hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm vicki young at westminster, where the chancellor hello, you're watching afternoon live. the chancellor will present what's expected to be his last budget, before britain leaves the european union. philip hammond's benefited from stronger than expected tax revenues and is under pressure to take steps to end austerity. he's expected to say there'll be an extra £2 billion a year for mental health services in england by 2023, as well as more money for roads and small businesses. air accident investigators are examining the flight recorder, of the helicopter which crashed outside leicester city football ground on saturday. these are live pictures. we

understand these are members of the first—team arriving to pay their respects at the ground. angela merkel announces she won't run again for german chancellor when her term ends in 2021. and holly has the sport — and a remarkable achievement for lewis hamilton. that's right. bagging his fifth championship title in mexico. incredible. could you become the greatest ever? that's what we will be discussing at 2:30 p:m.. thanks, holly. and darren betts has all the weather. it is called today, but for the most pa rt it is called today, but for the most part dry and sunny. there is a storm developing in europe that will get close to our shores, and i will take a look later in the programme. hello, everyone, this is afternoon live.

the chancellor, philip hammond, is preparing to present what's expected to be, his last budget before britain leaves the european union. he's under pressure to increase spending and spell out how the government will "end austerity", after theresa may made a pledge at the tory party conference. he's also facing calls for more money to help ease the rollout of universal credit, the government's flagship benefit reform. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth has more. in westminster, preparations for budget day are underway, speculation is rife about what's in the red box. it's an unusual event for a monday afternoon, but politics is pretty unusual these days. the chancellor putting the finishing touches to his plan with a cup of tea, has to balance the uncertainty brexit brings with a political promise. the prime minister, at the tory party conference, said... a decade after the financial crash, people need to know

that the austerity it led to is over and that their hard work has paid off. there will be plenty watching to see how that pledge plays out today, with hints of more money for key services. we know that people have faced difficult decisions in the last few years and people have made sacrifices. that has been in order to get the economy on the straight and narrow and growing. we are seeing that, we have unemployment at record lows, lower than any time in my whole life time. and the result of that is we can spend tax—payers' money on their priorities, like the nhs. we know the nhs is getting a £20 billion funding boost with £2 billion extra per year for mental health. roads are also in for some extra cash, £30 billion to improve motorways and mend potholes. the high street will get help to rejuvenate,

as well as business rate relief for small firms, and on fuel duty we expect another freeze. but critics say all of that is not enough. they have got choices in this budget. they could deliver the funding support in the long run that our public services need and be supportive of the very worst off peoples' incomes that are desperately needed, but it doesn't look like they will do that and will persist with tax cuts for the very best—off people. it's not a sensible from government. one to watch — whether her department for work and pensions gets more money to ease concern about universal credit. well, what we'll have to do is see what the chancellor says in his budget speech today. each cabinet minister arriving for the briefing today has demands for their own department. is austerity really over, minister? the last budget before brexit is a balancing act and could change. the chancellor said the budget is on the assumption the uk gets a brexit deal with brussels and if that doesn't happen, well, he could go back to the drawing board.

but number ten has insisted all today's spending commitments will stand, no matter what. look closely, the scrutiny over this budget has begun already. alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster. this is the scene at the leicester king power stadium. you can see that carpet, wall—to—wall floral tributes laid by fans, former players, and the manager hasjust fans, former players, and the manager has just gone past. there are some of the first team squad, paying their tributes to those five people who died in that helicopter crash on saturday, including, of course, the chairman, vichai srivaddhanaprabha. he has pumped millions into the club, and the whole city, whole nation, mesmerised by that incredible title winning

team, beating the odds, 5000 to one, two win that title, and many people credit the money, time and effort put in by the chairman to the club to that victory. that members of the first squad of leicester city football clu b first squad of leicester city football club at the ground, paying their personal respects to the five people who died in that helicopter crash on saturday. now, let's get more on the budget. let's speak now to our political correspondent. from the moment theresa may suggested austerity had ended, the pressure was on phillip hammond, people asking, how much will you spend and where will you spend at? we already know £20 billion more for the nhs, suggestions of more for mental health services as well. rumours there may be more for the

ministry of defence, and adverse credit as well. there are some conservative mps very concerned that too much has been taken out of that budget and it will cause hardship for very many people. we perhaps can expect more to smooth that transition to the new system. let's get more from our political correspondent leila nathoo at downing street. phillip hammond, who has been thought of as a prudent chancellor, is he about to splash the cash? many people will be hoping that exactly what he is going to do when he emerges from that door behind me. the focus here is a ii emerges from that door behind me. the focus here is a 11 downing st this afternoon. phillip hammond has already been hemmed in by many of the promises his neighbour at number ten has already made. big promises for the nhs, promises to let councils borrow more for social housing that will go on the government's looks, a promise to

freeze fuel duty. these are big spending promises that he has to find the money for. that said, there is some improvement expected in the public finances, suggesting he has some room for manoeuvre. but if you heard him over the weekend suggesting that any of the big tax—and—spend decisions, big advance in the gestures for ending austerity, they will be delayed until after brexit, the spending review. that is when the government's long—term spending plans are traditionally announce, thatis plans are traditionally announce, that is next year of course. the spectre of brexit hangs over this budget will stop that hammond said earlier any no deal situation in the negotiations would cost into terror his plans, with number ten suggesting today that any commitments in the event of any brexit deal. there is a lot of pressure on phillip hammond to try to loosen those purse strings with that commitment from theresa may, but it does not look like this will bea but it does not look like this will be a huge moment, more a signal of

the direction of travel in the future will stop 0k, the direction of travel in the future will stop ok, let's discuss what is coming down the track will stop. with me is the conservative deputy chairman, james cleverley, and labour's shadow treasury minister, jonathan reynolds. presumably labour welcomes the idea that austerity is coming to an end there more cash around? we certainly would. this is the third time announcement has been made at austerity is going to come to an end, so the minimum we would expect today are doing not proceed with the cuts which are scheduled to take place, and not to proceed with those big cuts to working age welfare with the roll—out of universal credit. as well as this announcement about health service funding. so far what we have heard is nothing that sounds like it will be on the scale of the public expect. the public today will wa nt to public expect. the public today will want to know, has austerity ended for schools, hospitals, the police force ? for schools, hospitals, the police force? if not, they will be disappointed. and this is part of the problem, from the moment the

prime minister said austerity has ended, expectations have been ramped up. will there be enough there to make people believe that the difficult times, those cuts to public services, have come to an end? the prime estimate it very clear in her speech that this is the process by which we are ending austerity. and she made it clear there would be a spending review post brexit. but in this budget, what we see is we are making sure that the gains that we have made, the improvement to the economy, the millions ofjobs that are being created, the extra money that is going into the nhs, the extra money going into the nhs, the extra money going into the nhs, the extra money going into transport and road—building, that these things are secured. because if you look at the labour party's secured. because if you look at the labour pa rty's plans, secured. because if you look at the labour party's plans, half £1 trillion of cost and spending commitments. they would break the economy again and we will not let that happen. he did say he wanted to

reverse austerity, notjust ended. reversing it, economists have looked at this, will cost aliens and billions of pounds. we would like to make a start on that. but as our aspiration. for that emergency budget eight years ago, everything what has happened then, we have the worst period of economic growth in this country's history, since the second world war. we have lost his officers, the health services in dire need, local authorities and desperate needs. we want to write some of the wrong side of occurred over the last eight years, and we have set out and we did at the election clear spending plans to raise taxes and spend it on day—to—day spending. the conservative did not do that, so i will not accept from them accusations of unfunded spending commitments when we have been transparent and they have given nothing. the unit is you went too far. there was an argument for trying to balance the books, bring down the deficit, it has gone too farand down the deficit, it has gone too far and has led to a huge impact on public services. we have had a balanced approach and we have done that because the liver party broke the economy. we inherited a

catastrophic financial situation that has taken a long time to put right. let's look at where we are at the moment. we have employment, re cord the moment. we have employment, record highs, youth unemployment, re cord record highs, youth unemployment, record low levels. disabled people, people from the poorest households, they have been getting into work in unprecedented numbers. it's been a tough here at, and there's no denying that, but we've made a balanced set of choices to repair the damage brought about by the last labour government. and it would take us right back to square one if these unfunded spending commitments, half a trillion, that is £500 billion, one plundered spending. at the weekend john mcdonnell could not even see where the money would come from for this £117 billion of renationalisation. the numbers don't stack up, they would break the economy. can i ask about universal credit? what's happening here is that george osborne took few billion

out of universal credit, and now it looks like today's chancellor is having to put that back in, it was a mistake. the roll out of universal credit always had periods of pause and reflect before we moved on. this was built into the system. but sadly what has happened at various stages. we have seen how the roll—out has worked. we have made adjustments, and that was always factored in this pa rt of and that was always factored in this part of the process. we will see what the chancellor comes out with today with regards to universal credit. how can we see that austerity is ending when working families on low incomes will be one or £2000 a year worse off still at the end of this budget? austerity will not have ended for them, and this is the reality. too much money was taken out of universal credit, it was always great to be difficult to make it work and there is not enough money in it. if departments are still losing money, the health service, yes, but of local councils are still losing money and working age people are losing money,

austerity will still be here. what would leave david universal credit, in principle you think it is a good idea? no one objects to simple fine leather system, but the roll—out must stop. we have had this in my constituency for some years, we were one of the first areas, and is not the case the government has pause the case the government has pause the system to review and listen to the system to review and listen to the evidence. they have not. we a lwa ys the evidence. they have not. we always knew the five—week wait was too long. we always knew there would bea too long. we always knew there would be a massive increase in housing arrears as soon as it was ruled out. the design is flawed and there is not enough money in it. it has to be pozuelo we address those factors. and be spending promises, money for the nhs, mental health, do they all go out the window if there is a no—deal brexit, as chancellor suggested yesterday? or the chancellor said, and it struck me as a statement of the obvious, was that the different economic situation if we have a good deal, the difference between that and having no deal, would mean that you would have to review in the next fiscal event,

whether that means the spring statement on the budget. but that's just what you have to do when there isa just what you have to do when there is a significant event that happens, and brexit is good to be a significant event. all he was saying was he would have to review the situation to see what the we get we are all hoping and expecting a good deal, and that being the case will be able to continue with the pragmatic approach we are taking to the economy will stop it has seen a commitment of 20 billion going into the nhs, extra money going into roads. extra employment. this is what we're focused on, this is what we will deliver. banks to you both. well, let's cross to lancashire, where our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith is at a car mechanics in chorley. hello, lots of interest here today in what filters into the budget. lots of those impact immediately. some of them we have heard from the

prime minister, some from the chancellor already. the fact that fuel duty will be frozen has been trailed ahead. that is good news for anyone with a car in here this morning. i'm here in lancashire, chorley bills itself as the market town of lancashire. lots of people live here and work elsewhere, so commuting is significant. the chancellor has already announced that he will put more money into roads across the country, and that is important year for people who perhaps live in charlie and work in wigan, middleton, midi preston. that funding will be spent across the country, where it is spent is important. we will hear which particular roads will get that funding. another one is potholes. the chancellor has announced that £420 million will be spent filling the potholes of england. sean is the

son of the owner here. hello. you have a big turnover here, lots of ca rs have a big turnover here, lots of cars waiting to get in there and be serviced. it is busy times. the town is growing, isn't it? yes, there are more and more housing developer and been built, in terms of business, which are getting more and more customers who are not from the area, that are moving in here and looking for somebody to use. all the time we're getting busier. it's hard to keep up. you don't need people from the bbc interrupt your work! you have managed to recently get a house in one of those new developments. as a first—time buyer, was at a difficult process? was it hard to save up for a deposit? doesn't feel that there is much the chancellor is doing to help? as far as i'm aware

there are schemes aimed towards young people buying new houses, we didn't use that, personally. luckily we had a bit of help from friends and family. but there is definitely help their to encourage young people to buy houses, make it more affordable to get on the ladder, because it is really important for people to get involved with that because renting is just people to get involved with that because renting isjust dead money. thanks. so, housing top of the agenda here, in terms of what is going to be spent on cash on roads and infrastructure, we will hear more from the chancellor letter this morning. and also a little bit about apprenticeship funding. 0ften morning. and also a little bit about apprenticeship funding. often we hear titbits from the chancellor and the prime minister about exactly how training and death in young people into this kind of business is going to be funded. there aren't any apprentices in this business at the

moment because they are so hard to find, to find people who want to come through and be trained in a business like this. the whole years what the chancellor ‘s guide to say this afternoon. thanks. it is about an hour before the chancellor gets to his feet in what will be a packed house of commons. we willjoin andrew neilfor a budget house of commons. we willjoin andrew neil for a budget special at three p:m.. and this evening we will ask what the budget means for you. we will bejoined ask what the budget means for you. we will be joined by virtual journalist to answer your questions about the chancellor's lands. get involved by texting or e—mailing your questions. more to come from westminster later, but back to the studio for now. leicester city players have

visited the scene of the helicopter crash outside their home ground in which the club's chairman and four other people died. vichai srivaddhanaprabha's widow and his son have also been to pay their respects. accident investigators are examining the flight‘s data recorder. 0ur correspondentjon ironmonger is in leicester for us this afternoon. the outpouring of grief and is a birthday, it has been overwhelming, for a birthday, it has been overwhelming, fora man birthday, it has been overwhelming, for a man who bought the club just a few years ago. that's right. he bought the club in 2010, and over the space of six years he brought it to fortu nes the space of six years he brought it to fortunes that i don't think anybody could have dreamt of the time. infour anybody could have dreamt of the time. in four years the club was promoted to the premier league, and an astonished everybody by winning the premier league title in 2016. and the fans and the people of leicester hold him very closely to the heart. they have in coming here

for the past two days to lay tributes, hundreds of thousands of tributes, hundreds of thousands of tributes here, football shirts, hundreds of flowers and scarves, and poignant messages. and in the past few moments there was an extremely touching scene as the first team players proceeded out of the stadium, walked round this display of tributes here, and paused and tipped their heads for around five to ten minutes in quiet reflection. many of them seemed visibly upset. there were tears. and one to ripples of respectful, quiet applause as they paid their respects to a man who, as i say, has turned the fortu nes who, as i say, has turned the fortunes of this club around. he is well loved in the city as a whole. he made magnanimous gestures towards the people of leicester. he put money into the club, of course, but also poured millions into the local hospital, into the university, and he set up many charitable trusts,

the foxes trust, which has raised millions. so vichai srivaddhanaprabha is a man who was well loved, and i think his passing ina well loved, and i think his passing in a terrible tragedy on saturday has shaken the city and the fans to their core. indeed. meanwhile air accident investigators have a job to do and are looking at the flight recorder of the helicopter. that's right, the investigation goes on. the police have asked people not to speculate as to what caused it. we know it happened in just a few seconds. the helicopter took off, as is customary, after the game. it was in there forjust a few is customary, after the game. it was in there for just a few seconds, is customary, after the game. it was in there forjust a few seconds, and above the stadium and moved towards the south—east where it went into a spiral and crashed into the car park. investigators are leading the investigation into the crash. they released a statement today to say they have now recovered the flight data recorder, albeit badly damaged as you might imagine from the intense flames. they will examine

that over the next few days, and inspectors will carry out their investigations over the coming week. thanks, john. rescue teams in indonesia have begun recovering bodies from the crash site, where a lion air passenger plane plunged into the sea shortly after take—off. 189 people were on board. the boeing 737 was travelling from the capitaljakarta to the city of pangkal pinang on bangka island. the airline's chief executive says the plane had a technical problem on an earlier flight but had been cleared to fly. andy moore reports. there were over 180 people on board the crashed plane. some of theirfamilies have been arriving at jakarta's airport seeking information about their loved ones. they were escorted away by officials. out at sea, a debris field marked the site of the crash.

the plane went down in daylight in good weather. some wreckage has been recovered. this appears to be an emergency chute. there are also fragments from the cabin and personal items. the aircraft crashed in relatively shallow water. divers are going down to pinpoint the wreckage. the airline said there had been a problem on a previous flight. translation: this aircraft last flew from bali to jakarta. it was pronounced fit to fly. there was a report about a technical problem, but we solved that issue based on the procedures set down by the aircraft manufacturer. the plane crashed just 13 minutes after take—off. real—time tracking showed it was struggling to gain height. the crew had asked to return to the airport. the operator of the plane was lion air — indonesia's largest low—cost carrier. until 2016, it was banned from flying in european aerospace

because of a poor safety record, but that had improved recently. the crash involved a new aircraft that had only gone into service in august. this man had an incredible tale to tell. he was supposed to be on the plane, but missed it because of heavy traffic. six of his work colleagues were on board. at sea, there's plenty of debris, but no sign of any survivors. more than nine hours after the crash, there is almost no hope of finding anyone alive. andy moore, bbc news. angela merkel has announced she won't seek re—election as german chancellor when her term ends in 2021. she's been leader of the centre—right christian democrats for 18 years and chancellor for 13. she'll step down as her party's leader in december. mrs merkel made the announcement after the christian democrats fared badly in regional elections on sunday. 0ur berlin correspondent, jenny hill, gives the detail.

predicting mrs merkel‘s political demise has become pretty much a national sport in germany over the last year or so. today, this morning, mrs merkel has herself announced what amounts to an albeit drawn—out farewell to german politics. what's taken many of us by surprise is the fact that mrs merkel has always said, if i'm going to be the german chancellor, i must be the leader of my party. this morning she announced she'll stand down as the leader of her party come december. mrs merkel, as you know, has been in a very tight spot of late. her party's doing very badly in the polls, it's losing voters. her coalition government has lurched from crisis to crisis. her coalition partners are also doing badly in the polls — they blame her for that. they want to pull out of that coalition government. so this morning's announcement i think was initially designed to try and silence some of her internal critics, perhaps even start to win back voters, but of course now the vultures are circling. all sorts of people are throwing their hats into the ring to become

the next party leader and therefore to have a shot at becoming germany's next chancellor. mrs merkel has in effect fired the starting gun on the race to replace her. the british shale gas company cuadrilla said it paused fracking at its preston new road site in lancashire after a 1.1 magnitude tremor was detected. fracking operations were suspended for a time at little plumpton at the weekend. but the energy company, cuadrilla has insisted the process is safe. time for a look at the weather. thanks, clive. good afternoon. most places are having a fine autumn day. it is chilly, but sunshine around for most places. a few showers dotted around, one from suffolk said

in earlier. and for eastern parts of england and scotland there is the threat of the occasional shower. but on the hall, dry with good spells of sunshine. the winds from many will be like today, temperatures 8—10. cloud is lacking in the north west. that would affect us yet, but into europe, there has been altered snow across the pyrenees, and this mass of cloud masks and deep area of low pressure bringing with it heavy rain today but also some heavy snowfall for the alps. as that area of low pressure m oves for the alps. as that area of low pressure moves north it brings the potential for damaging winds up to scandinavia. that area of low pressure gets close to the uk. close but not affecting most areas. 0vernight tonight it is about temperatures. widespread frost last night, tonight mainly across the west side of the uk. a lot of cloud

to come in off the north sea it will be as cold as last night in edinburgh, for example. but around the area of low pressure, this is the area of low pressure, this is the rain, probably raining at times near these coastal areas of the south—east of england and possibly extending into the north—east of england. windy and cloudy. elsewhere some sunshine breaking through, but northern ireland will cloud over. a few light showers. more cloud around tomorrow than today, but temperatures very similar to today. looking ahead, the area of low pressure m oves looking ahead, the area of low pressure moves northwards towards scandinavia. it allows the weather front waiting in the wings to come into more western areas. here the cloud will be thick enough for some showers or longer spells of rain. for most of the day eastern scotland will be dry, eastern england as well. sunshine for the midlands and

the south of england. it will be milder on wednesday. instead of an easterly breeze we have more from the south—west. temperatures 12—13. mild into thursday, rain for the eastern side of the uk, chased away by sunshine, but towards the end of the week the winds started pick—up, turning wet and windy in the northwest. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: in an hour's time, the chancellor will present what is expected to be his last budget before brexit. philip hammond is under pressure to boost spending after the prime minister's promise ofan after the prime minister's promise of an inter—austerity. forensic examiners are looking at the debris following the helicopter crash outside leicester city football ground. vichai srivaddhanaprabha was one of five people killed in the crash. a passenger plane came down with 189

people on board in indonesia. the boeing 737 crashed into the sea 30 minutes after taking off from jakarta. angela merkel has announced she won't run again for german chancellor when her term ends in 2021. she won't seek re—election of the christian democrats, all she has had for the past 18 years. and the government expects hydrogen powered trains to begin carrying passengers on britain's railways within the next two years. they are likely to run on lines where electrification is too or expensive. -- is electrification is too or expensive. —— is too difficult or expensive. now all the sport. a fifth world championship for mr hamilton. is this the greatest? good afternoon. in terms of placing himself into the history books, absolutely. he's equalled the second most successful driver in history in terms of titles, level

withjuan manwell fanjio, and now you start to think could michael schumacher‘s all—time record of seven be within reach? it was in mexico that he officially clinched his fifth title. he wasn't on the podium this time round but coming fourth was enough to seal the deal. but it's the rest of 2018 we should really be talking about. he's won nine races, nine pole positions. compare that to his nearest title rival, sebastian vettel — he has five of each. and that is why he's already champion with two grand prix still to go. and amazing race. it's even more remarkable when you consider that he's suffered a bereavementjust a few days ago. what happened ? the news of his grandfather's death has only been made public

since his victory in mexico. he died four days before the race and hamilton has since being paying tribute to his grandfather davidson hamilton, describing him as the godfather of the family. i'm really sad but i'm also happy for him because he was fighting dementia and he couldn't even recognise his own son and it brought me closer to my dad because i would we wa nt me closer to my dad because i would we want to continue to nurture that relationship. my dad always try to make his dad proud and i did the same, so to get this fifth i think is... yeah, just a testament to my family, because they believed in me from day one, so i will continue to drive with them at my core and my grandad, and hopefully today my grandad, and hopefully today my grandad is looking down, proud of what we've achieved as a family. what an achievement as well. the australian cricket team says

sledging opponents won't get out of hand anymore. those in charge had allowed the team to get arrogant and develop a "win at all costs" mentality. that's according to a report into the culture of the team commisioned after the scandal of players using sandpaper on the ball. we know now. we know what's right and we know what's wrong. we know what australian cricket expects of us and we'll be holding each other accountable, so if it does happen or start to get out of control, it won'tjust be me. a number of guys know where we sit on that, how far we go and where we don't go. the boston red sox have won baseball's world series. these are the scenes of celebration in boston after the team took their fourth title in 15 years. they beat los angeles dodgers in la to take the series 4—1. manchester city have the chance to go back to the top of the english premier league if they beat tottenham at wembley later.

after chelsea's win against burnley, pep guardiola's side are third. meanwhile the city boss refused to complain about the pitch his side will play on at wembley, after an nfl match between jacksonville jaguars and philadelphia eagles was played there just yesterday. i think the premier league doesn't like too much but it is what it is so hopefully tottenham can finish the stadium as quick as possible but it is what it is, so it's not necessary to complain about that. we have to adapt quickly. over on bbc two it's the final of the men's team event at the world gymnastics championships in doha. gb are third after three rotations. double olympic champion max whitlock leads the british men's team along with dom cunningham, joe fraser, james hall and brinn bevan. the competition is the first stage of the qualifying process

for the 2020 olympics in tokyo. brazil are about to take to the high bar there. if you want to follow all the action, head over to bbc two. i'll have more for you in the next hour. some breaking news coming in to us concerning another suspicious package addressed to the broadcaster cnn in the united states. it has been intercepted at an atlanta post 0ffice today. apparently there was no danger to staff at the channel's headquarters, this is according to the president of the channel. the package was intercepted three days after a man was arrested for sending after a man was arrested for sending a wave of parcel bombs to prominent democrats, critics of the us president donald trump and cnn. he is due in court today. he will

a nswer is due in court today. he will answer those charges. but that news into us in the last couple of minutes. another suspicious package addressed to the us media outlets cnn has been intercepted at an atla nta cnn has been intercepted at an atlanta sorting office. more now on the chancellor's final budget. philip hammond is under pressure to increase spending on public services after the prime minister promised to end austerity. let's return to westminster and my colleague micky young, who is there. yes, philip hammond is under pressure and that is after the squeeze on public finances since 2010. the liberal democrats and the conservatives in coalition said they had to balance the books. they said the deficit was far too high. there had been a financial crash and it was time to rein in spending. but now it seems the chancellor might be ready to splash some cash. the big

question here is, just how generous will he be? let's discuss this. i'm joined by lord porterfrom the local government association. much has been said about the squeeze on councils and how tough it has been for them. what are you hoping today from the chancellor? quite rightly, when we hit recession, we hit that period of austerity, and i would argue it was ten years ago where it really started, with the exit of the labour government. we were at the front of posterity and if the prime minister has decided we're at the end of it, we should be at the front of the queue for the money available. clearly a pound spent with the local council is one well invested, so we are hoping for money for roads, and we've seen half a million for potholes. if we've got a big infrastructure plan, we have to look after our existing infrastructure before we spend on new infrastructure, just as you would do on your own property, so that's a good story. and if the money for social care is true, that's a really good news story.

everybody knows that money has been under the cosh for the last few yea rs. under the cosh for the last few years. this would also then self —— save money for the health service, so this gives better social outcomes and save the country a lot of money. we've seen the rumours again, all rumours, but hey, let's hope it pays dividends! i'm hoping we can get these things over the line. children's services, demand for it is going off the radar at the moment. hopefully the government will recognise that and put some money behind that. we saw the prime minister be the first one to speak ina minister be the first one to speak in a friendly way about council housing, for over 40 years. yes, she said councils would be able to borrow more in order to invest in social housing. how important is that? it is probably the single biggest significant event for 40 yea rs. we biggest significant event for 40 years. we went on an experiment 40

yea rs years. we went on an experiment 40 years ago that said councils should stop building and we've seen the housing crisis that has come from that. so they can borrow, and it is not borrowing carelessly. it is borrowing against our existing homes, so our rent deals will have to pay that back. but you can talk about billions and billions of pounds going into local economies and people living much better lives because they will be growing up in safe, secure accommodation. it doesn't cost the treasury anything but it is worth a lot of money to the treasury so i am really hopeful that argument is firmly grounded now. all the conversations in the last few weeks leave me to be confident but at 3:30pm today we will find out whether i'm right to be confident or whether i've laid a bet! but it is about the detail when it comes to the housing, because we know broadly, but what are you looking for in the detail? we don't wa nt to looking for in the detail? we don't want to see is that people who wear a suit for want to see is that people who wear a suitfora want to see is that people who wear a suit for a living have found a

clever way to keep those others wearing suits for a living is employed and not the bricklayers. we need to borrow against our existing stock at a level at the rent deals so we can provide the housing we need. but the thought might be that not all councils can be trusted to spend wisely. you might think that about the treasury but that isn't ever changed. you will be up to monitor it on a week by week basis and if anybody looks like they are using the money inappropriately, i will be the first person to say they are doing it. i would will be the first person to say they are doing it. iwould be will be the first person to say they are doing it. i would be quite happy to go to any of them. you said about local authorities and councils feeling the brunt of those cuts and the brunt of austerity, if you want to call it that. just give us a sense of what it has been like on

that front line. it is like getting up that front line. it is like getting up every day knowing that the thing you do is really important to lots and lots of honourable people and that the money you had to do it today will be less tomorrow and next year it will be even less, and the year it will be even less, and the year after even less. there was a little bit of that in the system so in the first couple of years it was relatively easy for people to start cutting, but we have started cutting to the bone. last year we started to see services that are restricted to people when they shouldn't be. we've seen the impact on the health service. that's the crazy thing. we have other services that pick up bigger bills because we are not able to provide the services we know our country needs. you don't want your mum or dad or grandparents to go into hospital and it is cheaperfor us as taxpayers to keep them out in the first place, so if i can't spend money on social care, we don't have to spend money when the system is broken. that is not good for the taxpayer. the argument was also that

councils were doing things that should have been done and there was too much waste and they weren't working together enough, and there was more you should have been doing before the government made you do it. a few of us did start to see where we could get money out of the system but you could say that of anything that is the bureaucracy. look how much money the government spent on projects and then stops them after a few years after they've wasted a lot of investment. so telling people they got less money doesn't always drive innovation. have you any sense of what it is that you think has got your message over to the government, if you are right and if this money will be forthcoming this afternoon? we've been banging on about it in i don't know how many of these interviews we've done. the lga bangs on about it all the time and we have evidence to show where sound investment will pay dividends. we have a secretary of state who is really good, james brogan shire, who is great. there

are brogan shire, who is great. there a re lots of brogan shire, who is great. there are lots of issues and he gets it so we've had the advantage of having a good secretary of state. we have a prime minister who gets it. she clearly understands the value of it because she was a counsellor herself. and now we have a chancellor who appears to be in the mood to listen. superstars are all aligned for a positive outcome! you're feeling very optimistic, by the sounds of it. and it never pays to be very optimistic but i will be in the public gallery to listen to the speech and will him over the line on those big issues. and social ca re line on those big issues. and social care — the big one for you now? social care or children's services. i'm starting to get worried by both. clearly at adult social care people are ata clearly at adult social care people are at a different stage of their life. but children's social care, if that's not right, we have decades of problems coming, so they cannot have competing tension all the time. we shouldn't beat deciding whether we

spend money on young people or old people. we should be deciding spending money on people is better than spending it on other things. i won't say what those are. that is the chancellor! thank you. there are lots of others waiting very expecta ntly for lots of others waiting very expectantly for the lots of others waiting very expecta ntly for the chancellor, philip hammond. we are expecting him to leave downing street pretty shortly. there is the door to number 11, that famous store. we expect them to come out and hold aloft that red box. —— that famous door. let's speak to our medical correspondent, who is waiting for him in downing street. expectations in some ways high, even though the chancellor has a reputation for being extremely cautious. he's been pushed over the line a bit, hasn't he, by this idea that austerity has come to an end? he house. he's sort of been bounced

into making spending commitments that he might have been more cautious to make by the political declaration of his neighbour at number ten. —— yes, declaration of his neighbour at numberten. —— yes, he has. when declaration of his neighbour at number ten. —— yes, he has. when he emerges from that lord he will have in his box that speech that contains everything he is about to announced. —— emerges from that door. everyone will be watching very closely to see exactly how and if he enacts that promise from theresa may that austerity is coming to an end. philip hammond over the weekend in trading ahead to his speech and looking ahead to the budget was careful to say that there were contingencies, one being the brexit deal. any budget he announces today is contingent, he said, on a brexit deal. he is assuming that will go smoothly. in the event of a no deal situation his plans will have to

change. he also said that looking further ahead in terms of big tax and spending decisions, that will be for the spending review, so that is a long—term outlook that will be worked out next year, and that is off the brexit, so i think philip hammond will be trying to look for as much wriggle room as he can, as many things he can do, to try to satisfy people after theresa may's promise, to show it is a real one. but we won't be expecting major fireworks in terms of a huge splurge of the cash. and we are used to the demands cash coming from all quarters in the run—up to a budget. that is what happens. the secretaries of state go in and make their case, but on this occasion, and we have been hearing it from every pa rt and we have been hearing it from every part of whitehall, but also from the conservative backbenchers, and a slight problem is that not having a working large majority in the house of commons means that in

some ways they are prey to the backbenchers and all the sorts of different ideas they have, whether it is universal credit or defence. there has been a lot of pressure piled on the chancellor by those on his own side as well, hasn't there? absolutely. if you think back to 2010 and the cuts imposed by the then coalition government, they affected departments across the board, so all public services felt the effect of those big spending cuts, many of which are still working their way through the system, so of course now with this announcement that austerity is to come to an end, there will be, from every single department for them to be first in line. you identified a few pinch points there that we have had strong signals on that they will address, so more money to ease the roll—out of universal credit, defence will get some money and theresa may also announced this big

spending promise on the nhs. but of course every other department will wa nt course every other department will want theirs to be first in line. and you're absolutely right. there is pressure now from the conservative backbenchers, especially on the issue of universal credit, and philip hammond will be very mindful of what his own mps will be wanting. but of course, being hemmed in by his own mps will constrain, perhaps, any big tax rises he might have needed to fund some of these promises, so without that working majority, that is another factor thatis majority, that is another factor that is limiting philip hammond here politically in what he is able to do and say this afternoon. yes, that is and say this afternoon. yes, that is a big question as well. it is all very well spending the money but where it comes from is another matter. he has been helped a bit by unexpected windfalls with higher tax receipts but when it comes to raising taxes, if he had to do that, what could he possibly look but,

given in the past is budgets have run into some trouble? that is right. he has got this unexpected better situation in the public finances, said tax receipts are expected to be revealed higher than they were initially thought to be, so that gives him some money, but we also have billions of pounds of promises already made by theresa may, so that has to go to some way to funding those. there is talk and much speculation about tax relief on pensions and tax on incomes of higher earners. we already know fuel duty will be frozen, which was another promise announced by theresa may. he will have to work around that. people have talked about tax rises and the promise to increase the personal tax allowance... 0oh, a bit of flurry of activity outside number ten. theresa may's chief of staff coming out of number ten. but, yes, in terms of the tax rises,

there was also philip hammond hemmed in by the conservative promise to bring the deficit down and eliminate the deficit, the difference between government spending and what it brings in, to bring that down to zero by the mid 20205. that is a huge burden on him so he will be mindful he has very limited room for manoeuvre in terms of the amount of money available and in terms of where he can raise taxes to try to fund any spending commitment today. just as we wait for the chancellor to emerge from number 11, and we are expecting him to come out pretty soon with his team for that short drive over to the house of commons, ju5t drive over to the house of commons, just a word on the opposition parties, labour in particular. john mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, talking this weekend about notjust wanting to end austerity but to reverse it as well. how much of this inclination from the government to spend a bit more is because of

labour... and here we go. let's have a look. here is the chancellor, philip hammond, alongside liz tru55 and the rest of his team. there we go. that customary photo opportunity we always get! indeed! this is a sight wee come very familiar with now in the lead up to the budget. —— a site we have become very familiar with. he is carrying the speech we —— he will make to the commons. liz tru55 i5 —— he will make to the commons. liz tru55 is there and the treasury minister is going ahead, but philip hammond giving his show of his red box, looking pretty shipper, i think, as he gets into his ministerial car to the commons. —— looking pretty chipper. it is usual for that box to contain the very 5peech for that box to contain the very speech he will be reading and all

the secrets it contains. 0ne former chancellor had a bottle of alcohol in there to get him through the day! but philip hammond there on his way now to the commons to give this 5peech now to the commons to give this speech in the next half an hour or so. and there are some who feel this will be, in some ways, a bit of a holding po5ition, given we are leaving the european union inju5t five months‘ time. the chancellor making it clear he needs some room for manoeuvre because it is unclear what will happen. absolutely. the uncertainty of brexit i5 what will happen. absolutely. the uncertainty of brexit is the biggest factor in this budget. the budget itself, the date has been brought forward. it is normally in november but we‘re having it in october because november will be such a big month with brexit negotiations and a potential summit. so philip hammond having to deal with predictions for

an economy that could very well be drastically out, depending on what happens with the brexit negotiations after march next year, so this will be something we‘re not expecting a huge electric display of tax and spending plans from philip hammond on. he has to keep it pretty uncontrover5ial. but there has been a bit ofa uncontrover5ial. but there has been a bit of a difference between what philip hammond has been saying about his budget over the weekend, 5aying, look, any promises i make today will be contingent on the brexit deal going smoothly and otherwise i will have to start again. number ten saying that these things will happen no matter what. sorry bit of tension on what the brexit deal will mean for this budget. —— so a bit of ten5ion. so philip hammond will try to persuade his backbenchers,

5aying, look, we need to get back on a domestic agenda at this budget is contingent on getting a good brexit deal. i‘m sure he will make a case for everyone to do their best in the5e for everyone to do their best in these negotiations, both here and in brussels, too. we can see the chancellor‘s car has made its way down whitehall, that very short drive, just going in through the pari5h gate to the house of commons, and we will see him no doubtjust get out as he heads into the house of commons. a bit of a building site. as we know, big ben covered up with scaffolding for the wild. but the chancellor will get out of the carand the chancellor will get out of the car and head into the house of commons, where he is due on his feet and about 30 minutes, and this is the first autumn budget we have had for quite some time. the chancellor change the timing to make this the big fiscal event of the year. we can

see big fiscal event of the year. we can 5ee big ben covered in scaffolding. i work 5ee big ben covered in scaffolding. iwork in 5ee big ben covered in scaffolding. i work in progress, i think we can say, the house of commons! so philip hammond going in therejust say, the house of commons! so philip hammond going in there just to prepare himself before he gets to the dispatch box before 3:30pm this afternoon. we willjoin andrew neil for live coverage of the chancellor‘s budget, but first the weather. thank you. there‘s a chill in the air butfor thank you. there‘s a chill in the air but for most of us we have the 5un out and the wind is quite liked as well. not completely dry. this weather watcher picture hints at showers with a rainbow coming down the eastern side of england. away from here, it will be dry through the afternoon into the early evening with some 5un5hine to end the day. temperatures to —— typically 8—10dc. thi5 temperatures to —— typically 8—10dc. this band of rain has been sitting here and the cloud means the

5un5hine has been rather milky. a storm is brewing in europe. we‘ve 5een storm is brewing in europe. we‘ve seen some heavy snow in the pyrenees and the steep area of low pressure under that cloud bring5 and the steep area of low pressure under that cloud brings some heavy rain and snow to the alps a5 under that cloud brings some heavy rain and snow to the alps as well, and a5 rain and snow to the alps as well, and as it moves northwards, it drags some potentially damaging wind5 into scandinavia. i am some potentially damaging wind5 into scandinavia. iam pointing some potentially damaging wind5 into scandinavia. i am pointing this out because we are on the edge of this. 0ur weather could be a lot worse for tomorrow. 0vernight tonight it is all about how low tho5e temperatures get. mainly the western side of the uk that will see temperatures dipping below freezing and numbers might arise dipping below freezing and numbers mightarise in dipping below freezing and numbers might arise in the north—west of england as this cloud comes in from the north 5ea, so it won‘t be anywhere near as cold as last night, but that is over eastern parts of scotla nd but that is over eastern parts of scotland and england. the rain reduces that low pressure, ju5t running along the south and east coa5t running along the south and east coast of england and into east anglia later. more cloud than today

tomorrow but those will fade away though the cloud will increase later into northern ireland. that area of low pressure moves away as the storm track5 low pressure moves away as the storm tracks up to scandinavia. it is wea ker tracks up to scandinavia. it is weaker by this stage and it allows that band of cloud from that weather front to push west. much more cloud across the western side of the uk with showers and longer spells of rain. most of the day, dryer in eastern scotland with sunshine through the midlands and southern england as well. because we‘re replacing the winds from the east with more of a south—westerly breeze, we should see temperatures a bit higher in most areas on wednesday. staying quite mild, probably into thursday. that will be chased away by sunny skies, then the winds will be picking up and rain arrives from the north—west. balance it‘s monday, three p:m., we are live in westminster on budget day. the prime ministers as

austerity is coming to an end. will the chancellor tell us today what that really means? and will it mean much if he is still trying to balance the books? it's it‘s a big day for the country today. we have put the 18. . today, so we book the bbc‘s a team. laura