Chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out his plans to grow the UK's economy in the House of Commons on Wednesday (March 15).
From extending the energy bill price guarantee to freezing fuel duty, the Chancellor continued to implement plans to help struggling households with the cost of living crisis. He also announced the country would not yet be entering a recession and added that the economy is “proving the doubters wrong”, although growth remains sluggish.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) still forecast a contraction of 0.2% this year, a significant improvement on the -1.4% predicted in November. The OBR also upgraded its growth forecast for 2024 from 1.3% to 1.8%, but downgraded predictions for the following years to 2.5% in 2025, 2.1% in 2026 and 1.9% in 2027.
