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.
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