Chancellor announces £350m Budget boost for Scotland

Mr Reckless added: “The growth and borrowing projections announced in today’s Budget show that the Brexit vote of last June has had no negative impact on the economy and that the dire forecasts of George Osborne were merely a cynical political scare tactic”.

It was not all good news however, with the OBR downgrading its forecast for 2018 from 1.7 per cent to 1.6 per cent, lowering the 2019 figure from 2.1 per cent to 1.7 per cent, then forecasting an unspectacular but still solid 1.9 per cent in 2020 and 2 per cent in 2021. Businesses face a tipping point: with rates rising for many and the combined costs of currency depreciation, the new National Living Wage, Pensions auto-enrolment and rising energy prices – urgent action is needed to reduce the upfront costs of doing business. In his speech, the Chancellor referred to the probe into self-employment being carried out by Matthew Taylor, who last month told the BBC that people are creating work to try and avoid tax.

But the Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated firms in London will see an average rise of 11 per cent over the next five years due to soaring property valuations in the capital, while rates in the North of England will fall by 10 per cent.

Mr Hammond’s Budget pledges were costed at an extra £3.1bn of spending in the coming financial year.

Hammond said a self-employed person now paid significantly less national insurance than an employee on the same wage, a difference he said was “no longer justified”. It has also been reported that £216m will be allocated to rebuild and refurbish existing schools.

The government said it was protecting the self-employed who earn lower profits. He said the existing difference between national insurance contributions was unfair for 80% of employed workers, given that self-employed people now benefit from similar entitlements.

He also levied a tax on sugary drinks of 18p per litre and 24p per litre depending on sugar content, another policy that will cause unease. However, with producers already reformulating the sugar content of drinks, the Government is predicting a lower revenue from the tax.

However, and holding out some hope for pubs, Mr Hammond did intimate there could be a possible extra £300 million for those pubs and shops affected by rises in business rates.

The budget also includes more money for those studying STEM subjects, including training for teenagers studying new “T-Level” qualifications in technical subjects, as well as maintenance loans for undergraduate and PhD students.

Yet there will be some relief for the hardest hit small businesses.

“Ahead of the budget, we spoke to our customers about a primary concern: the rise in business rates, and concerns surrounding them”. The Government is making a £300m fund available for discretionary relief in local areas, while pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000 (which is 90% of all pubs) will get a £1,000 discount.