Budget announcement today: Childcare and energy support among confirmed projections in Jeremy Hunt’s speech

Mr Hunt is canceling a planned £500 increase in average energy bills that was due to come into effect next month, leaving bills for the average household at around £2,500 instead of rising to £3,000 as previously announced.

The Treasury has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks to cancel the hike, which was due to take effect on April 1.

Hundreds of thousands of workers will stage a strike on Budget Day in what threatens to be the biggest strike since the current wave of industrial action that began last year.

Members of several unions will take action by staging hundreds of pickets across the country, amid ongoing anger over issues including pay, jobs, pensions and working conditions.

Among those striking on Wednesday are teachers, university lecturers, civil servants, junior doctors, London Underground drivers and BBC journalists.

Despite talks between trade unions and the Westminster government, strikes in the public sector remain deadlocked.

Some strikes, such as teachers’ strikes, will only take place in England because progress has been made in Wales and Scotland.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Department spokeswoman Sarah Olney said extending the current energy price guarantee “doesn’t go far enough”.

She said: “Instead of a plaster for the next three months, we need meaningful action now.

“Liberal Democrats are calling on the chancellor to cut energy bills by £500 per household. This would be a significant change for households, and the government can afford it, but chooses not to.

“Families will again face unaffordable heating bills in three months.”

The SNP’s economic spokesman, Stewart Hosie, said: “It’s truly pathetic that the chancellor has not cut energy bills even though he had the means to do so.

“The Tories are defrauding families by keeping bills at such exorbitant levels, with many families being forced to pay three times what they did a year ago.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to announce a multi-billion dollar extension of free childcare for parents of one- and two-year-olds in Wednesday’s budget.

The plan is believed to offer 30 hours a week of childcare for parents in England with children in this age group, with only parents with three- and four-year-olds currently eligible.

In line with this move, there could also be a £288m increase in funding for the current free childcare scheme for three-year-olds until 2024-25. Guardian.

Drinkers are bracing themselves for a sobering budget that is set to include a double alcohol tax raid that could add around 45p to the cost of a bottle of wine.

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is prepared to raise the excise duty on alcohol in line with inflation – it currently stands at a staggering 10.1 percent.

And a separate tax on higher-strength drinks is set to come into effect despite the highest cost of living in a generation.

Hundreds of thousands of workers from several unions will go on strike on Wednesday, which could be the largest single day of industrial action since the current wave of unrest that began last year.

These are the sectors affected by the Budget Day strikes.

Jeremy Hunt will present his first spring budget since becoming chancellor today, with targets to boost economic growth amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Mr Hunt is due to deliver his budget to the House of Commons at 12.30pm, after questions from the Prime Minister.

The chancellor is expected to reveal 12 zones centered around universities – dramatically reducing a plan introduced by former prime minister Liz Truss that saw hundreds of councils compete against each other.

The Treasury has confirmed that the energy price guarantee will be extended for a further three months from April to June at the current level, limiting average annual household bills to £2,500.

The government said a three-month extension to the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) at the current £2,500 level would save the typical household around £160.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “We know people are worried about rising bills in April, so to give them peace of mind, we are keeping the energy price guarantee at the current level until the summer when gas prices are expected to come down.

“Continuing to keep energy bills low is part of our plan to help hardworking families cover the cost of living and halve inflation this year.”

The EPG was due to rise to £3,000 in April, but falling energy prices mean the current level could be extended to “fill the gap” until costs fall below the cap.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who included the measure in his budget revealed today, said: “High energy bills are one of the biggest worries for families, which is why we are keeping the energy price guarantee at current levels.

“As energy bills fall from July, this temporary change will fill the gap and ease the pressure on families while helping to bring down inflation.”

The budget is just a few hours away, so this report by Patrick Daly explains what you can expect: