yet the truth is that under the conservatives, growth has hit a dead end. we've been talking to people here in hull and asking them — do they feel better off? also tonight — israel now says the first israeli hostages won't be released until friday at the earliest. negotiations are continuing to free 50 of those being held — mainly women and children — in return for 150 palestinian prisoners — during a four day temporary ceasefire. and a surprise return — sam altman is back as the head of openai — less than a week after he was and on newsnight at 10:30pm, we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus, we take a first look at what's on tomorrow's front pages. of the scheme to expand the club?

good evening from hull, where on the day ofjeremy hunt's autumn statement we've been talking to people here, about how they feel the chancellor's plans will affect them. we are at the street life museum which celebrates this great port city's economy and transport — and from here we'll be assessing jeremy hunt's tax and spending plans for the year ahead — including measures affecting the take—home pay and household budgets of millions of people. there'll be tax cuts — including a cut in national insurance from 12% to 10% for 27 million people. the state pension will increase by 8.5% and universal credit and disability benefits will rise by 6.7%. but, those on welfare must take a work placement if they are still looking for a job after 18 months — or risk

losing their benefits. and the overall picture for growth is gloomy — the independent watchdog the obr says its forecasts for growth are sharply lower than predicted — and that's for the next two years. the obr also says that despite today's tax cuts — the overall tax burden is set to rise to a post—war high. labour says growth has hit a dead end under the tories and that tax cuts would not "remotely compensate" for hikes already put in place. in a moment we'll hearfrom our political editor chris mason — but first here's our economics editor faisal islam. the editor faisal islam. big question coming out of this autumn the big question coming out of this autumn statement is, all we are at an economic turning point after three years of economic turmoil? and the answerfrom the three years of economic turmoil? and the answer from the government's own forecasters have said, notjust yet.

growth is slower than expected. but we may be at a turning point in terms of economic policy. the chancellor received a near £30 billion windfall today and he made a very big choice to spend it, not on protecting hard pressed public services from rising prices, but instead on a business tax cuts and a big cut for workers immediately. thank you, we will have more from faisal islam in a moment. let's hear now from our political editor chris mason in westminster. one minute! days like today here come with a certain anticipation. smile on his face, the autumn statement under his arm... is now the right time - for tax cuts, chancellor? and the questions beginning forjeremy hunt. i now call the chancellor to make the autumn statement. jeremy hunt. the big thing talked up in advance of today was tax cuts,

and here was the main one for many workers. today, mr speaker, i am going to cut the main 12% rate of employee national insurance by two percentage points, from 12% to 10%. that change will help 27 million people. it means someone on the average salary of £35,000 will save over £450. and mr hunt said this cut would happen in earlyjanuary. but the overall tax burden is still rising, albeit a little less than it would otherwise have done. for the self—employed, there is a tax cut, too. the abolition of what is known as class 2 national insurance, and a cut in class 4 national insurance. taken together with the abolition of the compulsory class 2 charge, these reforms will save around 2 million self—employed people an average of £350

per yearfrom april. as ministers try to kick—start a sluggish economy, companies will be able to deduct their spending on new equipment and machinery from their profits, and so pay less tax. i will today make full expensing permanent. that is the largest tax cut in modern british history. other things announced today — from april, benefits will go up by 6.7%, the state pension by 8.5%, and the minimum wage for those aged 21 and older will be £11.44 per hour. jeremy hunt also said he was determined to help people who are out of work to find work. and... if after 18 months of intensive support, job—seekers have not found a job, we will roll out a programme requiring them to take part in mandatory work placements. and if they choose not to engage with the work search process for six months, we will close their case

and stop their benefits. the chancellor summarised his plan like this. the biggest package of tax cuts to be implemented since the 19805. an autumn statement for a country that has turned a corner. an autumn statement for growth, which i commend to the house. incoming next, the reaction, firstly from the woman who wants the chancellor's job. as the sun begins to set on this divided, out of touch, weak government, the only conclusion that the british people will reach if this — after 13 years of conservatives, the economy is simply not working, and despite all the promises today, working people are still worse off. and the wider debate is now getting under way. things are still getting worse for people. inflation is still more than double the target that it should be.

and that means prices and costs for people in their homes are still going up, day by day. this statement is a deception from the chancellor after years of unfair tax hikes. under this conservative government, economic growth is flatlining and public services are on their knees. chancellor, thank you for having us in the treasury. for all the talk today of tax cuts, living standards have fallen by more than at any point since records began, and the tax burden is still going up every year. that is the blunt truth, isn't it? well, we did have to put up taxes. i have never shied away from saying that. but i think it was right to support families who were suffering because of the energy crisis and to support businesses through the pandemic. you say that the country has turned a corner, that the economy is turning a corner but is that how people feel? well, i think people are feeling bruised. we had a once in a century pandemic. we had a 19705 style oil shock.

what we have tried to do is to support families. for the chancellor and the prime minister, against a tricky economic and political backdrop — the task now, selling their plan. yes, those tax cuts but also the growing tax burden and that squeeze on living standards. that big picture reality always meant the likelihood today, whatever was announced, was that people might think, is itjust a drop in the ocean? that would perhaps would have been a challenge for any chancellor from any party confronted by that bigger picture reality. the interesting thing tonight is labour pretty much agree with much of what it was in what we heard today, agreeing with the tax cuts and willing to look at some of the other measures. and they share the same diagnosis as the conservatives about what really matters here, getting

growth. the challenge is, how? chris mason in westminster, _ growth. the challenge is, how? chris mason in westminster, many thanks. we've heard what the chancellor is planning — let's get more on faisal islam's thoughts on what it means for the economy. it's the time for giving, but for the chancellor, it is now time for giveaways too. he wants a new optimistic spirit to leave behind years of rolling economic turmoil. but a big budgetary day like today brings a new assessment, an official forecast for the economy from the office for budget responsibility. things have changed since the last forecast of the budget in march for the two big economic measures — inflation and growth. first, inflation. yes, it has halved from the peak, the much proclaimed turning point for downing street. but this new forecast, in the purple here, sees inflation significantly higher than in the march budget, there in yellow, above the official bank of england target for the next couple years. and then there's growth.

this year, no recession any more, as had been predicted here in the yellow. but growth now notably slower next year and the year after, as you can see in the purple. let's focus on 2027/28. the forecast says the chancellor had £27 billion more room for manoeuvre to hit his own self—imposed borrowing limits, what the obr calls a windfall. the big decision here is almost all of this is spent not on increasing public services, in line with prices, but principally on those two big tax cuts — £9 billion for two percentage points off national insurance and £11 billion on business investment tax cuts. they are big, designed to boost the economy long—term. but for context, in the same document, the obr say that previous decisions to freeze income tax thresholds will raise a remarkable £113 billion in that same year — basically the source of the windfall.

the obr's chief says the room for immediate tax cuts essentially comes from a post—election squeeze on public services. real government spending is actually £20 billion lower than it was in our march forecast, because inflation is much higher but the chancellor hasn't really added substantial sums to departmental budgets. that means spending on public services is £20 billion lower. that provides kind of a dividend to the public finances which he has used in order to reduce people's taxes by roughly the same amount. the bigger picture for the chancellor is that this is a grand reforming, business—friendly budget, with over 100 measures designed to boost growth, from planning to pylons. some are politically challenging, but even then, these tend to take years to boost investment and then growth. so this was a longer—term plan to escape a low growth trap, tied together with a more upfront attempt at modest, festive and of course pre—election cheer. for the chancellor, this tax cut is light at the end of the economic tunnel, but it is a partial rebate of recent

massive tax hikes and may come with a sting in the tail for public services. let's have a look at some of the other announcements made by the chancellor today. there will be a freeze on alcohol duty until august 1st, but tobacco duty has been put up by 10%. a consultation on giving people one pension pot for life — whichjeremy hunt says could help unlock an "extra £1,000 a year" in retirement savings. and a commitment to reform the planning system to allow for faster planning applications. mr hunt confirmed the national living wage will rise by more than a pound to £11.44 an hour. and he also made permanent a tax break for businesses that allows them to save on corporation tax by investing. business rate relief will also be extended for many small firms, including pubs and other

hospitality businesses. 0ur cost of living correspondent colletta smithjoins me now. what impact will this have on households? the chancellor is banking on the big economic growth, but even if that happens there is always a time lag before people will feel that benefit within their household finances. i spent my day talking to people already struggling with the cost of living, basic household costs, mortgages, rent, rising food bills. one person said to me last week there is simply more month than many. i have spent the day in hull, finding out what impact the changes announced today will have on people's finances. £221.20 a week... pensions will increase in the spring, which is a relief forjune. yes, i'm sure it'll make a difference. my husband's not very well and i feel that he needs good food. what i would like to know is will there be help for old age pensioners before april?

today is a big relief for pensioners. sticking to that triple lock will mean an extra £17 or so a week in their pockets, which is the difference between a food bill or an extra energy top up, will make a big difference to a lot of households, but it only kicks in from april. pensioners will still get that winter fuel payment, but last year the government gave an extra £400 to every household and this year they've said that's not going to happen. today, the chancellor stuck to his guns, which means that forjune and 12.5 million other pensioners like her, it could still be a difficult few months. it's a different look for businesses. despite trims in some taxes, paying her staff higher wages is sarah's biggest concern. the energy bills are still sort of hammering us and the vat, the tax mainly. so if they brought that down, then i would love to bring another member of staff in and to train them. but it's again, the wages, you know, at what point do you say,

"i can't afford to pay you anymore?" so what i want to know is where am i going to get the extra money to pay my staff more? an increase in the minimum wage and a 2% cut in national insurance will mean lots of households will have a bit extra to cover those increasing bills that we're facing every time we go to the tills. the problem is businesses are going to have to find that money to pay for those wage increases from somewhere. so we're likely to see those price hikes carrying on for the months ahead. across town, beth works as a dental nurse two days a week and gets a top up from universal credit, which will now increase in april. i thought it was going down, so that's good that it's going up. sometimes i think, what's the point in going to work when they're going to take half of it off me anyway, so i might as welljust stay at home. what i'd like to know is if i work an extra day will it be worth my while? for two parents with two children on universal credit, it it'll be an increase of around £1,000 from april. but with no announcements made about childcare costs and no increase to the point that people

start to pay different levels of income tax, it's still a really difficult equation for lower income parents to make sure that they don't lose out. colletta smith reporting. jeremy hunt has described changes to the benefits system as the "biggest set of welfare reforms in a decade." our social affairs correspondent michael buchahan has been looking at them in more detail. aidan wood's passion is music. he's more time to indulge his hobby since losing hisjob in retail last year, having worked for 16 years. a below knee amputee who has developed mental health problems, he fears being forced into a newjob. i can't be a productive member of society in terms of holding down a job, so if i'm forced into a work placement and inevitably get sacked, i am then going to be sanctioned for it through no fault of my own. and that just. ..

all i want is just to know where my next paycheque is coming from. i don't want to have to worry about ticking all these boxes that i can't tick. people like aidan will not lose their current health benefit, but from 2025, new claimants with similar conditions will face a very different regime. instead of extra welfare payments, hundreds of thousands of people will have to look for work. they'll be offered tailored support, including for instance talking therapies for psychiatric conditions. if they can't find a job, they could be forced to undertake work experience, and if they don't comply, they might lose their benefits, including free prescriptions. every year, we sign off over 100,000 people onto benefits with no requirement to look for work, because of sickness or disability. that waste of potential is wrong, economically and wrong morally. some charities say threatening people into work is the wrong

approach, but the reforms could see 50,000 people move off benefits and into work by the end of the decade. despite these changes, the office for budget responsibility forecast that spending on health—related benefits will increase by £12 billion by 2028/29, as hundreds of thousands more people become ill and rely on the benefits system to help them get by. these reforms reveal a growing problem — britain is becoming a sicker country. michael buchanan, bbc news. that's all from me and the team in hull for the time being. we will be back a little later in the programme, but for now, back to you, sophie. thank you, reeta. israel has just announced that the first israeli hostages will not now be released until friday at the earliest. the temporary ceasefire has been delayed as well. it was supposed to come into effect at ten o'clock tomorrow morning with the first of 50 hostages released at lunchtime. but tonight israel has said that negotiations

were continuing with hamas — which is designated a terrorist organisation by the uk. under the deal they have been working on 50 of around 240 israelis will be released from gaza — around a dozen a day during a four day temporary ceasefire. —— should be released from cursor. in return, 150 palestinian women and teenagers would be released from israeli prisons. our senior international correspondent orla guerin reports — there are distressing images from the start. a reminder of how all this began on october 7th, hamas gunmen storming across the borderfrom gaza, hunting israelis to kill or capture. around 240 were taken hostage. among them, shiri bibas, trying to shield her two little boys from the horror all around them.

ten month old kfir had just started crawling. ariel, who's four, loves climbing and batman. now they and their mother are expected home in the coming days, along with dozens of other women and children. they don't know yet that hamas killed their grandparents. shiri's cousin, yifat, is caught between hope and torment. i don't know what kind of children will come back to us. the trauma, what they saw. and until i see them in my own eyes, i don't believe any lists of names and i don't believe any news coming today from...anywhere. i need to see them in my own eyes. i need to hold my cousin in my arms.

but for many in gaza, just the anguish of goodbye. hassan lost his niece, three brothers and his grandmother. relatives say they were killed by an israeli air strike on a residential building. gaza is teeming with grief and desperation. this was the struggle for a few bottles of water. the truce will clear a path for hundreds of trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies. for now, gaza keeps burying its dead with more than 100 bodies in this mass grave. the next few days may bring quiet, but israel and hamas have said that after the truce the war will resume.

a short time ago we heard the hostages will not be released until friday at the earliest and no temporary ceasefire until then, orla? ~ . ., temporary ceasefire until then, orla? . ., temporary ceasefire until then, orla? ~ ., ., orla? what more can you tell us? it is certainly — orla? what more can you tell us? it is certainly an _ orla? what more can you tell us? it is certainly an 11th _ orla? what more can you tell us? it is certainly an 11th hour— orla? what more can you tell us? it is certainly an 11th hour change. - is certainly an 11th hour change. israel was gearing up for the release of hostages as early as tomorrow morning. there are conflicting reports about what has caused the setback. some claim hamas has not ratified the ceasefire agreement, other reports that it has not provided israel with a list of the hostages who were to be released on the thursday. that mechanism is meant to be part of the agreement. a government source told me in the last ten minutes that they believe these are relatively minor issues which need to be ironed out and they would be ironed out tomorrow. that

suggests things would be back on track on friday if that is the case. what we can say for certain is this will be an awful blow to the families who have been waiting almost 50 days, hoping tomorrow would finally bring a moment of hope. now back once again they had to deal with uncertainty and i think many will feel they will only believe this deal is happening when they see it. believe this deal is happening when the see it. . ~ , ., believe this deal is happening when the see it. . ~' , ., . the mother of one of the four teenagers who were found dead in a car in north wales says she feels like she's in a nightmare she can't wake up from. the bodies ofjevon hirst, harvey owen, wilf fitchett and hugo morris were discovered yesterday. the friends from shropshire had gone on a camping trip at the weekend. here's phil mackie. today, the news began to sink in. near where the crash happened, it was a moment to reflect. four young lives lost in a crash in a remote corner of north wales. college friends from shrewsbury, jevon hirst, harvey owen, wilf fitchett and hugo morris went on a weekend camping trip but never came back.

a candle marked the spot where their silver ford fiesta left the road. it was found upside down and partially submerged. in shrewsbury, friends who are unused to bereavement are struggling to deal with the feelings that go with it. it doesn't feel real to think that they are not going to be here any more. it isjust a horrible feeling all around, knowing that some lads you were so close to, see them almost every single day, i will never see again, never hear their voice again. it's just a horrible feeling. you have got tojust continue to try and make the most without them and just kind of... make something good out of it. make something good out of this horrible time. the steps at the college the boys attended have become a makeshift shrine during the day. we have seen lots of students coming along, arm in arm, many of them in tears, clearly struggling with what has happened, and the college has said it has been offering them support. writing on her business's facebook page, harvey owen's mum said, "i feel like i am in a nightmare

i could wake up from but i am not". the restaurant where harvey worked has paid tribute, too, calling him easy—going, warm, funny, gentle, bright, ha rd—working and humble. tonight, the tributes are growing and the boys' hometown is in mourning. phil mackie, bbc news, shrewsbury. four men have beenjailed for life, with minimum terms of at least 41 years, for the murder of a woman in liverpool. ashley dale, who was 28, was shot with a machine gun at her home in august last year. james witham, joseph peers, niall barry and sean zeisz were convicted at liverpool crown court. the world's leading artificial intelligence company — openai— says its co—founder sam altman is back as ceo, just five days after he was sacked by the board. he was reinstated after almost all of the company's 770 staff signed a letter demanding his return. here's our technology editor zoe kleinman. it's been a popcorn—grabbing

boardroom drama. even chatgpt failed to predict this. ask the bot what would happen if sam altman was fired and it says "there would likely have been contingency plans." in reality, openai's plan, if there was one, has been in freefall for the last five days. on friday, he was fired as ceo. we still don't know why. over the weekend, staff said they wanted the boss back. by monday, openai investor microsoft had offered sam altman a newjob, but the majority of openaistaff signed a letter threatening to quit if he wasn't reinstated. microsoft told those staff they could also jump ship. today, sam alman is back where he started — openai ceo. i do think that's the bit that was the most extraordinary, is just how dramatic it seemed, how reactionary everything seemed to be playing out, how much this came down to personalities as well. and that's the part that is probably disheartening, because silicon valley probably gets a bad rap for that as it is.

this won't help erase that at all. there are two reasons why this tech drama is so important — money and power. ai potentially promises a great future if things go well, and destruction if they do not. investment money is pouring in, but you also need expertise to develop these tools and keep them safe. this latest merry—go—round has distracted from openai's fundamental ambition — trying to create technology which can benefit the whole of humanity. zoe kleinman, bbc news. back now to reeta. she is in hull. sophie, we've been here at the street life museum, listening to the chancellor delivering his statement — and this against a backdrop of people really struggling with the cost of living crisis. here in hull, gps say they have seen a clear rise in the number of patients coming to see them with mental health problems linked to financial worries. one of the tools now available to doctors?is social prescribing —

where they can refer patients for non—medical treatment such as gardening, and also advice services to help with issues like debt. it can work wonders, as i found out. my anxiety made me not want to leave the house at all. i was feeling sick, anxious of everything around me. yeah, i used to, like, cry quite a lot because it's like, ifelt like it was running my life. like, i can't do anything. katie found herself in her mid—30s dealing with a series of personal tragedies. the obvious person to turn to was the doctor, for medication. a lot of it was worry about financial issues, like, how am i going to pay my rent? how am i going to eat? how am i going to feed the cats? anything and everything. itjust got me down. it wasn't just the gp who helped her. he referred katie to an nhs social prescriber. follow down to the room...

..someone who could help her in all areas of her life, with her gambling addiction, with managing herfinances, even helping her leave the house. she gave me the confidence to go out and do things and, you know, instead ofjust being stuck, depressed. i did have a scratchcard addiction, which, i was struggling, and i shouldn't have done that, but i have stopped that. i have done... i have stopped my online gambling as well. so that has helped me get better as well. because they have helped me here, you see. they have helped me, you know, financially, with what to do, how to stop my gambling. coming here has given me the confidence... katie is one of 200 patients whom cara helps. the first appointment is an hour long, so cara can get to the bottom of her patients' problems. probably 90% of the time, the patients that i am seeing, they are struggling with mental health of some sort, generally anxiety, depression, stress. finances for a lot of people at the minute, with the cost of living crisis, it has impacted so many people. again, that interlinks then

with mental health problems. the doctor at katie's surgery told me tens of thousands of patients have been referred for social prescribing across the region, which has one of the highest levels of deprivation in the uk. ultimately, it means fewer visits to the doctor and less pressure on the nhs. one of the benefits might be that patients who frequently— attend or access services, because they are unsure i of where to go to solve some of these difficulties, - will actually, if those needs are getting addressed, - will attend less frequently. i feel more like i can go out... for katie, it has been life changing. i have not actually had to visit my gp for a little while because it has helped me. like i say, mental and physical health, it's not... i've not really had to go to the doctor to get any help for anything so... so you have got your life back on track? a lot better, yeah.