Chancellor to set out Autumn Statement on November 22
Jeremy Hunt will set out his Autumn Statement on November 22, the Chancellor has told MPs.
He has commissioned an Office for Budget Responsibility forecast, which will be presented alongside the statement.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor have spent recent months promising to halve inflation, amid a series of Bank of England interest rate rises designed to ease soaring prices.
Mr Hunt has also faced pressure from some Tory MPs for tax cuts ahead of the next general election, expected before January 2025.
But he and Rishi Sunak have so far resisted these calls, pointing to ongoing efforts to curb inflation and ensure financial stability.
Mr Hunt confirmed the date in a statement in the Commons.
“On Friday, the Office for National Statistics published an update to the UK’s GDP growth figures which shows the UK economy was 0.6 per cent larger than pre-pandemic levels by the fourth quarter of 2021.
“It means our economy had the fastest recovery from the pandemic of any large European economy, thanks to decisions such as furlough that protected millions of jobs.
“For that growth to continue we now need to halve inflation, which I am pleased to report is now nearly 40 per cent below its 11 per cent peak. I can also tell the House I will deliver the Autumn Statement on November 22,” he said.
The Treasury and new Defence Secretary Grant Shapps are also likely to come under pressure over defence funding.
Mr Shapps’ predecessor, Ben Wallace, who stepped down from the role last week, had long made clear his desire for greater spending on the UK armed forces.
Press Association – by Dominic McGrath