Delivering his Budget to the House of Commons Mr Hammond rejected calls for the abolition of business rates saying they raised £25bn a year. Tony McDonough reports.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a raft of measures to help businesses fearful of an imminent rise in business rates – with pubs gaining a major benefit.

Delivering his Budget to the House of Commons Mr Hammond rejected calls for the abolition of business rates saying they raised £25bn a year.

But he added that any business coming out of small business rate relief will benefit from an extra cap – meaning their rates will not increase by more than £50 a month.

There will also be a £1,000 discount on business rate bills for all pubs with rateable value of less than £100,000 – that 90% of all pubs in England.

And £300m fund will be made available to councils to allow them to provide discretional relief on a case-by-case basis

The Chancellor said his proposals amount to a further £435m cut in business rates.