As it happened: Spring Statement 2022

Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak is grappling with a rising cost of living, rising interest rates, a rising tax burden and his desire to pay off some of the debts racked up during the Covid-19 pandemic.

But UK growth and productivity remain sluggish. Having said that, official forecasts are expected to show the deficit is at least £20bn better than expected due, in part, to strong tax receipts.

Sunak has already reacted to the cost of living crunch by giving loans of £200 to help households meet their energy bills, but he has come under pressure to postpone incoming increases to national insurance and dividend tax.

Will he react to these pressures in his Spring Statement? There are rumours he will tinker with the national insurance thresholds to try and lessen the burden of the incoming 1.25 percentage point rise in contributions which are intended to raise £12bn for the NHS. He is also expected to take some action on fuel duty to help households cope with soaring energy bills but businesses have been lobbying the government for it to help them as well as households.

Join our panel live to find out how Sunak will act.

We are joined by:

• Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell
• Chris Down, private client tax manager at RSM
• David Gibb, chartered financial planner at Quilter