NS&I has been given a higher financing target for the financial year Chancellor George Osborne revealed in the Autumn Statement today.

The purchasing managers’ index of activity in the UK construction sector dipped from 61.4 in October to 59.4 in November, which is still well above the 50 mark that divides growth and decline.

The stinging criticism from former Home Office minister Jeremy Browne came after the deputy leader shunned Wednesday’s Autumn Statement.

As analysts digested the detail of the Chancellor’s ‘mini-Budget’ the ramifications of reforms to stamp duty, business rates and the North Sea tax regime became clearer…

Anyone with a household income of less than £80,000 in England will soon be able to buy a home through shared ownership, which has long been restricted to key workers.

UK Sport has been handed a shock 29 per cent increase in funding, handing a boost to British athletes preparing for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo four years later.

Public funding - known as Short Money - given to opposition parties to prepare to become an alternative government is to be slashed by 19 per cent, in line with Whitehall departments.

To raise £18billion in spending cuts over the five years, George Osborne slashed departments by up to 37 per cent but the NHS, defence and international development are the big winners.

The National Audit Office (NAO) warns today that the health service’s ‘endemic’ financial problems have left it so short of cash that it is having to raid building projects to pay for day-to-day services.

As John McDonnell stood up for his big moment to respond to the Chancellor's spending plans, Labour's MPs were much more interested in their mobile phones than his rambling speech.

The new Chancellor Philip Hammond forecasts that Britain’s economy will continue to grow and create new jobs in every year to the end of this Parliament, says ALEX BRUMMER.

Philip Hammond said Britain’s ‘productivity gap’ was ‘well known, but shocking nonetheless’. He told the House of Commons that the UK ‘lags behind’ the US and Germany by 30 per cent.

The OBR forecast a £122billion rise in UK debt, with £58.7billion blamed on Brexit. That came as it said the UK would not fall into a recession, but growth would be lower.

Derby County captain Richard Keogh (left) has been pictured on crutches for the first time since being involved in a horror car crash that could have ended his career.

Josh Brownhill scored a stoppage-time winner to win all three points for 10-man Bristol City against Charlton. Elsewhere, Derby overcame Wigan while Middlesbrough drew with Huddersfield.

IAN WHITTELL AT EWOOD PARK: Wigan Athletic climbed off the foot of the Championship table on Monday night after playing out a goalless draw with Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers.

The Championship trio are all keen to prise the versatile Windass, 26, who can play in midfield or up front, away from Wigan before the transfer window closes next Friday.

In a rush to obtain holiday money before taking a flight to Corsica, travel journalist Sarah Hartley took out €200 from a Moneycorp machine. A debit card receipt showed she'd been charged £245.

British Airways has been accused of acting like a 'budget airline without the cheap prices' after refusing a bottle of water to a 33-year-old mother who was breastfeeding her baby.

Others have imposed a host of different rules governing the use of coins, notes and debit cards on a range of different routes. British Airways no longer takes cash for food and drink on short-haul flights.

The pound has now dropped to a six-month low against the euro and a two-year low against the dollar. And rates are likely to remain uncertain amid political and economic uncertainty.

In the race to be named the most popular family package holiday destination, Tenerife has come out on top for the second year running, according to TravelSupermarket.

Families are facing a dip in spending power for trips abroad this summer as a result of a weaker pound.

Over the past five years, around 3.8 million holidaymakers have injured themselves on the slopes as a result of consuming alcohol. Some 1.3 million of them ended up with broken limbs.

After enduring a 12-hour flight delay returning from his daughter's wedding in Corsica, Bob Feltham was eager to claim the £1,335 his family was owed.

With coronavirus continuing to spread, people are increasingly reluctant to travel, meaning airlines are cancelling dozens of flights and cruise companies are frantically rescheduling.

Marian and John Vessey, face losing vast sums for nothing after being refused a refund for a £381 hotel booking while John and Gillie Coghlan had been due to tour Amsterdam.

Easyjet and BA passengers have been particularly annoyed after the airlines removed the option of a cash refund from their websites recently.

We have a 10 day trip booked at the end of May to Corfu and so far, I have only paid the deposit. Should we cancel the trip or not do anything and hope that we'll still be able to go, or something else?

Erika Zak lost her battle with colon cancer, even when a much-needed liver transplant had just come through to try and save her life. Her death came after she spent the last five years battling the cancer.

The actor, 51, revealed he's been secretly battling stage four tonsil cancer, and shared his delight over completing his treatment by ringing a bell in hospital in a clip posted to Twitter on Monday.

Kate Callaghan from New Zealand was diagnosed with breast cancer two weeks ago. The mum, 35, wasn't tested when she first visited doctors because they thought she was 'too healthy'.

Stars including model Iskra Lawrence and actress Jameela Jamil have taken to social media to pay homage to Mama Cax, whose real name is Cacsmy Brutus, after she passed away on Monday.

The size of various parts of our body is now known to provide clues about whether we're at risk from a range of diseases, including gout, high blood pressure, heart disease and even cancer.

Andrew Lane, 65, from Essex contracted necrotising fasciitis during surgery in 2013, but speaking to Take a Break magazine, his wife insists their relationship has not suffered.

The actress appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday morning to share her condition. She said she wanted to make it public before it emerged in court documents this week.

In the second part of her interview that aired on Wednesday, Doherty said she kept it secret for so long because she did not people to look at her and think 'dead man walking'.

Lupita wrote: 'In her real life she had the enormous challenge of battling brain cancer. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and community as they come to terms with having to say goodbye so soon.'

She told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire she was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer just 18 months ago after two primary tumours were discovered in her large intestine. 

Serena Williams is arguably the most stylish tennis player of all time.

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: What happened to impartiality? Now fans with microphones invade every broadcast and are almost encouraged to act out by their bosses.

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: Harriet Dart and Heather Watson both exited on Thursday to complete a second round British wipeout in the Australian Open singles draw

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: In the city whose climate is famous for showcasing all four seasons in one day you could hardly keep up with the dizzying shifts at the Australian Open.

Patrick Mouratoglou, the Frenchman who supervises Serena Williams' career, admitted that he was shocked by her exit to Qiang Wang on a day of shocks at the Australian Open.

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: Long before he set up what should be a pulsating fourth-round against Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios had already commenced hostilities.

The Australian tennis bad boy is through to the fourth round after winning a five-set thriller against 16th seed Russian Karen Khachanov.

The Serbian world number two opened up about his hopes for son Stefan, 5 and daughter Tara, 2 moments after his fourth round straight sets win over Argentinian Diego Schwartzman on Sunday.

Australia's golden girl of tennis survived a mid-match scare to down world number 18 seed Alison Riske to win  6-3 1-6 6-4 to book a quarter finals berth.

Ash Barty has served a brilliant response after the debate over changing date of Australia Day threatened to overshadow her stunning fourth round win at her home grand slam.

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: Nick Kyrgios attempted to honour the memory of one of his basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant. In the end, the emotional Australian fell short against Nadal.