THE BUDGET - RISHI: WE WILL HELP FAMILIES GET BY

CHANCELLOR VOWS SUPPORT OVER COST OF LIVING CRISIS. PROMISES HE’LL BACK BUSINESS IN HIGH-SKILL DRIVE. HE BATTLES TO BALANCE SPENDING WITH DISCIPLINE. HAS CALL WITH QUEEN AFTER COP26 VISIT CANCELLED

- Nicholas Cecil and David Bond

RISHI SUNAK today promised help for families with the cost of living as he sought to build a “more innovative, high-skill” economy fuelled by the “imagination and drive of entrepreneurs”.

The Chancellor unveiled his vision for post-pandemic Britain, pledging to build a “stronger economy” after the chaos of Covid and to give families “the tools to build a better life for themselves”.

A faster recovery than predicted in March loosened constraints on Mr Sunak but many households across the UK are facing tighter budgets this winter from the threat of higher inflation, rising energy bills and tax hikes in the spring. Responding to their worries in today’s Budget, he offered “help for working families with the cost of living”.

The Chancellor was set to add: “We will always give families the support they need and the tools to build a better life for themselves.”

One way he could help struggling households on low incomes is through changes to Universal Credit, after the £20-a-week pandemic uplift was recently cut.

However, many families fear that pay rises and extra support will be eaten up by higher energy bills and inflation if it soars in coming months. After firefighting the economic blows from the pandemic with a package costing more than £400 billion including furlough and loan schemes, Mr Sunak used his third Budget to lay out how he now wants to reshape Britain into a “high wages, high skills and high productivity” economy.

“This Budget is about what this Government is about,” he was expected to say. “Investment in a more innovative, high-skill economy… because that is the only sustainable path to individual prosperity.”