Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015: what to expect

George Osborne will take to the Dispatch Box at 12:30pm today to deliver this year’s Autumn Statement — a mini-budget on the Treasury’s latest plans for spending and taxation. The Chancellor will also announce the results of the Spending Review, which will outline the cuts to departmental expenditure required to clear the deficit before 2020. Here’s what we already know about the Chancellor’s big announcements today.

‘The biggest housebuilding programme since the 1970s’: Today’s FT reports that housing will be a key component of the Autumn Statement, with the Chancellor promising to build 400,000 new homes in England and shifting public subsidies from renting to buying. After the debacle over cutting tax credits, Osborne will be hoping the £6.9 billion programme will convince voters the Tories are still on the side of hardworking people.

Lots of cuts: The Spending Review portion will likely garner most the attention today. With Health, Defence, Foreign Aid and Education spending already ring-fenced, other departments such as the Home Office, Justice, Local Government and Work and Pensions are expected to take the brunt of Osborne’s axe, with big cuts expected to their budgets. Any