Critics argue these initiatives would not be necessary if the banks were doing their job instead of persisting in their reluctance to lend to small companies.

Whether you are earning the minimum wage or raking in millions, the amount of tax that disappears from your earnings is likely to change to some extent.

The big omissions from a Budget or an Autumn Statement are always revealing. It used to be help for savers. This week the missing element was the squeezed middle. Not households, but firms.

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…

Geoff Parkes, teaching fellow at Aston Business School in Birmingham, said: ‘Thus far, the scheme has accounted for less than two per cent of all lending to small firms.’

Profits made from the sale of assets such as property or shares, which are called capital gains, rose to £32.1billion last year, up from £23.5billion in 2012-13, marking their highest level on record.

Today George Osborne will reveal details of his Autumn Statement. We round-up what to expect, including his tax credit headache and the predicted pension changes.

Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed the basic state pension will rise by £3.35 to £119.30 a week from April, while the starting rate for the new single-tier version will be £155.65.

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.

We bring you the latest the analysis, reaction and charts from the experts and our own journalists from throughout the day.

George Osborne says household energy bills will fall by an average of £30 by 2017 as a result of reducing green levies, as outlined in his Autumn Statement this afternoon.

The NHS, defence, foreign aid and housing are set to be the big winners, but the police, transport, justice and the environment will bear the brunt, with families braced for big hikes in council tax bills.

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.

The Prime Minister took a few seconds out from the 65-minute brief to subtly unravel the treat and pop it into his mouth like a mischievous schoolboy.

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 Autumn Statement contained some good news for entrepreneurs as George Osborne pledged to carry on exempting micro companies from paying business rates.

George Osborne showed himself a master of his political trade in yesterday's Autumn Statement - but seems to have abandoned his early enthusiasm for slimming down the size of the state.

The climbdown means George Osborne (pictured) will breach his self-imposed welfare cap for the next three years, meaning a minister must explain and apologise to Parliament.

Chancellor George Osborne landed buy-to-let and second homes a huge shock by announcing a stamp duty surcharge on property purchases from April.

He has repeatedly slashed domestic spending, but the Chancellor remains committed to funnelling 0.7 per cent of Britain's GDP into an array of dubious overseas aid projects.

In his Autumn Statement and Spending Review, Mr Osborne claimed he is tackling the 'crisis in home ownership' head-on with the 'biggest housebuilding programme since the 1970s.'

Theresa May has told Chancellor Philip Hammond to make middle and low-income families in the UK a priority in next week’s Autumn Statement.

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.

Things appear to be changing for the better for the economy - and just in the nick of the time for the Chancellor as he prepares to give his first major report later today.

Defying Brexit doomsayers, the deficit came in at £4.3billion in October - below the £6billion expected. The figures emerged on the eve of Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement.

Insurers have slammed the rise which has pushed the tax up to almost double what it was in 2015 and they predict it will lead to an increase in the number of uninsured drivers on the road.

The analysis, reaction and charts from the experts and our own journalists from throughout the day.

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 'full-fibre' networks will have the capacity to reach speeds of more than 1Gbps, which it is claimed could allow users to download an entire Game Of Thrones series in less than a minute.

Delivering his first fiscal package since the historic EU referendum vote, the Chancellor insisted the government understands the fury of those who have not shared in the wealth generated by the economy.

Until yesterday, Chancellor Philip Hammond was among the most dismal of doom-mongers. But as he delivered his Autumn Statement, he seemed transformed.

As Hammond speeches go, the Autumn Statement was short and reasonably un-glum. He kept it to 45 minutes. By his own morose standards he was almost skittishly optimistic in places.

Hammond has backed recent HMRC proposals for a crackdown on using the loophole for smartphone and gym contracts, buying cars and TVs, or private medical insurance.

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.

John McDonnell insisted today that Labour MPs were listening to his response to the Autumn Statement yesterday despite most of them being seen busy on their mobile phones.

The Chancellor said the government was treating the estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) as a 'signal' of what might happen.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s first – and last – Autumn Statement was very much focused on measures to keep the economy out of recession.

Former health secretary Stephen Dorrell, who is now chairman of the NHS Confederation, said Philip Hammond (shown) had made a ‘mistake’ by failing to find extra funds in last week’s autumn statement.

Currently, employees do not have to pay income tax or national insurance if their redundancy pay is under £30,000.

Ministers spent £12.6billion more than they received in taxes and other income last month - but economists were pencilling in a figure of £11.6 billion.

TOM COLLOMOSSE AT THE KING POWER: Leicester City have cruised into the FA Cup fourth round with a win over Wigan thanks to Tom Pearce's OG and a Harvey Barnes deflected strike.

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.

Oliver, from London, was shocked to find that his bank account and overdraft had been completely wiped out after the holiday booking site mistakenly took thousands of pounds without warning.

The 71 year-old was told by the travel insurance firm that he would not be able to claim the money back as he had not informed it straight away of pending eye surgery.

The Foreign Office had previously advised against all non-essential global travel until April 16. This meant holidaymakers booked for travel before that date were legally entitled to claim refunds

Australian fashion designer Camilla Franks posted a series of emotional photos to commemorate finishing treatment for stage three breast cancer a year ago, as she prepares to have her ovaries removed.

Rates of skin cancer were 8.1 - 8.4 per cent among gay and bisexual men compared to 6.7 for straight men in a group of more than 45,000 Americans.

The world number one was up against Argentina's Federico Delbonis at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday when he hit 13-year-old Anita in the face during the third set.