- Legal minimum wage for over-21s to rise 4.1% in April, from £12.21 to £12.71 per hour
- Wage for 18 to 20-year-olds to go up 8.5%, from £10 to £10.85 per hour, as part of a plan to establish a single rate for all adults
- Inflation predicted to average 3.5% this year, before falling to 2.5% next year, and returning to the government’s 2% target in 2027
- 5p “temporary” cut in fuel duty on petrol and diesel extended again, until September 2026 before it rises again over six month period
- A new mileage-based tax for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars to be introduced from 2028
- Tax on sugary drinks extended to pre-packaged milkshakes and lattes from 2028, reversing an exemption when the tax was introduced in 2018
- Tax on tobacco to increase by 2% above the higher RPI rate of inflation
- Tax on alcohol, including draught drinks, will also increase by the higher RPI measure in February
- Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts the UK economy will grow by 1.5% this year, upgraded from a 1% forecast in March
- But the economy is now forecast to grow by 1.5% on average between 2026 and 2029, down from the previous estimate of 1.8%
