said downgraded their forecasts and said the economy would grow byjust 0.6% this year. and by 0.7% in 202a. we have talked a lot about inflation. they have forecast that will drop to 2.8% by the end of 2024, saying it would only fall to the 2% target by 2025. the office for budget responsibility also forecast underlying debt. that will be 91.6%. it will rise to 92.7% between 2024 and 2025. a day of significant developments and a day of significant noise. let's get a recap of today's events with our political correspondent damian grammaticas. tax cuts. just a few weeks ago, he said they were virtually impossible. is now the right time - for tax cuts, chancellor? now he says we can afford them. are you being honest- with the public about the state

of the economy, chancellor? jeremy hunt has some good news he wants to trumpet. the bank of england has driven inflation down — it's halved this year. so now the chancellor says it's time to try to get the economy growing. in today's autumn statement for growth, our choice is not big government, high spending and high tax, because we know that leads to less growth, not more. instead, we reduce debt, cut taxes and reward work. he announced, under the triple lock, the state pension will go up by over 8% next year, and many benefits up by more than 6%. i'm going to go further and cut the main rate of employee national insurance by two percentage points, from i2%, to 10%. it mean someone on a salary of £35,000 a year would save over £450. to encourage businesses

to invest, he is making a temporary scheme permanent — it allows the cost of any upgrades, computers, machinery and the like to be deducted from profits before they're taxed. i will today make full expensing permanent, the largest business tax cut in modern british history. on top of that, there will be no increase in duty on beer, wine or spirits. his issue is how voters are feeling. living standards are still forecast to fall, interest rates are over 5%, and inflation at almost the same, still biting. used to get six oranges for a pound. seven for a pound. now it's five for a pound. lemons, ten for a pound. now it's seven for a pound. it's hard for the customer and hard for us as well. the government's hope is that a tax cut can lift some of the gloom. this is the bill before, where we paid £1,200, £1,300. now it is more than £2,000. is this the right time for tax cuts? absolutely. under this government, tax has gone up to record levels, partly because rishi sunak froze the entry point at which tax is paid.

the column shows what an average worker earns, £29,000 last year. above the dotted line is what you pay tax on. this year, that same worker gets over £32,000. inflation has pushed up wages. but since the personal allowance, the black dotted line has not shifted, the government is taxing over £3,000 more of your income. the shadow chancellor of the exchequer, rachel reeves. and the total amount of tax the government is taking from the economy is still growing, as labour immediately pointed out. going into this statement, the government had already put in place tax increases worth the equivalent of a iop increase in national insurance. so today's 2p cut will not remotely compensate for the tax increases already put in place by this conservative government. whatjeremy hunt did not say was that official figures for how much the economy may grow next year and the year after have

been revised — down. does anything in britain work better today than when the conservatives came into office 13 years ago? no! we all know that working people are worse off under the conservatives. with growth down, mortgages up, prices up, taxes up, debt is up, and, mr speaker, their time is up. mr hunt was appointed chancellor by liz truss, to clear up after her disastrous mini budget. today, the government's hope is a corner — economically and in the polls — can be turned. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. the views there and some reaction to what we heard from the chancellor in his autumn statement. we heard there from the shadow rachel reeves. earlier i spoke to ed davey. he told me what he made of the autumn statement for shallow tax is going

to go up next year on taxpayers, not down. the conservatives found no extra support for the nhs, which is in desperate need. we need to invest in desperate need. we need to invest in it so we can get back to work. to fill like the nhs is being ignored because yellow the prime minister said the nhs is no longer one of his priorities. the nhs needing more money so people can get back to work and get early treatment, that is a very bad economic policy. what you make of the government's proposed changes to those on long—term sick? to think that is the right approach? there are people who have been forced out of work because they can't get the health treatment they need. the conservatives need to concentrate on that and their failure on the nhs is really hurting our economy. d0 failure on the nhs is really hurting our economy-— failure on the nhs is really hurting our economy. do you disagree with that oli our economy. do you disagree with that policy of _ our economy. do you disagree with that policy of removing _ our economy. do you disagree with that policy of removing benefits - our economy. do you disagree with | that policy of removing benefits the people who won't qualify?— people who won't qualify? liberal democrats want _ people who won't qualify? liberal democrats want to _ people who won't qualify? liberal democrats want to see _ people who won't qualify? liberall democrats want to see investment people who won't qualify? liberal- democrats want to see investment in our nhs if people get early treatment, so they can see their gp,

so they can get that hospital treatment. that would help people get back to work sooner. the liberal democrats want to see that investment in the nhs so people don't have to wait so long for treatment. about one in seven people say they are having to take significant time off work because they can't get the nhs treatment they can't get the nhs treatment they need. they can't get the nhs treatment the need. .. ., ., they need. reaction there from the liberal democrats. _ reaction there from the liberal democrats. joining me now is our political correspondent ione wells. some headlines out of what we heard from the chancellor, particularly around business investment and that cutting national insurance. let's start with that first of all. the government will be hoping the headline is that they have given as a tax cut. a lot of criticism that is not tax cut —— we are paying more tax overall. is not tax cut -- we are paying more tax overall-— tax overall. this is said in the ho -e tax overall. this is said in the hepe from — tax overall. this is said in the hope from the _ tax overall. this is said in the hope from the government i tax overall. this is said in the l hope from the government that tax overall. this is said in the - hope from the government that people will feel better off and they have done that through a number of measures. 0ne

done that through a number of measures. one of which is the cut to the main rate to national insurance from i2% to 10%. also increases to certain wages. the minimum wage going up to £11 44. certainly operating benefits in line with inflation and pensions going up, they hope to help people feel better off but there are concerns raised by opposition parties that this is not going to make people feel better off on the threshold of tax has risen. the thing that mount make welcome reading as the forecasts, focus that economic growth will be sluggish in the years ahead, that inflation will take longer to come down to target and all of that means we will feel worse off along the. that and all of that means we will feel worse off along the.— worse off along the. that is true. there is a — worse off along the. that is true. there is a question _ worse off along the. that is true. there is a question of _ worse off along the. that is true. there is a question of how- worse off along the. that is true. there is a question of how better off we'll people feel in practice. they may be paying less tax, their wages may be going up, but there are other factors, wages may be going up, but there are otherfactors, one of wages may be going up, but there are other factors, one of which wages may be going up, but there are otherfactors, one of which is wages may be going up, but there are other factors, one of which is that inflation is coming down, which is a positive thing that the government

has been talking about, it is forecast to continue to go down, but prices are still rising. it is just the rates that they are rising is going down. people are still feeling things are more expensive. another things are more expensive. another thing we have discussed is the threshold at which people start paying different levels of tax, they are currently frozen. even if people's wagers are going up they can still end up paying more tax than they have previously. certainly there are factors meaning people may not necessarily feel like they have a lot more disposable cash right now, although there were heavy hints in the statement that this is the start of potentially more tax cuts that the chancellor is hoping to look at, potentially ahead of a general election at some point next year, but certainly, yes, the calculation from them politically is, what can we do now to make people feel like they have more money in their pay packets. find people feel like they have more money in their pay packets. and that is the big issue. _ money in their pay packets. and that is the big issue, it _ money in their pay packets. and that is the big issue, it is _ money in their pay packets. and that is the big issue, it is where - is the big issue, it is where politics and economics collide. at the start of next year, whether the chancellor has anything up his sleeve to deliver that would convince us to vote conservative at

the next election. what can he pull out of the bag? has the next election. what can he pull out of the bag?— out of the bag? has certainly been loads of speculation _ out of the bag? has certainly been loads of speculation about - out of the bag? has certainly been loads of speculation about what i loads of speculation about what other taxes may be on the table to be cut. speculation about whether income tax may be cut, or inheritance tax. these are all things which potentially, if the economy does improve, the chancellor may look at, for example in the spring budget. however at the moment the key theme of this autumn statement in the chancellor's words was trying to incentivise work. that is whether logic behind cutting national insurance was. national insurance is specifically a tax on people's wages. income tax you can pay and other sources of income, for example if you are a landlord. national insurance cuts are supposed to incentivise work and paired with a set of reforms to the welfare system is wealth, as well as operating benefits in line with inflation. the government has also said it will in introduced tougher penalties for people who aren't seem to be looking for work. benefit claimants who don't look for work

within six months will face having their benefits cuts as part of this package to try and incentivise people back into work. certainly there could well be more measures coming down the road next year, but i think the approach is to keep this quite staggered and not do everything too soon. we quite staggered and not do everything too soon. we will talk some more _ everything too soon. we will talk some more later— everything too soon. we will talk some more later but _ everything too soon. we will talk some more later but thank - everything too soon. we will talk some more later but thank you l everything too soon. we will talk| some more later but thank you so much for now, our political correspondent with the details on what we heard from the chancellor. let's get the thoughts now paul johnson. did you hear anything that was a great surprise? there is not a huge amount of room for manoeuvre for the chancellor right now, but he has delivered a cut in national insurance. he says he will make the biggest tax cut for business in modern times. what did you make of what he announced this morning? i thought there were two halves to the announcement. 0ne thought there were two halves to the announcement. one was something really focused on long—term growth,

so we got that, cutting corporation tax, which is not the biggest cut in corporation tax in history, in the long run. it is actually quite a small cut, but it is a welcome one. and quite a lot of other things aimed at improving productivity and business investment. these are not really very election —related. but on top of that we got clearly what was an election focused cut in national insurance contributions, more than expected, 2p of those, which will increase people's take—home pay from, it looks like january. that was nowhere near enough to offset the very big tax increases that are happening over this parliament in any case. that is because, as you say, there is very limited fiscal room for manoeuvre. let's talk about some of those in more detail. already a lot of criticism that that cutting national

insurance has all but been cancelled out by not moving those thresholds at which we start to pay tax, and the overall tax burden being at a 70 year high. is hejust saving a big tax cut for the year when we will face a general election? ., �* ~' year when we will face a general election? ., �* ~ ,., ~ election? i don't think so. i think he has got _ election? i don't think so. i think he has got some _ election? i don't think so. i think he has got some risks _ election? i don't think so. i think he has got some risks around - election? i don't think so. i think i he has got some risks around being able to keep the one that he has announced. given his own fiscal target, which is a pretty odd one, but he is acting against his own fiscal target and he has very little room for manoeuvre in the risk that he is running is that of course he is dependent on the forecast from the office for budget responsibility. they could as easily get worse by march when he has got the next fiscal event. they could easily get worst by then is get better. if they do get worse he is going to have to find some money from somewhere, either undoing some of those tax cuts. i don't suppose he will do that, or pencilling some

more remarkable spending cuts over the next period. it is true that taxes are rising, but there is a reason for that. this government isn't increasing taxes for fun, it isn't increasing taxes for fun, it is increasing because it has got very little choice given the state of the public finances and the level of the public finances and the level of debt. what he has done is offset a very small part of that through the announcements he has made today. one of the things he will be all too aware of is that any big tax cut could ultimately prove expensive, and fuel inflation. inflation, we know, is essentially a tax because it makes us all feel worse off. he has got an eye on that. inflation might have come down from its peak of more than 10% last year, 4.6% now, but getting it back to target will be really ill challenge, get to get it down to the target of 2%, could be pretty tricky. that get it down to the target of 2%, could be pretty tricky.— get it down to the target of 2%, could be pretty tricky. that in the end is the job _ could be pretty tricky. that in the end is the job of _ could be pretty tricky. that in the end is the job of the _ could be pretty tricky. that in the end is the job of the bank - could be pretty tricky. that in the end is the job of the bank of - end is the job of the bank of england. what the government doesn't

want to do is make the bank of england'sjob any more want to do is make the bank of england's job any more difficult. i suspect he hasn't made it any more difficult today, despite those tax cuts, because they are relatively small in the context of her two and a half trillion pound economy. again he is not going to be, for that reason as well as his fiscal position, he is not going to be looking at a significant additional tax cut in another budget. don't forget, of course, that the consequence of the fiscal drag in the system, because the chancellor has frozen the point at which people start to pay higher rate tax and any pay income tax at all, that is turning out to be a much bigger tax increase than was previously intended. actually what he announced todayis intended. actually what he announced today is reallyjust offsetting some of that unintended tax increase. paul, always good to talk to. thank you forjoining us with some assessment of what we heard from the chancellor.

joining me now is sir steve webb the former liberal democrat pensions minister under the coalition government and partner at pensions consultancy firm, lcp. good to have you with us. pensioners were concerned about the triple lock but the government has promised it will fulfil that pledge. pensions will fulfil that pledge. pensions will go up by eight and a half percent. it will go up by eight and a half ercent. , , ., , percent. it is good news. there was some speculation _ percent. it is good news. there was some speculation that _ percent. it is good news. there was some speculation that they - percent. it is good news. there was some speculation that they might i some speculation that they might fudge the figures in some way, gives a different measure of average earnings, and i think it is good that they have gone for a clear cut linked to the average wage, and likewise, increased efforts by the september inflation figures and fiddling it by using the october one. the chancellor deserves credit for being straightforward, for following the rules, and giving people the full increases. it is important _ people the full increases. it is important for _ people the full increases. it is important for pensioners, of course, because for many of them, about i million, it is their only source of income. they can't earn money elsewhere and so they are wholly dependent on what that state pension pays. dependent on what that state pension .a s, ., �* , dependent on what that state pension as. ~' pays. that's right. i think many pensioners have _ pays. that's right. i think many pensioners have felt _ pays. that's right. i think many pensioners have felt the - pays. that's right. i think many pensioners have felt the cost . pays. that's right. i think many| pensioners have felt the cost of living squeeze particularly acutely, because you look at a pensioner�*s

budget, it tends to be more heavily spent on things like energy and food bills and there parts of the inflation basket that should have been soaring in recent years. i think it is important to say that, although these increases are welcome, it is not some great bonanza and pensioners are living the life of riley, a lot of this is still catching up with some pretty brutal increases in the of living. i was talking to baroness altman earlier and she was suggesting that the triple lock isn't the best way to run pensions, that there are alternatives and we should be thinking of different ways of making sure that pensioners are looked after, but not something that could be potentially this expensive. what is your view? should there be a better way of doing this to make sure pensioners are looked after, but without such a cost of the public purse? i but without such a cost of the public purse?— but without such a cost of the public purse? i think the point of the trile public purse? i think the point of the triple lock _ public purse? i think the point of the triple lock was _ public purse? i think the point of the triple lock was to _ public purse? i think the point of the triple lock was to get - public purse? i think the point of the triple lock was to get the - public purse? i think the point of. the triple lock was to get the state pension in the uk, which is still relatively low by its national standards, to ratchet it up to a decent level, and by all means, when the triple lock has done its job and

take in the state pension to a decent proportion of the average wage then by all means let's change the rules. for 30 years the pension was linked to inflation. 0ne the rules. for 30 years the pension was linked to inflation. one year it went up byjust 75 p. that did a lot of damage to the value of the pension. the triple lock has been a force for 13 years so it is worth sticking for another parliament and reviewing it then. find sticking for another parliament and reviewing it then.— reviewing it then. and make those international _ reviewing it then. and make those international comparisons - reviewing it then. and make those international comparisons for - reviewing it then. and make those international comparisons for me. | international comparisons for me. how important is it that we look at pensions in the whole, and bring them more into line with international comparisons because might just international comparisons because mightjust explain that foreigners. might just explain that foreigners. 0bviously mightjust explain that foreigners. 0bviously many other countries have chosen a different route to the uk, they have made the state pension a bigger part of their system and they tax their citizens more than we do, so that is a choice for the electorate to make. i think the beauty of a good state pension system as it provides a good dignified foundation for a time until we can make your own private savings on top of that. i think the problem with the autumn statement on the budget we have had is that they

started one for tax, it has been frozen year after year. bizarrely two thirds of all pensioners now pay income tax, including some who only have a state pension and nothing else to live on. it does seem absurd to tax millions of pensioners pretty small amounts, you want retirement to be a time when you are free of life plus matt hassles like tax returns, and yet more and more pensioners are being dragged into the tax net because of the freeze. always good to have you with us, former liberal deborah democrat pensions minister with a details of what we heard as far as pensions concerned and the recommitment to that triple lock on the meaning that pensions will rise by 8.5%. joining me now is tom pope — deputy chief economist, institute for government. there are some unwelcome reading and all of this because growth, and let's talk about economic growth, downgrading forecast for what happens next. it is hard to see at this point where the growth comes

from. we know the cost of living crisis is keeping us from going out and spending and shopping and buying and spending and shopping and buying and consuming. businesses are nervous about investing because their costs have gone up as well. where will the break come from? that is a difficult where will the break come from? t�*isgt is a difficult question on the one the chancellor was trying to answer. he went big on trying to say this was a budget to deliver growth. his answer was one, we need to get more business investment. the record on business investment. the record on business investment. the record on business investment in the uk since the financial crisis is dreadful. it is lower than a lot of other countries. if you don't have good capital, good machines, good equipment forworkers capital, good machines, good equipment for workers to use, that is going to affect your productivity. low productivity has been a real problem in the last 15 years and continues to be. that is one way. he also focused a little bit on skills, or at least he mentioned that. the truth with growth is that there is no quick fix. there is nothing a politician can do, snap yourfingers fix. there is nothing a politician can do, snap your fingers and tomorrow we are back to the 2% a year of growth that we were having before the financial crisis. what is

needed is long—term changes that will build the capital stock, build the skills in the country, so that the skills in the country, so that the move on business investment was welcomed by the chancellor, but the bit that was that was missing was the public sector. he focused a lot on driving private sector growth and even said, by allowing businesses to invest more, that will improve at the same time as numbers pencilled in for public investment and that will fall in the next four years and thatis will fall in the next four years and that is an increasing size of the economy, as has been well discussed, and that will be an increasingly important part of the growth picture. important part of the growth icture. , , , ., important part of the growth icture. , , ., , ., picture. just explain, people are really sure _ picture. just explain, people are really sure how _ picture. just explain, people are really sure how that _ picture. just explain, people are really sure how that capital- really sure how that capital investment as you will work, so essentially, what the government is saying that every pound you spend on equipment, plants, machinery, you will get 25p back in a tax credit, assuming you pay corporation tax. how does that work in practice because might what will people be thinking right now about how they will benefit from this? the thinking right now about how they will benefit from this?— thinking right now about how they will benefit from this? the main way it will work is —

will benefit from this? the main way it will work is that _ will benefit from this? the main way it will work is that what _ will benefit from this? the main way it will work is that what used - will benefit from this? the main way it will work is that what used to - it will work is that what used to happen is you would pay a pound, or a few years ago, you would pay abound and you would deduct 40p, may be 20p the year after, and eventually you would be able to deduct that full pound. 0ver eventually you would be able to deduct that full pound. over a long period of time, and because of inflation, by that time it is worth a lot less to you that if you can deduct it all up front. the change now is that you invest abandon you deduct a ban from your profit. that reduces the tax you pay today is, so that as an incentive for businesses to invest rather than maybe save that money spend it on day—to—day things that might not boast the productive capacity of the company. if you are spending more on that plant and equipment and maybe it means the company is finding it worthwhile spending it on better computers. those are the kinds of mechanisms that the chancellor is looking at. mechanisms that the chancellor is lookin: at. ., ., ~ mechanisms that the chancellor is lookin: at. ., ., ,, ., looking at. you talked about long-term — looking at. you talked about long-term decisions - looking at. you talked about long-term decisions are - looking at. you talked about long-term decisions are not| looking at. you talked about i long-term decisions are not as long—term decisions are not as important. it is very easy to criticise politicians of all colours for short—term decisions, election

cycles, things that will get them into office in the next election period. what the chancellor said todayis period. what the chancellor said today is that these are long—term decisions. that tax change permanent. laboursaid decisions. that tax change permanent. labour said they would support it if they were in number ten. it is about that certainty, isn't it, for businesses, knowing what is coming round the corner and making longer term decision. they won't pay off in a few months from now, these will decisions that will pay off a lot later down the line. if you look at all of our tax policy, for the last few years, really for as long as anyone can remember, it has been beset by constant tinkering and constant changes. we did get a bit more of that today with more changes. businesses are looking for, as much as more generous taxes, a certain tax environment so they know how to invest. a lot of findings suggest that having good certainty is as important. again it is important to say that is being provided with a private sector but the public sector isn't getting that. we have all the announcements from the chancellor

really based on a set of incredibly tight spending plans beyond the next election, for which there are currently no departmental budget set. no one thinks they are particularly deliverable. the budgets announced back in march were pretty tight. we have an extra inflation are no extra money put in. the challenge for the chancellor is, can we provide that certainty than the necessary conditions to succeed in the public sector as well as private. in the public sector as well as rivate. ~ ., ., in the public sector as well as rivate. ~ . ., ., ., in the public sector as well as rivate. . ., ., ., , , ,, , private. what a lot of businesses are already _ private. what a lot of businesses are already saying _ private. what a lot of businesses are already saying today - private. what a lot of businesses are already saying today is - private. what a lot of businesses are already saying today is that l are already saying today is that there is nothing about infrastructure and they know that is one of their biggest bugbear is. it is about trains and roads and facilities to get things around the country, investment in fast internet. nothing in the autumn statement about that.— internet. nothing in the autumn statement about that. that's right. if ou look statement about that. that's right. if you look at _ statement about that. that's right. if you look at those _ statement about that. that's right. if you look at those plans _ statement about that. that's right. if you look at those plans i - if you look at those plans i mention, that i pencilled in be on the next election, the day—to—day spending, so on things like paying public sector workers, the plans are pretty tight. for capital spending and investment that plans are even tighter. they imply that really big falls in real terms. that is going to be really hard with that kind of

budget to be making the big investment, whether it be on road and rail, r and rail, r&d, public sector states. we have large maintenance backlogs in hospitals and schools. there are a lot of beating demands on what looks like a very tight budget on the capital side. ~ ., . very tight budget on the capital side. ~ . . , ., side. we will watch this space to see if we get _ side. we will watch this space to see if we get any _ side. we will watch this space to see if we get any further - side. we will watch this space to see if we get any further details| see if we get any further details ahead of possibly a general election next year. thomas, good to have you with us. some of the issues there for business. what did we hear that could affect us day—to—day. one of the main announcements was on benefits. here is whatjeremy hunt said in the commons a little earlier. we will

reform the we will reform the fit note process so that treatments, rather than time off, becomes the default. we will reform the work capability assessment to reflect greater flexibility and availability of home—working after the pandemic, and we will spend £i.3 billion over the next five years to help nearly 700,000 people with health conditions find jobs. over 180,000 more people will be helped through the universal support programme, and nearly 500,000 more people will be offered treatment for mental health conditions and employment support. over the forecast period, the 0br judged these measures will more than halve the flow of people who are signed off work with no work search requirements. at the same time, we will provide a further £1.3 billion of funding to offer extra help to the 300,000 people who have been unemployed for over one year without any sickness or disability. but, we will ask for something in return. 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 to increase their skills and improve their employability. and, if they choose not to engage with the work search

process for six months, we will close their case and stop their benefits. how significant is what we heard from the chancellor, as far as changes to those benefits rules. earlier i spoke to our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan and i started by asking him how radical this proposal on benefits is. chancellor himself described what he was outlining as the biggest welfare reform in a decade. and there certainly are radical number of changes coming forward from 2025 for new claimants. it's important to emphasise that people who get these health benefits at the moment will not be affected by these changes any time soon, and in fact, in all likelihood, not for many years to come. but if you look at the forecasts of

the office for budget responsibility has looked at in terms of what the chancellor was saying, he obviously in that clip, as you heard, was talking about large numbers and hundreds of thousands, etc.. but if you look at what the 0br are actually saying, they reckon that all these changes will increase the number of people in work by about 50,000 by the year 2028/29. so there's a lot of effort being done not to get a relatively small amount of people into work. and the 0br again estimate that because of other changes as well, the actual impact on the overall british economy will basically be negligible. and the reason for that is that despite all these changes and the stick that the chancellor outlined there, the forecasts are that spending on health benefits over the coming four years, up until 28/29, will actually increase by about £12 billion. but 600,000 more people will be getting health benefits. and the reason for that is simply because the country in broad terms is getting sicker and more and more people will need support in order to get by.

the government's argument, of course, is that these changes that they are going to bring in are intended to try and tackle some of those issues. but clearly at the moment, the forecast is that despite these changes, spending on health benefits is going to increase hugely in the coming years. yeah, michael, as we know, though, sometimes these things are as much about politics as they are economics. and this feels like a policy that would win votes. the idea of getting people back into work, not claiming benefits that perhaps the conservatives feel will put them in a better position ahead of an election. well, it's been funny over the past few weeks or so, listening to mr sunak and mr hunt of the language they've used in terms of getting people off welfare and into work. and you could actually go back about a decade and you can listen to david cameron and to george osborne, who used similar language about a decade ago when they were in power. and undoubtedly the number of households where somebody doesn't work at all has fallen over the past number of years.

and a number of charities say that some of these elements of support they are going to provide people are a good thing. so the idea, for instance, of allowing people to effectively try out work to see if it is something for them without losing their benefit is something that a number of organisations have been calling for for a number of years. but overall there has been broadly been a relatively, at least initially, a relatively negative reaction to the changes because there is this fear that for new claimants from 2025, they will feel additional stress to find work with this stick hanging over them, that if they don't do exactly what thejobcentre asked them to do, they could lose their benefits. and that could lead to personal hardship for them. michael buchanan there with the details of what those changes to benefits rules could mean. what else did we hearfrom the did we hear from the chancellor today westmark the focus clearly it was on what wasn't announced just as

much as what was. paula higgins is with me my chief executive of the homeowners alliance to stop at this talk about housing, there wasn't a huge amount in the autumn statement, one interesting thing was about converting housing into flights. explain that. it’s converting housing into flights. explain that-— converting housing into flights. exlainthat. �*, ., , , explain that. it's a surprise so you can know convert _ explain that. it's a surprise so you can know convert house _ explain that. it's a surprise so you can know convert house and - explain that. it's a surprise so you can know convert house and into i explain that. it's a surprise so you i can know convert house and into two flats to go through the planning system, clearly the planning system was stretched, so this goes through this. the governments track record is not good in this area, they have done it before, encouraging people to convert offices to flats, but they are poor quality and people need to go into it with their eyes open if they go with this. we also think we might convert wrong types, people might be trying to convert into flights and not be effective. i was meant to say, one would assume this is a potential answer to help in the housing crisis, to get more

available properties, but you