Autumn statement 2023: What time is it and what could the chancellor announce?
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is preparing to deliver his autumn statement as rumours swirl about what it might contain.
The chancellor will give an update on the state of the economy and may also announce tax and spending changes.
Here’s all you need to know about when it will be and what it could say.
When is the autumn statement?
The autumn statement will take place on 22 November 2023.
What time is the announcement?
The announcement usually starts at 12.30pm – directly after Prime Minister’s Questions – and lasts about an hour.
After the statement, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves responds, and then other MPs ask questions about the statement.
Before the announcement, the chancellor poses for the press with the red despatch box containing the budget papers.
After the speech, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will publish a report outlining how the economy is doing and its forecasts.
What happens after the statement?
It depends on what is in the statement. If the chancellor announces changes to taxes, then legislation may need to be brought in.
This happened last year. The Finance Bill 2022 was brought in after Mr Hunt’s first autumn statement as chancellor, which included a £55bn package of tax rises and spending cuts to put the UK “on a balanced path to stability” after Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget.
It may be that no big changes are announced that will come into force before the next budget – in which case, nothing more will happen.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt before the spring budget
What could be in the autumn statement?
The focus will be on helping struggling families with the cost of living and boosting growth.
Mr Hunt has said “everything is on the table” when it comes to tax cuts, and has not ruled out rumours about a reduction in inheritance tax and changes to taxes on personal income.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Mr Hunt said his speech would focus on growth, and pledged to “remove the barriers that stop businesses growing”.
Changes to inheritance tax are being considered – including reducing the tax rate from 40% to 20% on estates above £325,000. If the tax rate isn’t cut in half, there have also been suggestions it could be lowered by 30% or 20%, according to The Times.
But any changes to inheritance tax wouldn’t affect the majority of the population – only 4% of estates paid inheritance tax in 2021.
However, Sky News deputy political editor says in his latest podcast: “Despite all of the chatter… I actually don’t think that that’s particularly going to happen.”
The government could also cancel a planned increase on stamp duty.
The chancellor is also expected to cancel the planned 5p increase in fuel duty from April next year.
Mr Hunt has signalled there could be a squeeze on benefits to find savings for tax cuts.
Typically, the increase to benefits is based on the September figure for inflation – so a 6.7% hike.
But the chancellor has not ruled out using October’s figure instead, which would mean a 4.6% rise.
Mr Hunt has announced plans to remove benefits and step up monitoring of welfare recipients in an effort to bring more people into work. Further rules of the Back To Work Plan will be set out in the autumn statement.
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What’s the difference between the autumn and spring statements?
The spring budget was the main fiscal event of 2023. The budget is where the most significant tax and spending changes are usually announced.
The autumn statement is supposed to be an update – but sometimes the announcements can be just as big and important.
In 2017 the government introduced a change that was supposed to mean the budget would take place in autumn, and a spring statement would be delivered shortly before the start of the financial year on 6 April.
But since 2019 the timing has been thrown off – first by the 2019 general election and the COVID-19 pandemic, then the change in leadership in 2022.
Watch live coverage on Sky News of the autumn statement from 11am on Wednesday.
Comedy writer Bill Dare, – who worked on shows including Spitting Image and Dead Ringers – has died after an accident overseas, his agent said.
Described as a “super producer” by his peers, Dare, 64, worked on eight series of hugely popular satire puppet show Spitting Image.
Airing on ITV during the 1980s and 1990s, the show delighted in lampooning public figures including politicians, celebrities and royalty, winning BAFTAs and Emmys. It was rebooted in 2020.
Dare also created Dead Ringers, a comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
He also produced The Now Show, a satirical take on the news which ran on Radio 4 from 1998 to 2024.
Dare worked on a wide range of comedy shows during his career, including the radio production of The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had also written several novels.
In a statement released on Monday, his agent JFL Agency confirmed he died at the weekend.
A spokesperson said: “We are shocked and greatly saddened to have to announce the death of our brilliant client Bill Dare, who died at the weekend following an accident overseas.
“Our thoughts are with his wife Lucy, daughter Rebecca, and with all of Bill’s family and friends who will be devastated by his loss.
“Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none.”
Oasis depicted on Spitting Image in 1996. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Colleagues were quick to pay tribute and reflect on his talent.
Impressionist Jon Culshaw wrote on X: “It’s impossible to express the unreal sense of loss at the passing of the incredible Bill Dare. The wisest comedy alchemist and the dearest, dearest friend. Much love to Lucy and all Bill’s family and friends. We shall all miss him more than we can say.”
David Baddiel posted on the social media platform: “Just heard that the original producer of The Mary Whitehouse Experience on radio, Bill Dare, has died. Bill was an amazing creative force. I owe him much. RIP.”
Former EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was “devastated” and that her “entire comedy career was down to Bill”.
She wrote: “When I was on the BBC Radio 4 rep company early on in career – I ran into Bill in the corridors – He asked if I was good at accents. I said yes.
“He cast me in a sketch show. I had to do about 15 different accents. We recorded in front of a live audience at Broadcasting House – afterwards Bill said ‘Why have I never met you – you’re going to have a big career’.
“He was incredibly loyal and supportive and really opened a path for me into the R4 comedy world and then TV having come out of the RSC and theatre it was all new. I will always be grateful. Fly high Bill.”
Comedian and writer Mark Steel wrote: “This is so grim. Bill was a compassionate hearty soul with the ability to be beautifully grumpy, a marvellously thoughtful comic mind.
“He’d argue but always listen and you’d always laugh, he made a million shows and wanted them all to matter and would have made a million more.”
Have I Got News for You writer Pete Sinclair said: “I am utterly devastated by Bill’s death. I still can’t believe it. He was a comedy genius. A hugely talented writer as well as a brilliant producer. A close friend and co-writer. I cannot begin to say how much I’ll miss him.”
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Julia McKenzie, comedy commissioner for Radio 4, said: “I am so terribly sorry to hear this tragic news and my thoughts are with Bill’s wife, family and friends.
“Bill has been a huge part of Radio 4 comedy for decades, as a writer and producer, and listeners will have heard his legendary name at the end of many of their favourite shows.
“Bill was a comedy obsessive, and very instinctive about making the funniest choices when it came to writing, directing and editing.
“He cared so much about his work that in the production booth during Dead Ringers you’d see him crouched over the script, utterly focused on the show.
“He was funny and very dry in person, amusingly cynical when he needed to be and always pushed to keep the comedy he made, and particularly satire, spiky.
“I’ve known and worked with him for 18 years and like many I can’t believe he has gone, he will leave a big hole in the comedy world and in our hearts.”
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