That's it from Jeremy Hunt - let's look at the key takeaways from his address:

• The national living wage will rise to at least £11 an hour, the Chancellor confirmed in a new policy announcement
• He says this will equate to a pay rise for two million workers
• The chancellor said the government would look at the way the benefits sanctions regime works, as it "isn't fair" that someone who "refuses" to look for a job "gets the same as someone trying their best"

• Hunt insists the government is focused on bringing down inflation
• He said the level of tax is currently too high
• The Treasury needs to change its focus from short-term cost control to long-term cost reduction - starting with the civil service, Hunt laid out
• The Chancellor announced a freeze on the expansion of the civil service in a plan he says will save £1bn a year
• Hunt also said nobody should have their bank account closed as a result of their political views, and the government would tighten the law

Hunt turns to his concluding remarks.

"In Britain today, there's only one party prepared to make difficult decisions" on growth and taxation, he says, naming Sunak's Conservative government.

He goes on to praise the PM "whose own life story shows you just what's possible with education, aspiration and hard work".

Hunt says Sunak's story is "our story".

The chancellor says it is "time to take on the declinists" and to "roll up our sleeves and... prove the doubters wrong.

Hunt's speech ends and he leaves the stage, to applause.

Hunt says he's proud to live in a country where "there is a ladder everyone can climb, but also a safety net below which no one falls".

But he says that the safety net depends on tax and people must work.

"From last year for the first time ever you can earn £1000 a month without paying a penny of tax or national insurance”, he adds.

But he says 100,00 people are leaving the labour market every year for a life on benefits, which is why the government is replacing the Work Capability Assessment and examining the sanctions regime.

It isn't fair that someone who "refuses" to look for a job "gets the same as someone trying their best", he says.

Hunt announces the government will raise the national living wage. Currently it stands at £10.42 an hour, but he commits to increasing it to at least £11 an hour - as was reported earlier.

"That is a pay rise for nearly two millions workers," Hunt says.

"If you work hard, a Conservative government will always have your back."

Hunt has now turned into equality and inclusion, saying is everyone's job to smash the glass ceiling.

He says no one should have their bank account closed because someone decides they are not politically correct.

"We'll tighten the law to stop people being debanked for their political views," he says.

Hunt says he will freeze the expansion of the civil service, which he says will save the UK £1bn next year.

"Of course, we need modern working practices an better IT. But the Treasury needs to change its practices," he tells the conference.

"We're going to start with the civil service," he says, calling it "the best in the world."

More from the chancellor who talks about taxes being too high after the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent energy crisis.

Hunt notes public spending is growing faster than the economy.

"We need a more productive state, not a bigger state," he says.

Hunt lists the benefit of increasing public sector productivity by half a per cent.

Hunt says he wants to set the record straight and says his plan is to make Britain a global leader, the next Silicon Valley.

He praised the country's tech industry as well as successes with Covid vaccines and the film industry.

Hunt continues by saying its great to be in Manchester.

He goes on to say that "our friends at the ONS (Office for National Statistics) have recently changed their mind about the size of the British economy".

He says that Britain was previously considered one of the worst performing large European economies since the pandemic - "but we were one of the best," he adds, before listing several countries the UK has surpassed.

"To all the pessimists and declinists who have betted against us we say: 'Don't bet against Britain, it never works'."

After taking a warm applause from the auditorium, Hunt starts thanking the audience for the welcome as he reflects on his last time speaking at conference five years ago when he was foreign secretary.

He jokes the PM is doing a good job at "getting the over 50s back into work".

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is on his feet and has just started his speech at the Tory Party conference.

We will bring you updates on what he says here - and you can watch live at the top of this page by pressing the play button. Stay with us.

Henry Zeffman
Reporting from Manchester

Attendance for some cabinet ministers’ speeches so far has been a little sparse. But the hall is full in anticipation of the speech by Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, beginning shortly.

There was also a standing ovation from some in the hall when PM Rishi Sunak entered to take his seat in the audience.

We know already that Hunt will speak about increasing the living wage and toughening benefit sanctions.

I’m told there is one other significant policy in the speech - a “rabbit in the hat” to use the awful Westminster phrase - which is likely to get people talking.

It's day two of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester - here's what's happened this morning:

• Former PM Liz Truss gave a speech from the sidelines to a packed crowd, calling on the party to "axe tax, cut bills and build homes"
• The speech saw her urge both the PM and Chancellor to reverse key policies - including lowering corporation tax back to 19% and moving ahead with fracking, which is currently banned

• In his speech to conference, Transport Secretary Mark Harper condemned the extension of the Ulez zone to outer London, but made no mention of the over-budget HS2 and the questions around its extension
• Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will address the conference in a few minutes' time and is expected to commit to raising the Living Wage to more than £11 and hour, and tackle Benefits access.
• Earlier he told the BBC, there were "no shortcuts" to cutting taxes - and bringing down inflation remained his key focus

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

The theme for this conference is called "long-term decisions for a brighter future" and this idea that they’re going to make hard choices - although there has been some questioning of what difficult decisions have actually been made.

The government has absolutely resisted confirming whether or not HS2 will ever actually reach Manchester.

This morning we had the big keynote speech from the Transport Secretary and he did not mention that within it. That is a real elephant in the room at the Conservative conference this year.

It certainly does, anecdotally, feel flatter at this conference than it has done in previous years. It doesn’t feel like there’s a real buzz to it - of people feeling very positive about it.

Image source, PA Media

Hunt is also expected to address the rules around benefits.

"Since the pandemic, things have been going in the wrong direction," he is due to say. "Whilst companies struggle to find workers, around 100,000 people are leaving the labour force every year for a life on benefits."

Calling the issue a "fundamental matter of fairness", he will add: "Those who won't even look for work do not deserve the same benefits as people trying hard to do the right thing."

Speaking to BBC Breakfast this morning, Hunt said it was only fair that those able to work should "engage properly with all the support" the government was giving them to find a job, given that there were over a million vacancies in the economy.

That's why, he said, the government would be looking at a "sanctions system".

• You can learn more about the expected living wage increase here

In just over 20 minutes' time, we expect to hear from the chancellor again.

Jeremy Hunt has confirmed the government will accept advice to raise the living wage to at least £11 pounds an hour from next April – up from £10.42.

Speaking to the BBC this morning, he said the raise would mean two million people on the lowest legal minimum pay would be earning £9,000 per year more than they were in 2010. He went on to stay that it was really important to "make work pay".

The Conservatives said this meant the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the national living wage would increase by £1,000 next year.

In his speech this afternoon, Hunt is expected to say that “nearly two million people have been lifted from absolute poverty” since the Conservatives introduced the national living wage.

"That's the Conservative way of improving the lives of working people. Boosting pay, cutting tax.”

Would fracking and North Sea oil bring down bills?published at 13:30 British Summer Time 2 October 2023

13:30 BST 2 October 2023

In the last hour, former Prime Minister Liz Truss said the UK should “unleash” its gas supplies to cut energy bills for households and boost the economy.

She said the US had cut bills by using shale gas and that the UK should learn the lessons.

It’s a theme she also championed as PM last year, when she announced an end to the ban on fracking - a controversial technique that involves using liquids at high pressure to release shale gas.

But the heads of the Climate Change Committee and the National Infrastructure Commission warned at the time that such measures wouldn’t lead to people’s bills falling.

In a letter to her they said, external: “Our gas reserves - offshore or from shale - are too small to impact meaningfully the prices faced by UK consumers."

And there are particular problems with fracking in the UK, which is considerably more crowded than the US and has higher land prices.

• You can read more about it here

Image source, Reuters

Liz Truss's speech was relatively short. Let's have a recap of her key points:

• The backbone to Truss's speech were three points she detailed as being "axing the tax, cutting bills and building homes"
• Truss called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to cut corporation tax back to 19% when he delivers the Autumn Statement next month
• She said the government should "unleash that gas", and capitalise on the UK's gas reserves, by lifting the ban on fracking imposed by Rishi Sunak
• Environmental red tape could be torn up, Truss suggested, as she called for 500,000 homes a year to be built
• "Let's make Britain grow again," she repeated, while urging her peers to make the Tories "the party of business again"
• Her speech concluded just under an hour before we will hear from the chancellor himself - so stay with us

Image source, Reuters

After detailing her three topics, Truss says she is "under no illusion" this is easy for the Conservative government to do

"But we need to in order to make Britain great again," she says, reversioning former President Trump's famous mantra.

She adds: "Let's stop taxing and banning things".

"Let's build things and make things.

"Finally my friends, let's make Britain grow again."

Her speech ends - to applause from the audience.

Truss claims MPs are more interested in "protecting newts" than changing regulations to make it easier to build new homes across the UK.

She says the UK needs to build 500,000 new homes each year.

The former prime minister adds that it's "incredibly difficult if you’re a young person to get on the property ladder", and insists that building new homes will save the government money as they won't have to intervene in the housing market as much.