Money blog: Send us your questions on what spring statement means for you (2025)

Back to our financial influencers and experts now who have been asked...

Will people feel better or worse off after the spring statement?

Abi Foster, a chartered accountant and author of The Money Manual, says...

"There were no new tax cuts or direct cost of living boosts, so most people won't feel better off immediately.

"The chancellor says households will be £500 better off by the end of this parliament, but that's based on forecasts and the Office for Budget Responsibility warns people may feel worse before they feel better.

"With welfare reforms and rising living costs, especially for renters and those on benefits, the impact really depends on your personal situation. For now, most everyday budgets won't feel much relief."

Her thoughts were echoed by personal finance educator Cameron Smith, who says...

"With a lot of the autumn budget announcements coming into effect from April, the spring statement has done little to soften the upcoming blows to most people's everyday budgets, with an anticipated lack of new tax cuts and cost of living boosts.

"For example, the increase to the National Living Wage, and the State Pension, coming into effect from April 1 is welcome news.

"But at the same time we are expecting to see significant rises in everyday living costs, such as energy bills and council tax."

We are continuing to get reaction through from the chancellor's spring statement.

While some announcements were made, it was the lack of change that has sparked concern from the nightlife sector.

The Night Time Industries Association said it was "outraged" by Rachel Reeves' statement and her disregard for the sectors need for support.

"Once again, the government has ignored the mounting evidence of economic devastation in our sector, doubling down on disastrous fiscal policies instead of taking decisive action to foster genuine growth and stability," Michael Kill, the CEO of NTIA said.

"Despite repeated warnings and relentless lobbying to reverse the crippling measures introduced in the autumn statement, the government has chosen inaction, condemning businesses to a bleak and uncertain future."

He said the night-time economy is at "breaking point" and the absence of support is a "nothing short of betrayal".

The NTIA is an organisation made up of clubs, bars, restaurants, pubs and live music events.

Some of our readers have been getting in touch after the chancellor's spring statement to ask our experts questions about her announcements.

Rachel Reeves mentioned pension reform but did not expand. What are the plans for pensions?

Anni

Financial expert and influencer Abi Foster says...

Rachel Reeves didn't announce any big pension changes today, but reforms are still on the table.

The government is looking at ways to make pensions work harder for savers and the economy - think "pot for life" (where your pension follows you from job to job), and using pension funds to invest more in UK businesses.

Nothing is confirmed yet, but we'll likely hear more in the autumn.

For now, no changes to contribution limits or tax reliefs, but Rachel confirmed a budget in the autumn so it may be brought up then.

Now that we've heard from the chancellor, we want to hear from you.

Throughout the rest of the day, we will be putting your questions to financial experts Abi Foster and Cameron Smith.

Abi is a chartered accountant, author of The Money Manual and founder of Elent, a company that teaches finance in schools and workplaces.

She has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram, where she makes finance education videos teaching the finance we wish we'd been taught at school.

Cameron Smith, also known as Cazza Time, is a personal finance educator with more than 500,000 social media followers.

His mission is to make UK personal finance accessible and understandable by sharing insights on a range of topics, and helping people take control of their personal finances.

While the chancellor was delivering her spring statement, we also got the latest forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

In bad news for Rachel Reeves, it halved the UK's growth forecast for 2025 from 2% to 1% - which she revealed as she spoke in the Commons.

However, the coming years look to be a bit more positive, with the OBR upgrading its growth forecast.

It now expects output to grow 1.9% next year, 1.8% in 2027, 1.7% in 2028 and by 1.8% in 2029.

Government borrowing

It also expects the government to borrow £47.5bn more between the 2024/25 and 2029/30 financial years than previously predicted in October.

Reeves said the government's budget will move from a deficit of £36.1bn in 2025/26 and £13.4bn in 2026/27, to a surplus of £6bn in 2027/28, £7.1bn in 2028/29 and £9.9bn in 2029/30.

Inflation

On inflation, the OBR expects it to average 3.2% this year - a significant increase against its previous forecast of 2.6%.

Earlier today, Office for National Statistics data showed that inflation slowed down to 2.8% in February, although the Bank of England still expects inflation to peak at around 3.7% in September this year.

The OBR has forecast that inflation will slow significantly in 2026 to 2.1% - below its original prediction from October last year.

It said this slowdown will be driven by an easing of energy prices and weaker wage growth.

Tax burden

The overall tax burden in the UK is forecast to rise from the equivalent of 35.3% of GDP in 2024/25 to a "historic high" of 37.7% in 2027/28, the OBR said.

At the budget in October, the OBR said the tax burden was likely to climb as high as 38.3% in 2027/28.

The main driver of the increase in the tax burden are personal taxes, "particularly income tax and national insurance contributions", it said.

The figure is forecast to stabilise at 37.5% in both 2028/29 and 2029/30.

The chancellor has just finished delivering her spring statement in the House of Commons.

Rachel Reeves stressed that she was focused on "restoring stability" to public finances and securing Britain's future.

She made several announcements during the 30-minute speech - here are the ones that will impact you directly:

Growth estimate for UK halved

The Office for Budget Responsibility has halved its growth forecast for this year, Reeves announced.

The OBR is now expecting 1% growth in 2025, down from its previous 2% prediction.

It is also forecasting that inflation will average 3.2% this year, before falling to 2.1% in 2026 and meeting the 2% target from 2027 onwards.

"I am not satisfied with these numbers. That is why we on this side of the house are serious about taking the action needed to grow our economy," Reeves said.

No extra tax increases

Instead of announcing any more tax increases, Reeves said the government would raise an extra £1bn by cracking down further on tax evasion.

She said there would be investment in the HMRC's capacity to crack down on tax avoidance, and there are plans to increase the number of tax fraudsters charged every year by 20%.

Welfare changes and cuts

She confirmed that the Universal Credit standard allowance would increase from £92 a week in 2025-26 to £106 a week by 2029-30.

Universal Credit is a means-tested benefit for people on low incomes and is payable whether or not you are in work.

But Reeves said the health element of the benefit would be cut by 50% and then frozen for new claimants.

This is the extra amount of Universal Credit that you can claim if you have a health condition or disability that limits the amount of work you can do.

The chancellor added the government was "investing £1bn to provide guaranteed, personalised employment support to help people back into work".

Voluntary exit schemes for civil service

Reeves said the government's transformation fund would introduce "voluntary exit schemes to reduce the size of the civil service".

The move will help to make the government "leaner, more productive and more efficient".

Reeves said the schemes, combined with "pioneering" AI tools, investment in technology, and support for children in foster care, would help make a further £3.5bn of day-to-day savings by 2029-30.

Defence spending

An additional £2.2bn has been allocated to the Ministry of Defence's budget for next year.

"This additional investment is not just about increasing our national security, but increasing our economic security, too," Reeves said.

Rachel Reeves is on her feet in the Commons delivering her spring statement.

You can watch it live by pressing play in the stream at the top of the page.

For full coverage, including analysis and reaction from our Westminster and business teams, head to ourPolitics Hub.

Here in Money, we'll be back when Reeves has finished speaking to explain what her announcements mean for your money, with financial influencers on hand to ask your questions.

Soft drinks company Robinsons is the latest company to take Aldi on in the courts - accusing the supermarket of trademark infringement.

It filed the complaint at the High Court on 19 March, though it's not clear what product the case centres on given the lack of detail available publicly.

Lawyers have previously noted similarities in the appearance of Aldi's Sun Quench Squirty Squash and Robinsons' Mini.

Robinsons is represented by the same firm that successfully won a claim for M&Sagainst Aldi over a copycat gin liqueur.

Money has approached both Aldi and Britvic, Robinsons parent company, for comment.

Away from the spring statement and inflation for a moment - and we've had a big announcement from the National Lottery operator...

The UK's biggest-ever lottery jackpot could be won in Friday's EuroMillions draw.

The jackpot is an estimated £202m, Allwyn said.

Nobody won the £182m EuroMillions jackpot on Tuesday, meaning the top prize rolls over into Friday's draw.

The potential winner would top the ranks of the biggest EuroMillions wins by UK players, including the anonymous UK ticket-holder who scooped the existing record jackpot of £195m in July 2022.

Just two months ago, Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, won a then record-breaking £184m with a Lucky Dip ticket for the draw.

Andy Carter, senior winners' adviser at Allwyn, said if one ticket-holder takes home Friday's prize, they "would be crowned the National Lottery's biggest winner of all time".