Chancellor announces Budget date

Next year's Budget will be held on 19 March, George Osborne has announced.

The chancellor revealed the date while being grilled on his Autumn Statement by MPs on the Treasury Committee.

The Budget is when the chancellor sets out the state of the UK economy and plans for future tax rates and duty on things such as cigarettes and alcohol.

The early warning of the date is in line with recent years - the last Labour government tended to only give a few weeks notice.