to keep more of their benefits. there's a cut in air passenger duty tax between airports within the uk, and a freeze in fuel duty. the chancellor's accused of failing to tackle climate change in this budget. and coming up, we'll be answering your questions on the budget and how it may affect you. you've still got time to send them in. tweet us using the hashtag #bbcyourquestions or email us at [email protected]. also tonight: a serving metropolitan police officer has been charged with rape. pc adam zaman, who's 28, is a member of the east area command unit. the police in the us state of new mexico give an update on the investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of alec baldwin's new movie. they say they suspect a live bullet killed halyna hutchins. we believe that we have in our possession the firearm that was fired by mr baldwin. this is the firearm we believe discharged the bullet. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the chancellor has promised a post—covid age of optimism as he delivered his budget. rishi sunak has committed to a spending increase of £150 billion over three years, with the economy forecast to return to pre—covid levels by next year. mr sunak forecast that inflation is likely to rise above 4% next year — though the government's own budget watchdog suggests it could rise higher still. growth is forecast to be 6.5% this year but may then fall as low as 1.3% after 2023. after much criticism for reversing the £20 weekly boost to universal credit, the chancellor has announced that the universal credit taper rate will be cut by eight percentage points. that means rather than losing 63p in benefits for every extra pound you earn, you will only lose 55p. a one—year 50% cut in business rates in england has been pledged for some of the businesses hit hardest by the pandemic — retail, hospitality and leisure. and just days before the uk hosts the global climate summit cop26 in glasgow, air passenger duty on uk flights will be cut and duty on fuel will remain unchanged. labour has criticised the budget for a lack of action on climate change or help for struggling families. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. will the real rishi sunak reveal himself? what were the secrets in his red box? the economy never stops, but its perpetual motion pushes politicians in unexpected directions. as he marches on from the worst of the pandemic emergency, would he use today's grand occasion to break with the course? our plan is working. cash isn't as tight as he thought, but he can't escape the fact money won't stretch as far. inflation's on its way to 4%. the pressures caused by supply chains and energy prices will take months to ease. it would be irresponsible for anyone to pretend that we can solve this overnight. but where the government can ease these pressures, we will act. and the chancellor wants you and his party to know he'd never now splurge cash without restriction. higher borrowing today is just higher interest rates and even higher taxes tomorrow. so we need to strengthen our public finances, so that when the next crisis comes, we have the fiscal space to act. today, i am publishing a new charter for budget responsibility. a new gimmick, but a return of rules to get national debt on the way down as a share of the economy, and for tax, not borrowing, to cover daily costs. but out in the real world, the damage to the economy from the pandemic is smaller than expected. so whether it is for the police, the courts, health, defence or any other kind of public service, whitehall�*s wallet will be more generous to every corner of government in the next three years. there will be a real terms rise in overall spending for every single department. if anybody still doubts it, today's budget confirms the conservatives are the real party of public services. quite the claim, given years of tory squeeze, and tension as the chancellor cut taxes on some flights and froze duty on fueljust days before the government hosts a climate conference in glasgow. but this seeming generosity isn't completely straightforward. there were wild cheers for the chancellor allowing some families on universal credit to keep more of their cash, even though it won't cover what many more have already lost. this is a £2 billion tax cut for the lowest—paid workers in our country. it supports working families, it helps with the cost of living and it rewards work. this was a high—spend, high—tax budget, not that you'd believe it from listening to this. government has limits. government should have limits. if this seems a controversial statement to make, then i'm all the more glad for saying it because that means it needed saying and it is what we believe. my goal is to reduce taxes. by the end of this parliament, i want taxes to be going down, not up. this budget levels up to a higher—wage, higher—skill, higher—productivity economy, this budget builds a stronger economy for the british people and i commend it to the house. the commons, some back in masks, though, still stalked by covid. i was absolutely gutted this morning to test positive for covid... the labour leader stuck at home, the shadow chancellor a last—minute stand—in, even though it seemed like she'd been practising for years. at least the bankers on _ short—haul flights sipping champagne will be cheering this budget today. but the blunt reality is this. working people are being asked to pay more for less _ for three simple reasons —i economic mismanagement, an unfair tax system i and wasteful spending. each of these problems is down to i 11 years of conservative failure. i the smaller parties also showed big resistance. this budget could've been an opportunity to do things differently, to get a grip on the cost of living crisis and to kick—start a fair recovery. but this budget doesn't signal recovery, it signals that the chancellor is dragging us into another winter of discontent. working families right the length and breadth of wales and the rest of the uk that are suffering like never before, there is a complete disconnect. but downing street's double act hopes there is plenty to toast. a tricky business, this... higher duties on stronger booze, lower charges on less heady brews. yet the teetotal chancellor pulled a pint without taking a sip. perfect. with plenty of pressure still ahead, reluctant to celebrate too soon. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. as you heard in laura's piece there, the chancellor is planning to cut domestic air passenger duty and to freeze fuel duty just a few days ahead of the cop26 climate summit in glasgow. joining me now is hannah dillon from the organisation zero carbon, which calls for the uk government to underline the uk's 2050 net zero commitment with effective policies that protect the poorest in society from decarbonisation costs they can't afford. hannah, thanks so much. your response to the budget? yet. hannah, thanks so much. your response to the budget? yet, from our perspective. — response to the budget? yet, from our perspective, this _ response to the budget? yet, from our perspective, this is _ response to the budget? yet, from our perspective, this is not - response to the budget? yet, from our perspective, this is not a - our perspective, this is not a climate budget and the decision to cut domestic air passenger duty is not only highly embarrassing when we are about to head into cop but it is are about to head into cop but it is a very unnecessary move post of it is perverse from a revenue perspective, it goes against the grain of public opinion, it goes against the independent device of the climate change committee, said the climate change committee, said the government need to do more to reverse the demand for aviation. it is already 50% more expensive in this country to travel by rail than biplane, and it feels like a very unnecessary move the stuff there were some good things in the budget, some money put towards the net zero strategy any welcome commitments towards investing in home decarbonisation, including energy efficiency, which was missing from the heat and boating tragedy, but i really feel for the president decade of cup 26 sharma for going next week. —— president designate of cop 26. week. -- president designate of cop 26. , . ., , ., week. -- president designate of cop 26. ,. ., week. -- president designate of cop 26. public opinion so far has not reacted in _ 26. public opinion so far has not reacted in a _ 26. public opinion so far has not reacted in a way _ 26. public opinion so far has not reacted in a way that _ 26. public opinion so far has not reacted in a way that it - 26. public opinion so far has not reacted in a way that it reacted, | reacted in a way that it reacted, let's say, for the last couple of weeks with the sewage going into rivers — people seem to have accepted this. rivers - people seem to have accepted this.— rivers - people seem to have acce ted this. . . , ., accepted this. yeah, and the sewage examle is accepted this. yeah, and the sewage example is another _ accepted this. yeah, and the sewage example is another good _ accepted this. yeah, and the sewage example is another good exhibit - accepted this. yeah, and the sewage example is another good exhibit of l accepted this. yeah, and the sewage example is another good exhibit of a j example is another good exhibit of a mistake that was made in advance of cop26. between the beta buf and they there was a survey of the cross—section of society, and they found 89% of respondents actually supported the introduction of a stronger pricing on flights and the instruction of a frequent—flyer levy, and it is worth or mining that 70% of flights in the uk are taken by 15% of the population, so this is essentially a tax deduction on both the flyers around the country, and as i said, it is perverse from the revenue perspective. it as i said, it is perverse from the revenue perspective.— as i said, it is perverse from the revenue perspective. if flights in the uk are _ revenue perspective. if flights in the uk are now _ revenue perspective. if flights in the uk are now cheaper, - revenue perspective. if flights in the uk are now cheaper, how. revenue perspective. if flights in | the uk are now cheaper, how are revenue perspective. if flights in - the uk are now cheaper, how are you going to persuade people not to take them? it going to persuade people not to take them? , ., , ., , ., them? it is a brilliant question. calculation _ them? it is a brilliant question. calculation today _ them? it is a brilliant question. calculation today suggest - them? it is a brilliant question. calculation today suggest it - them? it is a brilliant question. i calculation today suggest it would cost people flying from london from the conference in glasgow, about one third of the cost of rail travel to fly, so i think wejust third of the cost of rail travel to fly, so i think we just have to keep reiterating the omissions impacts of light. we note public opinion and support for... i light. we note public opinion and support form— light. we note public opinion and support for... i am so sorry to “ump in, ou support for... i am so sorry to “ump in. you can — support for... i am so sorry to “ump in. you can i support for... i am so sorry to “ump in, you can see why i support for... i am so sorry to jump in, you can see why people take - in, you can see why people take flights when the train is so much more expensive.— flights when the train is so much more expensive. flights when the train is so much more exensive. ~ , ,., , ., ., more expensive. absolutely, and that is what we are — more expensive. absolutely, and that is what we are arguing _ more expensive. absolutely, and that is what we are arguing for _ more expensive. absolutely, and that is what we are arguing for a _ more expensive. absolutely, and that is what we are arguing for a new- is what we are arguing for a new approach to the way that the taxes and is utilised, to start it's an amazing low carbon decisions rather than high carbon, and we are working against that at the moment any climate change committee, i mentioned earlier, the independent advisers on climate change, have said on the back of the net zero strategy the government have released next week that more needs to be done to align the tax system with net zero, which is what we are calling for, and to encourage reduction in air travel but also traffic growth. the chancellors facing according to his own department's analysis £37 billion shortfall in revenue as receipts dropped from things like fuel duty, as people switch to electric vehicles, and yet he is cutting air passenger duty, which as i've mentioned to something that did not need to happen from an emissions perspective, a political perspective or public opinion perspective either. �* . ,, . . or public opinion perspective either. �* . ,, ., ., , either. alec sharma might say she lives in the — either. alec sharma might say she lives in the real— either. alec sharma might say she lives in the realworld, _ either. alec sharma might say she lives in the real world, and - lives in the real world, and estimate political decisions not ideal decisions. what would you say to that? —— has to make political decisions. to that? -- has to make political decisions-— decisions. that is why it is so unnecessary. _ decisions. that is why it is so unnecessary, and _ decisions. that is why it is so unnecessary, and he - decisions. that is why it is so unnecessary, and he is - decisions. that is why it is so - unnecessary, and he is coming into cop off the back of the few which schedule —— sewage. i really think he has done a printjob encouraging investment in finance for developing countries, a brilliantjob wrangling businesses and other countries to increase their commitment under the paris agreement, but i think this hasjust said a paris agreement, but i think this has just said a really tricky context for him next week at the climate conference.— context for him next week at the climate conference. hannah dylan, thank ou climate conference. hannah dylan, thank you so _ climate conference. hannah dylan, thank you so much. _ climate conference. hannah dylan, thank you so much. thank - climate conference. hannah dylan, thank you so much. thank you. --| thank you so much. thank you. -- hannah dillon. _ the chancellor has made much in his budget of how much more money will be spent by the government, but how will it all be paid for? 0ur economics editor faisal islam has been looking at the numbers. in just a few months, the economic picture has changed spectacularly, and that can be seen on any high street. people have returned, some businesses have not, many that have can't get enough staff to deal with the rebound and prices are going up. that everyday picture is seen in all the charts and forecasts underpinning this budget and spending review. first, the state of the economy. it has rebounded faster than expected from the depths of the lockdown. but going forward, growth is forecast to remain pretty sluggish. the improvement in the forecast nonetheless means that the chancellor can borrow less money than he thought six months ago, with borrowing reduced every year and getting down by 2025 to its lowest levels for a quarter of a century, a spectacular turnaround from the depths of the pandemic. the first job of any chancellor is custodian of the public finances, to show that they can keep borrowing under control. now, rishi sunak wasn't able to do that during the pandemic emergency, so he's making up for it now. and yet at the same time, he wants spending to increase on departments that otherwise would have been cut and also to help with the cost of living issues. and that means although a reluctant taxman, he's also a record one. this chancellor's also raised more in tax in 2021 than any chancellor's ever raised in a single year, going back to 1993, when it actually took two chancellors — norman lamont and ken clarke — to raise as much tax in a single year as this chancellor has raised this year. 0r another way of looking at that is this chart, showing the proportion of tax taken by the government at its highest levels since the post—war labour government of clement attlee. all that adds to a one—year spike in inflation above 4%, amid record fuel and domestic energy prices. well, inflation is set to rise probably well above 4% in the first part of next year, the highest it's been for some time. now, put that together with slow growth, increases in tax and so on, and over the next four orfive years, i'm afraid, on average, we're barely going to see any improvement in our living standards. and that's after a decade of very poor increases. so i'm really sorry to say that, actually, we're not going to be feeling much better off over the next several years. so the economy is doing much better than last year, but it's not back to normal and a long—term plan for a new era, a new economy of high wages and high skills is still a few years away at best. faisal islam, bbc news. one of the big announcements today was on universal credit. the government has been under pressure since it ended the £20 boost to the benefit earlier this month. today, the chancellor announced a cut to the taper rate. that's the rate at which universal credit is reduced once a claimant starts to earn above a certain threshold. currently, if you earn an extra pound, you lose 63p in benefit. that will be cut to 55p in every pound, allowing people to keep more of their money as they start to earn more. but campaigners say the amount doesn't address wider issues of cost of living and those who can't work. our home editor mark easton has been talking to people in wolverhampton. britain has among the worst inequality in the developed world. one person in six lives in poverty. so what do the chancellor's repeated promises to level up the mean for those on low incomes in places like wolverhampton? giovanni nursed his mum until her death last april. now living alone, depression and stress have stopped him working. having seen the £20 covid benefits uplift removed, he is left with 60 quid a week to cover everything, as the cost—of—living soars. it's very, very hard. you know, i don't even put the heating on. i have to sit like this with my fleece on every day. you know, you're frightened to even put the water, run the water in the tap. low—paid workers will now keep more of their universal credit, but that won't help giovanni, with the chancellor resisting calls to remove vat from fuel bills. the chancellor needs to address these things. why are you doing this? why? why are you making people suffer? for those on low incomes, this budget is relatively good news if you're working. those changes to universal credit and the national living wage. but for those who are unable to work or who are looking for a job, a hard winter lies ahead. it is a swings and roundabouts budget, but kerry, out with her daughter, jess, today, is delighted by the focus on encouraging people into work. currently on universal credit, she says the chancellor has made it easier for her to take the plunge and set up her own business. work, to me, i mean, it keeps me, one, sane, it's great that i can treat my children, and, you know, i just want to work. i'm pro—work. so, this change to the universal credit and to the national living wage, good news for you? good news for me, good news. shukdev has three part—time jobs, but her mental and physical health are not great. she carries on because she doesn't want to claim benefits, and needs every penny just to get by. i've been borrowing money off friends, and i have to keep a roof over my head. sometimes i don't sleep. i can't sleep, i'm thinking all the time. and sometimes my body is not functioning properly at work. i felt tired all the time. for her, today's budget has made the option of working a bit less increasingly remote. you know, you've got to get up and go. you've got no choice. if i don't go to work, i can't pay my bills. it's very hard and they need to start listening to what we are doing and experience what we are going through. get him to spend a week here. on your budget? and see how you cope. for those on low incomes budget can be life—changing, for good and ill. mark easton, bbc news, wolverhampton. the chancellor has also announced a further £2 billion funding for schools "to support education recovery" — with an extra £4] billion promised by 2024 to 2025. 0ur education editor branwenjeffries has been getting reaction from a school in leicester. well, i've gotjane gadsby, the head teacher here, with me. what's your overall reaction, first of all, to that financial offer to schools when you look at your bills and your rising costs? additionalfunding, of course, is always really, really welcome, but it will be interesting to see, when we get to 2025 and we've done all the calculations, whether it has had a real benefit on where we stand. as you know, there's going to be rises in salaries. that's got to be paid for. is that going to come out of that amount that we are going to be given? or are we going to get extra to fund that? so, yes, i think we wait to see how much we do benefit from extra funding. there was also a bit of extra money for creating more places, more school places, for children with special needs and disabilities, an important issue, i know, here in leicester. looking at the figures, how does it feel to you? again, welcome, but i don't think it will touch what the actual need is. in leicester here, the funding doesn't match the need of the children, and i think, really, in real terms, there will be a lot more funding needed in leicester and certainly across the country. and that capacity, presumably, won't come overnight for special needs either. absolutely not, because even with the greater funding, you need the buildings, you need the staffing, you need the training. so 2025, if the money keeps coming in, then you may be in a better place, but there's a lot to be done before then. jane gadsby, thank you very much indeed. so, lots of unanswered questions for schools and also further education colleges and sixth forms may be asking this evening what's happening to them. there doesn't appear to have been such a generous settlement for 16 to i9—year—olds. from leicester, back to you. branwen bra nwen jeffreys there. let's talk to steve herbert. he's the head teacher of st georges school in barrow—in—furness in cumbria. mr herbert, thanks so much for joining us. how will the budget affect your school?— joining us. how will the budget affect your school? some of the. .. any increase _ affect your school? some of the. .. any increase in _ affect your school? some of the. .. any increase in funding _ affect your school? some of the. .. any increase in funding is - any increase in funding is welcomed, but like anything, the devil is in the detail. we have funding back at 2010 levels, not entirely sure that is a huge cause for celebration, but certainly i suppose that a bit of an improvement. as certainly i suppose that a bit of an as your previous caller said... if we have got 4% inflation, how is that going to affect things? again, we have got a little bit more money for our early years, which is grossly underfunded and particular now much is in need, but again the government's on figures recognised that it government's on figures recognised thatitis government's on figures recognised that it is about £2 60 short there. and schools are about the whole school community. my school committee has probably got about 58% of people living in poverty, and so therefore the benefit cut is welcome, but it will not completely relieve that, fcm's budget — that is fabolous news if it happens for children with special needs that need our support perhaps the most. but there's a lot of children in school that have moderate special needs and support and it does not really cover it for them. you talked about special _ really cover it for them. you talked about special educational - really cover it for them. you talked about special educational needs i about special educational needs there, potentially good news. could you expend what difference the funding might mean to a child who does have really severe special needs? i does have really severe special needs? ., does have really severe special needs? . , ., ., ., needs? i mean, it is one of two thins, needs? i mean, it is one of two things. really- _ needs? i mean, it is one of two things, really. it— needs? i mean, it is one of two things, really. it may— needs? i mean, it is one of two things, really. it may mean - needs? i mean, it is one of two| things, really. it may mean that needs? i mean, it is one of two - things, really. it may mean that we can support completely and more thoroughly within a mainstream school that child's needs, so that's where the extra support, a better, may be, equipment, bettertraining for people, a lot that can be done there to improve an individual child's process, and also most heads would reckon is there is a dearth of places at special schools were sometimes children, that's the best environment for children and i am sure that would be welcome as well, but as i say, the devil is in the detail. if but as i say, the devil is in the detail. .., but as i say, the devil is in the detail. .. ., , ., but as i say, the devil is in the detail. ., ,. ~ detail. if i came to your school, mr herbert, would _ detail. if i came to your school, mr herbert, would you _ detail. if i came to your school, mr herbert, would you be _ detail. if i came to your school, mr herbert, would you be able - detail. if i came to your school, mr herbert, would you be able to - detail. if i came to your school, mr| herbert, would you be able to shall be around all the facilities you have but would you also point at the facilities you don't have? what would that be? i facilities you don't have? what would that be?— facilities you don't have? what would that be? i think the stuff i don't have _ would that be? i think the stuff i don't have is _ would that be? i think the stuff i don't have is how _ would that be? i think the stuff i don't have is how to _ would that be? i think the stuff i don't have is how to do - would that be? i think the stuff i don't have is how to do with - don't have is how to do with outside and staffing and equipment. heads always do their best with the budget they can, the trinity of god, with they can, the trinity of god, with the money they have got, because thatis the money they have got, because that is ourjob, but what i would like you to see is i would like to see increased sports facilities outside, i would like to see extra nurture of our children, which is so important with child mental health, post pandemic particularly but it was before. i would like to see that vibrant. i would like to see lots of opportunities for children. we are doing that as best we can, but we are educating the whole child here, putting money back into tutors — about a third of what the government's own ketchup star wanted to put in — that means there might well be money to improve children's educational scores and that is very important, —— catch—up tsar. we are here to educate the whole child, and to educate the whole child, particular post pandemic, to serve the committees we serve, that takes more money than we have got here. head teacher steve herbert, thank you very much. the chancellor announced that foreign aid spending would return to 0.7% of gdp by 2024-25. but charities and campaigners are disappointed that the funding won't return to those levels for another three years. joining me now is katy chakrabortty, who is the head of policy and advocacy at 0xfam. katy chakrabortty, thank you so much too to 0.7% in the end. do you welcome that?— too to 0.7% in the end. do you welcome that? . ., ~ welcome that? yeah, we do. i think it is important _ welcome that? yeah, we do. i think it is important to _ welcome that? yeah, we do. i think it is important to have _ welcome that? yeah, we do. i think it is important to have that - welcome that? yeah, we do. i think it is important to have that written l it is important to have that written in to the spending review. i am sure every temptation is to try and, for the chancellor, quietly forget that, but we know that there were people within his own party that will not let him do that, we know there are many members of the publisher won't let him do that, so of course we do welcome that. but in all the years up welcome that. but in all the years up to that, and from that date onwards, the world pleasant problems are only growing up they don't conveniently go away for those three to four years —— the world's problems. we have famine looming in afghanistan, we have northern kenya is now seeing drunk conditions every one to two years, we have a third wave of covid hitting yemen, one of the poorest countries of the road —— drought conditions. and we have a foreign defendant office which is effectively going to have to choose to make cuts in its responses to some of those places —— for an added element office. we can spend more than 0.5% whatever the circumstances. i5 than 0.5% whatever the circumstances.- than 0.596 whatever the circumstances. . . ., circumstances. is it clear where those cuts _ circumstances. is it clear where those cuts will _ circumstances. is it clear where those cuts will be _ circumstances. is it clear where those cuts will be made - circumstances. is it clear where those cuts will be made until. circumstances. is it clear where l those cuts will be made until the 0.7% comes back? ida. those cuts will be made until the 0.796 comes back?— 0.796 comes back? no, it is not clear, 0.796 comes back? no, it is not clear. that _ 0.796 comes back? no, it is not clear, that clarity _ 0.796 comes back? no, it is not clear, that clarity would - 0.796 comes back? no, it is not clear, that clarity would be - clear, that clarity would be appreciated, both from within the foreign and if 11 office but actually the treasury needs to calm actually the treasury needs to calm a bit clean on this —— foreign and development office. give some clarity on whether it is go to start talking under more and more issues into the aid budget, which is going to displace existing aid, we know, for instance, that the really vital money to help poor countries deal with the impact of climate change, it is a really good use of money, but we know that it is displacing other aid money for health, education, etc. we know the treasury have their eye on some other... we are effectively giving some really important financial resources from the imf, we are going to be giving those to developing countries, which is right, but we are going to be talking that if our aid budget as well, meaning that is displacing existing aid. we're also going be pulling the vaccines we are giving, the anatomy, inadequate numbers of actions were given. this is our surplus vaccines apply for some it is also not fair that is displacing existing aid. so we will probably almost certainly looking at actual cuts to the aid budget at the time when it is notjust us facing a covid crisis and trying to recover from it, it is the whole world, and at this rate, we are going to start to look forward to a slow and steady recovery from covid and, for the first time in a generation, it looks like the inequality between rich countries and poor countries is going to grow, turning back all the hard work that governments like the uk and organisations like 0xfam have been doing to try and tackle poverty over the decades. kata; been doing to try and tackle poverty over the decades. katy chakrabortty, thank ou over the decades. katy chakrabortty, thank you so — over the decades. katy chakrabortty, thank you so much. _ now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. over 200 mm of rain — that's what we're looking at in the wettest parts of cumbria. up to 100 in southwest scotland. a met office amber warning. as those rain totals mount, the risk of flooding and disruption will increase. and the rain continues through the night and into tomorrow as well, because this weather system isjust bringing the rain into the same areas for hour after hour. north of that, in scotland, the odd shower, indeed into northern ireland as well. south of the weather system, plenty of cloud, maybe a little light rain in some spots and a very mild night to come. it's quite windy with the rain as well, particularly around irish sea coasts. the rain is still there tomorrow. it'll push a little further north across scotland, back into the central belt for a time, and it will ease into more of wales and parts of southwest england as well, where it will continue through thursday night and into friday for a time before clearing away eastwards. it's still very mild, still windy out there. it will be turning cooler over the weekend but stay unsettled. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. the chancellor delivers his budget and promises an economy fit for a new age of optimism with an extra £150 billion of spending over 3 years. this budget helps with the cost of living, this budget levels up to a higher—wage, higher—skilled, higher—productivity economy, this budget builds a stronger economy for the british people and i commend it to the house. with inflation due to rise to 4% for the next year, labour says the budget does little for struggling families. among today's announcements, universal credit will be adjusted so that working people will be able to keep more of their benefits there's a cut in air passenger duty tax between airports within the uk, and a freeze in fuel duty.the chancellor's accused of failing to tackle climate change, in this budget. and police in new mexico give an update on the investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of alec baldwin's new movie. they say they suspect a live bullet killed halyna hutchins. welcome to your questions answered. you've been sending in your questions about the chancellor's budget. here to answer them isjosie dent who's a managing economist at the centre for economics and business research. hello. i've got a hello. i've got a bunch hello. i've got a bunch of hello. i've got a bunch of questions, we will go through them. first of all we have had a few questions about pensions. this questions about pensions. this question comes from pauline, she asks what is happening to the state pension, is it still connected to the cost of living index?- the cost of living index? great question- _ the cost of living index? great question- in — the cost of living index? great question. in september- the cost of living index? great question. in september the i question. in september the government announced that the triple lock on pensions is being put aside and instead is now becoming more of and instead is now becoming more of a double lock. it usually uses three factors to set state pension increases. and the inflation, wage rises and 2.5%. but wage growth has been very high recently it has been somewhat distorted by the furlough scheme, and so the government set that aside and instead of wage growth which would have put the state pension up by around 8%, it is now raising inlaid with inflation by around 3.1%. that's the increase thatis around 3.1%. that's the increase that is going to happen next year, and yes pauline, the state pension is now linked to inflation rather than wages which will measure the cost of living. we are expecting inflation to be slightly higher than 3.1 next year and they may rise more than that level of inflation. we have not than that level of inflation. we have got our— than that level of inflation. we have got our next question. that's one is from sandy. sandy asks, is there anything mentioned in the budget concerning pensioners. so much talk of the cost of living on the chancellor is helping people by increasing wages etc but no mention of how pensioners are going to manage this winterfor a of how pensioners are going to manage this winter for a few races, food rises and savings, earning no interest during covid. it has certainly been a difficult yearfor it has certainly been a difficult year for many pensioners. it there could be many more tough times ahead overwinter, and the man announcement today unfortunately was just a confirmation that the triple lock is being suspended on pensions. is it that we will get that 3.1% rise and this winter inflation is set to drive up the cost of letting for pensioners substantially. and our analysis suggests that living costs on average this year for a pension or couple household elected to be £22 a year higher than they were last year. this £22 a week and that adds up to well over £1000 for the whole year. and of course these high fuel prices at the moment are a key driver of that higher inflation rate. and there were rumours that the winter fuel payment might have risen to help pensioners through the current high period of fuel prices but unfortunately that did not materialise and so we are not seeing a rise in that benefit for pensioners. the chancellor did highlight in his speech today that the government has limits on the amount it can spend. the government has been spending a large amount of money over the past 18 months to get us through coronavirus. and so is that today the chancellor said we can't help everyone every time. prices rise so unfortunately there was not much more help for pensioners in the budget today. aha, pensioners in the budget today. a new subject, william asks are there any grants or anyhow proposed to make electric only gas boiler replacement because of the chancellor said today the government will provide £3.9 billion to determine as buildings. but the main policy associated with that is as our question asked this replacement of gas boilers and heat pumps and the chancellor did not give much more detail on this each of today. what he did say is that households and consumers can reduce their carbon emissions through transport and reduction of carbon emissions through transport is a key policy for the chancellor. the chancellor confirmed funding to support the uptake of electric vehicles with more charging units and targeted areas where you can plug in your vehicle and there was a lot of funding today also for rail transport and for funding to encourage walking and cycling can use greener alternatives to transport rather than cars which brought a lot of fossil fuels. those are the key announcements i think for consumers before helping them become greener. gerald from cornwall wants to get to the source of it all. he says on the bbc news app it says total departmental spending will increase by £150 billion by 2425 which rishi sunak says of the largest increase that entry, gerald goes on to say there's no mention of how it will be paid for, any thoughts of a magic money tree slash forest? ., �* , ., forest? you're right there is no manic forest? you're right there is no magic money _ forest? you're right there is no magic money tree _ forest? you're right there is no magic money tree or _ forest? you're right there is no magic money tree or forest. i forest? you're right there is no - magic money tree or forest. someone will have to pay for this at some point. there was that big announcement today that total departmental spending will rise by £150 billion. but we have already heard some key tax raises throughout this year already. so in march, in the march budget we had the announcement that the rate of corporation tax is increasing from 19% to 25% in 2023. and in that budget earlier in the year we also saw that the threshold on many rates of tax is being frozen, so it won't rise in inflation and that means in real terms taxes rising. so that includes the threshold on income tax and also other types of taxes including capital gains tax. of course we also had the 1.25% rise in national insurance announced last month. and so while there were no major tax raises in the budget today the chancellor has been thinking throughout this year about how to raise taxes. and he also did say today that a key way for us to reduce our debt is a proportion of gdp is for this country to grow in terms of that gdp level. that's also a key policy for the chancellor to get economic growth going and so that ratio of debt to gdp falls. that is the answer for gerald. 0ur that is the answer for gerald. our next question has been looking for was around one of the measures, she says long—haul flight air passenger duty with long flights affected people will surely just to duty with long flights affected people will surelyjust to break up their trip by getting two tickets from the first part to make a short trip by another country.— trip by another country. that's uuite trip by another country. that's quite smart- _ trip by another country. that's quite smart. the _ trip by another country. that's quite smart. the chancellor i trip by another country. that's i quite smart. the chancellor dad trip by another country. that's - quite smart. the chancellor dad to come you are right, announced today a new air passenger duty tariff for flights over 5500 miles. and that cost £91 for economy tickets. unfortunately the government is ahead of you on that and it's artie thought that you might try to meet the rules that way, you cannot beat the rules that way, you cannot beat the high rate by looking to connecting flights. the government calculates the duty just connecting flights. the government calculates the dutyjust by your final destination and has ways to work out that people are getting a connecting flight were not. so it's a good idea but unfortunately the government beat you to it. ii a good idea but unfortunately the government beat you to it.- government beat you to it. if you thou . ht government beat you to it. if you thought of _ government beat you to it. if you thought of it _ government beat you to it. if you thought of it the _ government beat you to it. if you thought of it the government - government beat you to it. if you thought of it the government has also thought of as well. has there been any announcement about the student finance repayment threshold? . thanks so much for your question and ahead of the budget there were lots of rumours that the chancellor might be thinking about considering lowering this threshold and so students repaid their loans earlier than they currently do in the current threshold is at around £27,000 of earnings a year. but lots of students from be relieved that there was no major announcement about student loan repayments today. and so that threshold is not being lowered in terms of the current announcements that were made today. one question from emma, did they change the tax on capital gains for second homeowners?— change the tax on capital gains for second homeowners? thanks for that ruestion. second homeowners? thanks for that question- capital _ second homeowners? thanks for that question. capital gains _ second homeowners? thanks for that question. capital gains tax _ second homeowners? thanks for that question. capital gains tax is - second homeowners? thanks for that question. capital gains tax is the - question. capital gains tax is the tax and the profit you make when you sell or dispose of something, and assets that has increased in value. so obviously when you buy a home that usually increases in value, but when it is the home you live in you don't have to pay capital gains tax on that. currently you do have to pay capital gains tax when you make a profit selling a home you don't live in. so a second home. the threshold for this tax as i mentioned in another question was frozen in this march budget and there were rumours that in today's by judge there were rumours that in today's byjudge there might be further changes to this tax. however there were no major changes and so the changes to this tax have not occurred and the rules have not changed. occurred and the rules have not chanced. ., occurred and the rules have not chanced. . , ., ., g ., ., changed. final question forjohn and with temperature, _ changed. final question forjohn and with temperature, no _ changed. final question forjohn and with temperature, no mention - changed. final question forjohn and with temperature, no mention he i changed. final question forjohn and l with temperature, no mention he says was made of hs two, in the northern section from birmingham being scrapped, any news on this? there was lots of — scrapped, any news on this? there was lots of discussion _ scrapped, any news on this? there was lots of discussion for - scfbpped, any news on this? ii” was lots of discussion for funding about rail transport. the chancellor did confirm that there would be over £35 billion of rail investment over the coming three years. at some of that will indeed be allocated to each s—2 he said in his speech and in the papers. there was not much more in the way of the details on this, it's of course still possible that down the line the government will decide to scrap the next phase, but other announcements on a rail spending were made. the government is clearly committed to raising the spending. it carries out on this former public transport and the chancellor announced £5.7 billion for london style transport settlements across many different regions of the uk. focused on the north and including greater manchester and liverpool city region to invest more in lots of forms of public transport, but including rail. there was actually a lot of money allocated to rail although there weren't major updates on a just to in the budget today. josie dent, just to in the budget today. josie dent. thank _ just to in the budget today. josie dent, thank you, _ just to in the budget today. josie dent, thank you, your _ just to in the budget today. josie dent, thank you, your questions now answered. josie did all the work on that sequence. let's go back to the main points of today's budget. the chancellor promised record funding to the devolved administrations. there's an increase to scottish government funding in each year of an average of 4.6 billion pounds, 2.5 billion pounds for the welsh government, and 1.6 billion for the northern ireland executive. in a moment we will hear from hywel griffith in wales and emma vardy in northern ireland but first here is our scotland editor, sarah smith. that's £4.6 billion a year on top of what the scottish government was already expecting in the form of the block grant, and unusually, it includes direct treasury funding for projects in scotland, like upgrading some town centres, even an electric car grand prix in the western isles. and the chancellor specifically said this budget shows the financial value to scotland of remaining in the united kingdom. well, the snp say it was a missed opportunity, the money should have been spent on green projects, like a carbon capture and storage facility near aberdeen, and that the uk government's missing out on green economic opportunities, especially as, just over there, next week, glasgow will be hosting the cup 26 environmental conference. in the welsh government building behind me, they will be going through these numbers line by line, but one figure that stands out is the extra £2.5 billion a year that will come to wales. however, the labour ministers here say they already see gaps in the funding. they point to the lack of new money to deal with the problem of coal tip safety, a question really of who pays for wales's industrial past. then there is the row over european funding. the chancellor saying today that, over time, new money from the uk will match what was spent here. the question really isn't over how much is spent, though, but who controls it. under the european scheme, it was the welsh labour government. under the new shared prosperity fund, the checks will be written in downing street, and the uk government is keen for people here in wales to know that. a headline for northern ireland is the cut in air passenger duty, something businesses who have been calling for for a while, the idea being that lower prices could improve northern ireland's flight connections with the rest of the uk. now, there is also money coming from the government's levelling up fund, which is going to pay for a range of projects in northern ireland, things like extending cycle lanes across belfast. now, stormont�*s department of finance is still trying to reassess exactly what the impact will be of the extra £1.6 billion a year that the chancellor has said northern ireland will be able to spend on local services, but such is the concern here at the moment about the state of northern ireland's health service, stormont�*s finance minister is currently trying to persuade the executive that any extra funds should all go to health, even if it means other departments missing out. some of the most eye catching measures affecting business were aimed at retail, hospitality and leisure — among the sectors hit hardest by the pandemic. shops, pubs and gyms in england will be among businesses to get a 50% cut in their business rates. and the way alcohol is taxed is to be simplified , some drinks will be taxed more but duty on draught beers will be reduced by 5%. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith has the details. chancellors like making popular announcements about alcohol. a penny here, 5p there, but this budget is bringing in some much bigger changes. the way that we drink has changed totally. prosecco and carver have made sparkling wine much more accessible and affordable, and that's a great thing. at the moment, sparkling wine is charged at a much higher rate than normal wine. the amount of duty we play on different alcohol is a really complicated system, and today's plan is to simplify that. and it means that there will be less duty to pay on things like champagne and other popular drinks, wines, beers, but it could well mean that we end up paying more in some ciders and fortified wines. but will those savings be passed on to customers? i would hope that they have there are significant savings, that they can be passed onto consumers, but there are other challenges we are trying to accommodate at the moment, and you know, the changes with just bringing wine into the country, it's becoming more expensive. wine is now the most popular drink in the uk, wherever it is drunk. so many deals at the supermarket, it's not that expensive. it's starting to become a bit of a necessity to people to relax. there is a 50% tax cut for retail and hospitality coming in, which is a big relief for andy. nobody wants to work all day and night to not make anything. it's not why we do it. being able to know that you can have this reduction is good. it's a very positive. there will be a lot of businesses relieved to hear that. changes in booze duty don't kick in until 2023, but those serving it and drinking it are hoping to pay less as a result. colletta smith, bbc news, manchester. some of the main measures in today's budget had been announced earlier in the week, including extra money for the nhs, a rise in the national living wage and public sector pay rises. but lets take a look at some of the new announcements. 0n schools, there was a surprise additional £1.8 billion for education recovery in england, although that's significantly less than asked for by the government's former education catch up tsar kevan collins. £5 billion was announced for the removal of unsafe cladding for the highest risk buildings following the grenfell tower tragedy. that will be raised through an extra levy on large construction companies. 0n housing more than £11 billion was announced to build up to 180,000 affordable homes, with brownfield sites targeted for development. and on foreign aid the chancellor said he expected uk contributions to return to nought point seven percent of the national income by 2024 to 25. let's take a look at some other stories making the news. a serving metropolitan police officer has been charged with rape. pc adam zaman, who's 28, is alleged to have carried out the attack in the city of london on sunday evening when he was off duty. he's been remanded in custody to appear at westminster the government has released its daily coronavirus figures. they show: a further 43,941 people in the uk have tested positive for coronavirus, and 207 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus. from today, the government will publish daily figures on the number of booster or third vaccine doses given out in the uk — which is currently about 6.7 million. a group of mps has heavily criticised the test and trace programme in england. the public accounts committee said it failed to break covid—19 transmission chains despite costing eye—watering sums of money. the uk health security agency insists test and trace has played an essential role in combating the pandemic. police investigating the killing of a cinematographer on set with a gun by the actor alex baldwin say they believe the weapon contained a live round. the hollywood star had been told the weapon was safe. he's a co—producer of the film "rust" and there are reports of complaints about safety standards in the days and hours before halyna hutchins was killed. sophie long reports from santa fe where the county sheriff adan mendoza gave more details about the incident. he began by offering his condolences to the hutchins family. he stressed this is an ongoing investigation but he did say, to him, the facts are clear. alec baldwin had been holding a functional weapon that had fired a live round. he also confirmed that they removed a lead bullet from the shoulder of the director, and they believe that was the same bullet that killed halyna hutchins. it is now nearly a week since 42—year—old halyna hutchins was shot dead whilst she was doing herjob. this is believed to be the last photograph of her alive on the set of rust. she's in the blue coat and headphones. alec baldwin was holding the gun that discharged the fatal shot and severely injured the director. we believe that we have in our possession the firearm that was fired by mr baldwin, the actual lead projectile that was fired has been recovered from the shoulder of mr souza. we regard this specific spend casing and recovered projectile to be the live round that was fired from the revolver by mr baldwin. when alec baldwin was handed the weapon, he was told it was safe, what is called a cold gun. it wasn't. they are interviewing the many witnesses on set, including the person responsible for the safety of the weapons used, known as the armourer. that was 24—year—old former model hannah gutierrez—reed. all options are on the table like this point. i'm not commenting on charges, whether they will be fired or not, and on whom. the answer is, we cannot answer that question yet until we complete a more thorough investigation. the tragedy has left hollywood grieving and reignited the debate about whether real guns and ammunition should ever be allowed on film sets under any circumstances. sophie long, bbc news, santa fe. a man who hated muslims and idolised right—wing mass murderers has been convicted of terrorism charges after a two—week trial 24 year—old sam imrie was arrested in 2019 after he posted messages on social media saying he was planning to set fire to the fife islamic centre. imrie was convicted on two charges of breaching the terrorism act. he was also convicted of wilful fire raising, possessing child and "extreme" pornography and drink—driving. a 52—year—old man has been arrested in halifax in west yorkshire after the deputy labour leader, angela rayner, received a string of threats. greater manchester police said they launched an investigation after multiple threatening and abusive phone calls, emails and letters were sent over recent weeks. a spokesman for ms rayner said the abuse didn'tjust have an impact on her, but also on her family and her staff. france has released a list of sanctions that could come into effect next week unless enough progress is made in its post—brexit fishing row with britain. france could notably step up border and sanitary checks on goods from britain, prevent british fishing boats from accessing designated french ports and beef up checks on trucks coming and going from the uk. a uk government spokesperson says france s threats are disappointing and disproportionate. the duchess of cornwall has paid tribute to those whose lives have been "brutally ended" as she called for action to prevent violence against women. she was speaking at an event in central london. she said shame has contributed to women not reporting sexual harrassment. it is, as almost all women know, a deeply disturbing experience to be sexually harassed. and yet somehow a culture of silence has grown up in which these women conceal their experiences of such offences. why? there are, of course, many explanations. that is one significant reason. of which we are focusing today, shane. $$$ i'll be back at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — we'll be looking at tomorrow's front pages with polly mackenzie, chief executive, demos and tom newton dunn, chief political commentator, times radio now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. whilst parts of eastern england have seen temperatures up to 18 degrees today in some occasional sunshine, such a different story across southern southwestern parts of scotland and cumbria, a met office amber warning for heavy rain that continues through the night and into tomorrow. rain totals mounting — just look at the rainfall picture as it's developed through today, look at the rain continuing across many of the same areas. so as those totals mount, the risk of flooding and disruption will increase. so this is the picture through the night. this weather system is not moving, it is impacting more of northwest wales. further north in scotland, in northern ireland, you may catch a shower but actually quite a bit of dry weather. some spots dipping into single figures. to the south of this area of rain, a lot of cloud around, wind, but temperatures staying well above average for the time of year. winds continue to be strong with this weather system tomorrow, particularly through the irish sea, still impacting cumbria, more of southern and central scotland and more of wales. some rain also pushing in towards cornwall and devon as we go on through the day. eastern parts of england still may see some very mild sunny spells, a few showers elsewhere for scotland and indeed for northern ireland. and into thursday evening, it is still raining in northwest england, more of wales as well, so again we may start to see some impacts of the rain continues in wales. another pulse of rain overnight into friday through northern ireland, on friday across scotland, but the main weather front with all the rain is moving east at this stage. it will bring some outbreaks of showery rain across parts of eastern england on friday, and behind it, it will be much drier to end the day. but the problems with flooding after all the rain, and particularly in southwest scotland and cumbria, will continue after the rain has ended. low pressure still close by at the weekend. on saturday, that will bring a weather front northwards, so outbreaks of rain pushing northeastwards across the uk on saturday. some fair skies either side of it, though a few showers may follow on behind. another thing about the weather over the weekend, it is turning a bit cooler, so temperatures just dropping closer to the averages for the time of year. and that same area of low pressure will feed in another weather system our way on sunday. and the rain on this could be heavier. the winds around it could be stronger as well. very unsettled still into the weekend. it will be turning cooler. this is bbc news. i'm christian fraser. the gun that alec baldwin fired, killing a cinematographer last week, did contain a live round. the assistant director has told police he did not check every chamber of the gun as he should have done. the santa fe district attorney say they're not ruling out criminal negligence. it's a budget bonanza in the uk. or is it? the chancellor has raised the pay of millions of british people, but how much of it will they see amid the rising inflation and the spiralling cost of living? public health experts in the us recommend children aged five to 11 should get the pfizerjab, saying the benefits outweigh the risks. and england and wales will soon be getting a glimpse into how our ancestors lived in the wake of the first world war.