As well as changes to pension annuity rules and an extra £1.25bn of spending on mental health south of the border, the Chancellor's Red Box could also contain plans to:

*increase the tax-free allowance to £11,000 a year from this April, up from £10,600;

*cut the tax on the profits of North Sea oil and gas companies, possibly by as much as 10 per cent, thus reversing the controversially large hike in 2011;

*introduce super-fast broadband across the UK and in particular the remoter regions;

*propose a "Google tax" crackdown against multinational companies which avoid tax in Britain;

*build 45,000 new homes on brownfield sites in England;

*cut the welfare cap from £26,000 to £23,000;

*support technology clusters across Britain;

*restrict child benefit payments to just three children;

*create two new enterprise zones in Plymouth and Blackpool;

*axe housing and unemployment benefits to under-25s if they refuse offers of work, training and education;

*invest in north-east England's chemical sector and give the go-ahead for HS3, extending high-speed rail from Manchester to Leeds, as part of the northern powerhouse theme, and, possibly,

*raise the National Insurance threshold to help, in particular, the lower paid and

*cut the tax on Scotch Whisky.