At-a-glance guide to the key points of the Budget

ECONOMIC PICTURE

■ Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts UK growth rate will be 6.5 per cent this year – up from its previous forecast

■ Unemployment will peak at 5.2 per cent next year - lower than the 11.9 per cent originally predicted

■ But it says inflation could rise to 4 per cent - a 30-year high

■ Rishi Sunak unveils two new fiscal rules to ensure debt is falling by the next election

TAXES

■ The OBR says Britain now faces its highest tax burden since the 1950s, thanks to rises in corporation tax and National Insurance

■ But Mr Sunak pledged to get rates down by the next election

■ Wholesale reform of alcohol duties to link taxes to alcohol strength

■ Duty on whisky to be frozen

■ Reform of business rates in England, with a 50 per cent discount for retail, hospitality and leisure, putting pressure on the SNP Government to follow in Scotland.

■ Lower rate of air passenger duty for internal flights, plus a new ‘ultra-long haul band’ of over 5,500 miles

■ Planned rise in fuel duty cancelled

SPENDING

■ An average of an extra £4.6billion a year for the Scottish Government, with next year’s total funding soaring to £40.6billion.

■ Whitehall departments to receive £150billion hike in spending over the course of this Parliament

■ Levelling-up fund will see £1.7billion invested in local areas across the UK, including £172million in Scotland.

■ Tax on big developers to fund cladding removal

■ £20billion for research and development to turn Britain into a ‘science superpower’

■ Universal credit ‘taper rate’ cut by 8 per cent, allowing claimants to keep more of their payments

■ End to public sector pay freeze and a hike in the minimum wage

■ Foreign aid spending projected to return to 0.7 per cent of GDP by 2024-25

But social care receives no extra ring-fenced funding