Reality Check

Look out in the Budget for the chancellor’s plans on levelling up, which was one of the Conservative Party’s favourite terms from the 2019 election campaign.

The idea was that people and communities considered “left behind” would get a chance to catch up.

So far, what is meant by levelling up, or if there is any way its success could be tested, is a bit vague.

Research, external from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that: "On a wide variety of measures, regional disparities in the UK are greater than in most comparable countries."

But it also found that after adjusting for housing costs, living standards between regions were not particularly unequal.

Many organisations have put forward suggestions of things that need to be addressed such as employment rates, pay, health and formal education, but there seems to be fairly broad agreement that one of the central issues is the difference in productivity between regions - that's the amount of value created per hour worked.

Things such as infrastructure spending, investment in research and development, training and freeports are likely to be referred to as part of the levelling up agenda.

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Jillian MacLean, chief executive of bar and cocktail chain Drake & Morgan, says the hospitality industry is in "cardiac arrest".

She welcomes the extension of furlough but says "not hearing until the last minute the support we're getting" makes it difficult for businesses to plan.

And she suggests it is an example of the government being "quite inexperienced" at understanding what business need.

She also urges the chancellor to extend the business rates holiday for another 12 months.

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The chancellor briefed the cabinet on the details of his Budget announcements earlier.

Downing Street said Rishi Sunak told the cabinet that the coronavirus pandemic “has hit our economy hard” and “we must be honest” about what that meant, but “we can be optimistic about the recovery”.

Image source, Ester de Roij

It's expected that the chancellor will announce an extension to the £20 a week top-up to universal credit.

During the coronavirus pandemic, we've spoken to people who claimed universal credit for the first time.

Freelance wildlife camerawoman Esther de Roij hasn't had work since December 2019, and her last commission was cancelled a week before the first lockdown in March.

She told us what the universal credit increase had meant for her:

"Twenty pounds doesn't sound much - but it's been a lifeline".

"When you haven't got much, taking away a little is a lot."

Single dad Anthony Lynam said the £20 increase was just rolled-up into his weekly budget for essentials.

"It was not a solution to everything, but it was a massive help," he said.

"Households have come to rely on this money. No one uses it for anything fancy. You're still on the breadline all the time."

Read more from Ester and Anthony here.

Image source, Anthony Lynam

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The limit on a single payment using contactless card technology will rise to £100 later this year, the Treasury has confirmed.

The pandemic has accelerated a move away from cash, with shoppers often being encouraged to use contactless in many stores for public health reasons.

It has been less than a year since the limit was raised from £30 to £45.

Regulators say businesses could still decide themselves whether to accept the higher limit.

The government is grappling with the enormous economic cost of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The chancellor's Budget will chart a financial roadmap for the country.

Rishi Sunak will outline the state of the economy and its outlook for the future.

The UK's national debt has reached its highest level since 1963 - reflecting the huge cost of pandemic support measures such as the furlough scheme. National debt here means the total amount the government owes to its lenders - it is the accumulation of borrowing over many years.

So far this year, the annual total for government borrowing - the amount the government borrows to make up for the gap between what it spends and what it raises in taxes - has reached £270.6bn, which is £222bn more than a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates that this figure could reach £393.5bn by the end of the financial year in March. This would be the highest amount in any year since the Second World War.

Read more on the state of the UK economy here.

Simon Read
Business Reporter

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The FTSE 100 blue-chip index has made a positive start to the day ahead of the Budget statement, climbing 75 points to rise 1.14% to at 6,689.

“The positive performance of the FTSE 100 may help put a little more pep in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s step as he makes the journey from Number 11 Downing Street to the House of Commons,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Whitbread, owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain, led the Footsie risers amid suggestions the furlough scheme and business rates holiday will both be extended, supporting the hard-pressed leisure and hospitality sector.

Image source, Reuters

Rishi Sunak has just left No 11 Downing Street, to head over to Parliament.

Keeping to tradition of every Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Sunak held his ministerial red box aloft for the waiting press and photographers.

The chancellor is usually joined on the steps of No 11 by the rest of the Treasury ministerial team.

But due to social distancing measures, they weren't with him today - a very visual sign that this Budget is being delivered the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Image source, PA Media

Sports Direct's chief financial officer Chris Wootton says the key thing he wants to see in the Budget is structural reform of business rates - the tax on business properties.

Some have argued that the tax puts 'bricks and mortar' stores at a disadvantage when competing against online retailers such as Amazon.

Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Wotton said the scheme was "so unfair and complicated that businesses don't know which way they are going".

He also warned there would "not be a future" for some High Street stores unless something is done about the tax.

There have been reports that the chancellor will extend the business rates holiday introduced at the beginning of the pandemic.

However, he is expected to leave the thorny question of wider reform - including levying a so called "Amazon tax" on online retailers - until the autumn.

Image source, PA Media

The government has borrowed a record £270bn so far fighting the pandemic and has to come up with ways to pay it back.

And ministers have said the government will continue supporting millions of people who are still out of work or on furlough due to lockdown.

So with tough economic times ahead and reports that the chancellor may announce some tax rises, here are five things to look out for in Rishi Sunak's speech.

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Some of the announcements due to come in the chancellor's Budget statement have already been released:

• Business support will continue throughout the lockdown in England. The Job Retention Scheme - or furlough - will be extended until the end of September, and cuts to VAT for hospitality businesses are also expected to continue
• High Streets shops and hospitality firms will be able to get a grant from a £5bn fund to help them reopen after lockdown. Grants will be worth up to £18,000 per firm, but some business groups say it isn't enough.
• Arts and culture - An extra £300m will be added to the government's £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund. Museums and cultural bodies in England will also receive £90m to keep going until they can open their doors. There will also be £18.8m for community cultural projects, and £77m allocated for similar initiatives in the devolved nations.
• Sports including cricket, tennis and horse racing will benefit from a £300m recovery package, and there will be £25m new funding to support grassroots football - enough to build around 700 new pitches across the UK.
• As Covid-19 vaccinations keep rolling out, an extra £1.65bn will be allocated to help the government reach its target of offering a first dose to every adult by 31 July. And some of the money will be used for a trial to see if different vaccine doses can be mixed.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Budgets are delivered every year by the chancellor - the government's chief finance minister. But given the massive economic issues caused by Covid-19, this one will be watched very closely.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will outline any plans for raising or lowering taxes and big decisions on what the government will spend money on.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will give his response straight after.

Mr Sunak is under pressure to address two main issues:

• Whether the UK will begin paying off the huge debts built up during the pandemic
• How the government will support the people and businesses hit the hardest. The government has already said the furlough scheme will be extended until the end of September

To find out more, read our simple Budget guide here

Image source, Getty Images

The main headline this morning in the build up to the Budget statement is the extension of the furlough scheme until the end of September.

The scheme has helped to pay the wages of millions of people who may otherwise have been laid off during the coronavirus pandemic.

It was due to stop at the end of April, but as some lockdown restrictions won't be lifted until June at the earliest, businesses that rely most on furlough would not be fully open by then.

Bridget Phillipson, Labour's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, should have made the decision "months ago".

Announcing the extension ahead of his statement in the Commons, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak said:

“There’s now light at the end of the tunnel with a roadmap for reopening, so it’s only right that we continue to help business and individuals through the challenging months ahead - and beyond.”

Read our full report here.

BBC Politics

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Welcome to our live coverage of the Budget statement.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will set out his plans for the UK economy at 12:30 GMT.

As is tradition on Budget day, he will pause on the steps of No 11 Downing Street with his ministerial red box, as he heads to the Commons to deliver his statement.

But the prime minister will precede the chancellor at the despatch box at 12:00 GMT for his regular weekly question time with MPs.

Then later this evening the chancellor will host a press conference in Downing Street at 17:00 GMT, taking questions from members of the public and the media.

We’ll bring you each of the events in full, with analysis from our political and business correspondents and BBC’s Reality Check team.

Thanks for following along with us.