Harry Farley
Political correspondent

The prime minister and the chancellor spoke with Ukraine’s President Zelensky this morning in a joint call.

That is notable timing on the morning of the Budget and it comes after Zelensky gave an interview to the Sun newspaper saying his message on defence spending was "don’t delay".

The Ukrainian president said: "Can the United Kingdom trust Russia or not? If not, defence needs to be 100 per cent the priority."

As I mentioned earlier, more money for defence is expected in the Budget.

How much, and where that money comes from? Well, it’s not long to wait.

Image source, House of Commons

Burnham responds by saying that there is "no confusion at all", adding that the government has a "collectively agreed position".

He adds that the "red lines" within the Labour manifesto - including on freedom movement - will "stay in place firmly for the whole of this Parliament".

Burnham adds that what he will not do is defend the Brexit deal negotiated by the Conservatives which "gave us a harder Brexit than was promised".

That deal, he says, has been "bad for growth and bad for control of immigration".

Image source, House of Commons

Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch begins her questions and asks the PM to clear up whether he wants a referendum on rejoining the European Union.

As well as our text updates, there's plenty to watch and listen to as you follow today's Budget.

You'll be able to tune into all the main events of Budget day by tapping watch live at the top of the page:

• Here you'll be able to watch all of the main goings-on in the House of Commons - including PMQs at 12:00 GMT, followed by the chancellor's Budget statement from around 12:30 GMT
• This stream will also feature plenty of interviews, analysis and reaction from across the BBC and a special programme answering your questions on the Budget at 17:30 GMT

But wait, there's more...

If you head to the watch & listen tab at the top of the page, we also have:

• BBC Parliament, where you can skip the analysis and watch a live, uninterrupted feed from the House of Commons all day

• We'll also have an audio-only feed covering all the main events from BBC Sounds

MPs have packed into the House of Commons ahead of what promises to be a busy few hours.

Shortly, Andy Burnham will face opposition leader Kemi Badenoch for Prime Minister's Questions at 12:00 GMT.

After that, it'll be time for Chancellor John Healey to deliver his much-anticipated Budget statement at around 12:30.

We'll bring you all the key lines here and a reminder that you can watch live at the top of the page.

BBC News has been speaking to people on a range of incomes on how they feel about their finances and what they would like to see in the Budget.

Christine Morris, from Worksop, has been retired for eight years and lives on a state pension combined with a small private pension left by her late husband.

"It is very difficult to balance the books," the 78-year-old says. "I do go on holiday, but I'm spending more of my savings to live."

The chancellor announced this morning that standing charges would be removed from gas bills, but Christine, who has a gas boiler, says it's not clear yet whether she will benefit because those costs will be added on to the unit rate.

"I'm not sure I'll be better off," she says.

She thinks there should be some relief for people who live alone when it comes to standing charges on electricity bills, which are typically higher.

She would also like the government to extend access to pension credit, a means-tested benefit for people who have reached state pension age and are receiving £238 or less per week. Christine currently receives £241 and so just misses out.

She was unconvinced by Andy Burnham's pledge to adjust the triple lock so that from 2030 the state pension will rise at least by inflation or 2.5%, with the money saved used to create a free-at-the-point of use national care service in England.

Christine thinks the new service will take time to come in. In the meantime, she fears she will "get less pension and still have to pay out the same for any care I need".

Chris Mason
Political editor

It is the classic image of Budget Day.

The chancellor posing with his ministerial team, and then on his own, on the doorstep of No11 Downing Street, brandishing the Budget red box in front of them.

John Healey is something of a veteran of these moments — he was a junior treasury minister in the noughties — as economic and then financial Secretary to the Treasury.

And before that he was Gordon Brown’s parliamentary private secretary. Believe it or not the waving the box around moment is rehearsed in advance — to make sure this key image isn’t fluffed.

You might think how could it be fluffed? Well, get the angles wrong and, for instance, the chancellor could put the box in front of his face, which is a picture any occupier of No11 would rather avoid.

Image source, PA Media

The chancellor has just appeared outside No 11 Downing Street with the red box.

Inside that box are the details of this year's Budget, which Chancellor John Healey will reveal when he delivers his speech at 12:30 GMT.

For now, he's off to the Commons.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, Pool

We are expecting the chancellor to appear soon outside his official residence, holding his Budget red box.

All will be revealed in his Budget speech at 12.30 GMT.

Jack Grey
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Shortly, we'll see Chancellor John Healey emerge from 11 Downing Street holding the famous red box, which will then kick off a flurry of Budget activity that will take us well into the afternoon.

Here's what to expect, and when:

• 11:20 GMT: Healey will pose for pictures outside No 11 with his Budget-containing red box
• 12:00: Prime Minister's Questions will take place in the House of Commons
• 12:30: Healey will present his Budget to MPs - with the Treasury publishing a more detailed report of the plans online at the same time
• 13:30: Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch will deliver her response
• 14:30: We expect the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) - which monitors government spending - to hold a press conference on the Budget plans announced

Stick with us, as we'll be providing live updates on all of it throughout the day. You can also watch live at the top of this page.

Economist and former head of the independent think-tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) Paul Johnson expects the scale of tax and spending changes to be limited in this Budget.

Johnson he tells BBC News the "breathing space" that John Healey has promised to create will be a "very small amount" and that the policies will make a "little bit of difference over a short period of time".

He says the changes to standing charges to gas bills will result in "some people gaining and some people losing".

But he expects the scale of tax and spending changes to be "really quite small" because Healey is constrained by government debt.

Healey's inherited headroom - the cash buffer the government has to help meet its own fiscal rules and reduce borrowing - is likely to have gone down slightly, Johnson says.

Interest rates being higher means the government is paying more for its debt, though higher inflation means the government brings in more tax revenue.

"The big decisions of this government… will come next year when we get the Spending Review, when he's actually going to have to make those big decisions," he adds.

Branwen Jeffreys
Education editor

With almost a million young people not in work, education or training - known as "Neets" - there needs to be at least a gesture towards helping them in this Budget.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK faced an "economic catastrophe" because of just how many Neets there are, and said he wanted to "invest in the success of our young people".

Significant change has been pushed further down the line, with former health secretary Alan Milburn's review of the number of Neets now expected to be funded out of the next spending review, which will cover from 2029-30 onwards.

That leaves the current apprenticeship levy, where it’s thought ministers could make employers take on 75% of the costs of training over-25s, to create an incentive to bring through more younger adults.

So it’s also worth watching out for any investment in entry-to-work or employability skills.

Since 2011, there’s been an 18.5% real-terms fall in spending by employers on training and development in the UK.

Image source, PA Media

What the gas price announcement really tells us about Healey’s Budgetpublished at 10:55 GMT

10:55 GMT

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

I've just returned from a crisp Downing Street to prepare for Politics Live Budget special.

There was a man with a "The End is Nigh" placard, although the economy has defied the doomsterism so far this year.

But perhaps he was referring to rising gas prices.

The unusual morning announcement in standing charges says a lot about this Budget.

It is another measure that helps households a bit, deals with a bugbear for many bill-payers, but which does not cost the Exchequer a penny.

It is essentially a redistribution from high users to low users, and incentive to shift from gas to electricity for heating and cooking.

It’s not just that the chancellor will argue there isn’t the money. He seems to be trying to actively find policies that cost little or no money.

At similarly high unit prices for gas, the Liz Truss government announced a massive universal energy scheme. The absence of that is notable, perhaps more so than the reform to standing charges.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

There will certainly be some extra money for defence in today’s Budget.

John Healey has promised to fill the £4.7bn hole in the defence investment plan that Keir Starmer left unfunded. Treasury sources confirmed to me that money will be in the Budget this lunchtime.

The expectation is there will be some more money beyond that. But it’s not clear how much and how it will be funded.

He is not expected go as far as the Conservatives want and set out a plan to reach 3% of GDP spent on defence by 2030.

The Conservatives say: "If Healey fudges defence spending rather than properly funding 3% by 2030 in his Budget, he must resign."

That would require an additional £11bn in that year alone. A decision on whether to hit that target, rather than the longer term goal of 3.5% by 2035, will come in next year’s spending review.

But some more money in the interim before next year is likely today.

Image source, Reuters

Colletta Smith
Your Voice correspondent

BBC Your Voice has spoken to people ahead of the Budget, to see what they want to see in John Healey's speech today.

Chloe Holmes, 24, lives in Derby and feels the increasing cost of day-to-day life has become "ridiculous".

"I want the government to look at the cost of living. I work full-time as a photographer and have been living with my parents while me and my partner save for a house.

"We’re in the process of buying but we’re having to go into shared ownership. I'm on a low income and so is my partner. A 40% share of a house is what we can afford."

She says she is supportive of the prime minister and feels "there has been some change", but also wants to "see more breathing room for people in their 20s" to be able to get a house and full-time work.

Martin Roper, 65 owns and runs four pubs. He says he has changed the focus of some of the pubs like the Exeter Arms in Derby to providing quality food because the numbers of drinkers are shrinking.

Martin says he employs a lot of young staff so National Insurance changes have had a huge impact on his businesses.

"That's hit us hard," he says, adding "some help with VAT would be fantastic, so that businesses like ours can reinvest in our pubs and people and keep going".

BBC News has been speaking to people on a range of incomes on how they feel about their finances and what they would like to see in the Budget.

Jonathan Whitwam, who recently joined the Labour Party, works in finance and says that in addition to his mortgage, his biggest outgoing is supporting his two daughters through university. He and his wife, who live in Essex, pay their rent, which is around £18,000 per year.

His daughters will start their working lives with between £45,000 to £60,000 of debt each, plus interest, which will be compounding at £5,000 to £8,000 per year.

"I have no objection to paying for degrees as I think they are a great way of broadening horizons and having great life experience. But I think the interest should be waived or capped below 1%, otherwise it's a noose around their neck for a substantial part of their lifetime."

More generally, Jonathan, 52, would welcome taxes being put up for higher earners like himself in the name of "redistribution". He would also like to see a one-off wealth tax for people with assets worth over £10m and new taxes on the oil and gas and banking sectors.

"If we want better roads, hospitals, schools we need to raise more tax."

Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

What changes could we see to student loans in this year’s Budget?

In order to answer that, we need to cast our minds back to the last one.

Back in November, former chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the repayment threshold for Plan 2 student loans, which were given out for just over a decade in England from 2012, would be frozen rather than rising with inflation.

It means the salary at which borrowers start paying back their loans is due to stay at £29,385 in April and remain there for three years – so graduates start repaying sooner and repay more each month than they would otherwise have done.

That’s largely what sparked a backlash against the repayment terms this year.

The National Union of Students, Rethink Repayment and a group of 130 MPs and peers want the decision reversed today, as well as other changes like a lower interest rate.

The government has said it wants to “make the system fairer for students, graduates and taxpayers”. Whether it will make any changes today is another question.

Image source, PA Media

Andy Burnham has been pictured leaving Downing Street ahead of PMQs.

As a reminder, that's due to start at midday before the chancellor delivers the Budget.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

When the Labour Party returned to power in 2024, it promised to abide by a series of fiscal rules, which were upheld by Rachel Reeves during her time as chancellor.

Her successor John Healey has committed to the self-imposed rules, saying he and PM Andy Burnham were "in lockstep" about the commitment.

The two main rules are:

• Not borrowing to fund day-to-day public spending by the end of this parliament
• Getting government debt falling as a share of national income by the end of this parliament

In March, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) calculated that the first rule would be met with a buffer – or headroom – of £23.6bn. However, this headroom is expected to have shrunk.

Image source, Getty Images