Government's plans designed to boost construction, creative and other industries amidst cut in growth forecasts

In his Autumn Statement delivered to Parliament at lunchtime he also said that a new research and development tax credit; £250 million in support for energy-intensive industries and an extension to business rates holidays and reductions will benefit industry in the UK.

The Autumn Statement is an update on the Government's spending plans in the light of new economic data produced by the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR).

The state pension age will rise in 2026 from 66 to 67 "so we can pay decent pensions for longer", according to a statement from the Treasury.

Osborne confirmed pre-statement reports that £5bn would be spent on infrastructure projects over the next three years and said that the money would come from budget savings. A £400m fund to kick-start construction projects that already have planning permission was announced.

A National Infrastructure Plan will be published today giving details of 500 projects that will be worked on over the next 10 years. The Treasury said that an extra £1.2bn would be spent on school buildings.

The Government also announced that it would underwrite up to £40bn in loans to small and medium sized firms, which it said were those with annual turnovers of less than £50m.

The Chancellor announced falls in predicted growth rates for the UK economy in 2011 and 2012 and an increase in borrowing of £112bn over four years. 

In depth coverage of the Autumn statement will continue on Out-Law throughout the day. Out-Law journalist Lisa-Marie Ferla has been live-Tweeting the Statement as @outlawbizjourno.