, in order to allow people to pay over the internet. This is expected to happen by 2020 with fewer civil servants.  

For more on the news that the government is to axe a £1bn grant for developing new carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, see our story here.

Two of the big announcements from George Osborne were the scrapping of tax credit cuts, and the news that there would be no cuts to police budgets.

Here's a brief look at some of the others things he announced:

• Plans to hand billions to private developers to build 400,000 new homes in England
• A real terms increase for education funding - including early years and further and higher education
• Basic state pension to rise by £3.35 next year to £119.30 a week
• Local authorities with responsibility for social care to be allowed to levy a new precept of up to 2% on council tax
• Arts and sports funding to get a boost
• Money for new road and rail projects, including the electrification of TransPennine, Midland Mainline and Great Western
• Holloway women's prison, in North London, will close as part of a plan to modernise Britain's jails
• Housing benefit for new social tenants to be capped at same level as private sector
• NHS to deliver £22bn efficiency savings in England and Department of Health to cut 25% from its Whitehall budget
• Proposals to raise £5bn in a fresh crackdown on tax avoidance
• Using £15m a year from VAT on sanitary products to fund women's health charities

Rob Burton, who runs interior design business DAPA, says there has to be a strategy behind the government's house building plans, citing the need to address skills shortages in the industry.

He also thinks the buy-to-let changes will have a "huge impact" on the market. Investors, he says, will put up their rents meaning that those who now can't afford to buy, won't be afford to rent.

An apprenticeship levy will create more bureaucracy for businesses according to accountancy firm Grant Thornton. 

The firm says the Spending Review raised "more questions than answers" and "risks creating additional bureaucracy".

The Apprenticeship Levy will be introduced in 2017 and ensure the businesses pay for training workers.

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Mike Cherry, of the Federation of Small Business, says he was "very pleased" by the infrastructure investment announcements and by the extension of the small business rate relief.

"That was a positive for us," he tells the BBC, but adds that business will want to see the detail of the announcement on apprenticeships

The OBR confirms that the government is expected to break its own welfare cap in each of the three years from 2016-17. 

That's the welfare cap that it reduced in the July Budget.

It will mean that the government will have to get approval from MPs for the additional spending.

And actually, the OBR says welfare spending only just manages to keep within the cap in 2019-20 and 2020-21. In fact, it is forecast to be above the cap, but by less than the 2% margin to allow for forecasting errors.