Energy bills, beer, fuel and inflation: the key announcements in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s March budget. This story is being updated with new information as it comes in.

The chancellor has announced the budget for 2023.

The UK will now not enter a technical recession this year, the independent forecasters, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has said.

Inflation will more than halve and reduce to 2.9% by the end of the year, the OBR expects.

Budget live:
The announcements as they happen

Here are the key points, as they come in:

• The lifetime allowance – the total amount workers can accumulate in their pension savings before paying extra tax – has been abolished. Mr Hunt hopes it will stop 80% of NHS doctors from receiving a tax charge.

• Tax relief of 11p has been announced on draft drinks served in pubs from 1 August – so a pint will be cheaper than in supermarkets.

• An extension of the 5p cut in fuel duty, at a cost of £6bn, has been announced for a year. Fuel duty will also be frozen for the next twelve months.

• The government will abolish the work capability assessment for disabled people and separate benefit entitlement from an individual’s ability to work. The aim is to enable disabled people to seek work without fear of loosing their benefits.

• As corporation tax on profits over £250,000 is due to rise from 19% to 25% in April, businesses will be able to offset 100% of UK investments against their profits to bring down tax bills. The OBR said it will increase business investment by 3% for every year. Mr Hunt announced the measure for the next three years but intends to make it permanent “as soon as we can responsibly do so”.

• An “enhanced credit” has been introduced for small and medium-sized businesses if they spend 40% or more of their total expenditure on research and development. They can claim credit worth £27 for every £100 spent.

• As expected, the government is extending the energy price guarantee (EPG) which keeps the average household bill at £2,500 until the end of June by capping the unit price of electricity. The typical bill was due to rise to £3,000 from 1 April. Under the EPG the government effectively caps household costs and reimburses energy companies for the difference between that, and the cost of buying power on wholesale markets.

• The energy rebate scheme – paid direct to customers in six instalments of £66 and £67 a month – has not been extended and will end this month.

• The so-called “prepayment premium”, whereby those using prepayment meters are charged more for their gas and electricity, will be scrapped from July, enabling four million families to save £45 a year on their bills.

Defence

• Defence spending will rise to £11bn over the next five years.