When is the budget and what might be in it?

It will soon be time for the Chancellor to set out the budget to the House of Commons. The autumn financial statement will outline the state of the economy and the government's proposals for changes to taxation.

It will also include forecasts for the economy by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which provides independent analysis of the UK's public finances. It's been a turbulent few months at No. 10, with a change of Prime Minister and Cabinet following a mini-budget which crashed the market.

The Bank of England also raised interest rates to three percent last week, the highest they've been since the recession in 2008., as it warned that the country is facing the longest recession in more than a century. The contents of this year's budget have been under much speculation.

It is understood that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is said to be preparing up to £60 billion in tax rises and spending cuts. Treasury sources confirmed that as much as £35 billion of the “fiscal tightening” could come in the form of a reduction in spending, signalling a further squeeze on hard-pressed services.

Rises in capital gains and dividends taxes are also understood to be on the table, while infrastructure projects including a major high-speed rail line are under review. Cabinet minister Grant Shapps also hinted that the windfall tax on oil and gas giants could be expanded.

Asked about the prospect on Monday (November 7), he told Sky News: “I think that might be a clever way of asking me what’s in the autumn statement again, but we will be setting that out, the Chancellor will be setting that out, very shortly.”

He also refused to be be drawn on whether he believes the triple pensions lock is a matter of Tory principle, as No 10 has neglected to commit to keeping the guarantee. Meanwhile the Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden previously acknowledged that there would have to be “difficult decisions” on both tax and spending.

“We are going to have to face difficult decisions both on the tax side – we haven’t got to the end of the difficult decisions there – and difficult decisions on the spending side,” he told Sky News. Now, of course, in terms of the specific decisions that will be made, that conversation is ongoing between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.

“We need to bear down on spending first and eliminate waste, excessive spending and only go to tax rises if it’s the last resort but given the difficulty of the public finances, there is likely to be a mix of the two.”

The Budget will be announced on Thursday November 17 in the House of Commons.

Read today's top stories here