Image source, PA

There were reports ahead of the Budget that the chancellor would include some tax relief for North Sea oil companies, as the region continues to wind down as a major energy player.

Mr Hammond confirms there will be a tax break for transfers of North Sea oil and gas fields.

He calls it "an innovative tax policy that will encourage new entrants to bring fresh investment to a basin that still holds up to 20 billion barrels of oil".

Staying on the road, there is reassurance from Philip Hammond for "white van men, and women" that company taxes on diesel vehicles will not hit them.

The changes to company car tax for diesel vehicles will hit just that - cars - he says.

And the BBC's Blue Planet II series appears to be on his mind: "The UK led the world on climate change agreements, and is a pioneer in protecting marine environments. Now I want us to become a world leader in tackling the scourge of plastic, littering our planet and our oceans."

BBC business editor Simon Jack tweets:

The chancellor unveils extra funds and tax incentives for electric car drivers.

That includes a new £400m charging infrastructure fund, an extra £100m in Plug-In-Car Grant, and £40m for research into charging.

"I know Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t like them, but there are many other good reasons to pursue this technology so today we step up our support for it. Sorry Jeremy, not the first time you’ve been snubbed by Hammond and May," Mr Hammond jokes.

BBC economics correspondent Andy Verity tweets:

Philip Hammond has spoken about the National Productivity Investment Fund, which provides an additional £23bn billion of investment over five years to upgrade the UK's economic infrastructure for this century.

The fund will be extended for another year and expanded to be worth more than £31bn.

He adds: "We are allocating a further £2.3 billion for investment in R&D (research and development) and we’ll increase the main R&D tax credit to 12%."

This, he says, will take "the first strides towards the ambition of our industrial strategy to drive up R&D investment across the economy to 2.4% of GDP".

The chancellor has previously committed to cutting the deficit to below 2% by 2020-21.

Philip Hammond says the latest forecasts suggest he will get there. The UK's deficit, as a percentage of economic output, or GDP, is expected to fall from 2.4% this year to 1.9% next year.

The OBR forecasts the deficit to be 1.3% of GDP in 2020-21, giving £14.8bn of headroom against the 2% target, he says.

Mr Hammond says the OBR confirms that the UK is on track to meet the government's fiscal rules.

Borrowing is forecast to be £49.9bn this year - £8.4bn lower than forecast at the Spring Budget.

Borrowing will fall in every year of the forecast - from £39.5bn next year to £25.6bn in 2022-23, to reach its lowest level in 20 years.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, tweets:

The Office for Budget Responsibility has cut its forecasts for UK economic growth.

The UK economy is now expected to grow by 1.5% in 2017, a downgrade from the 2% forecast made in March.

Growth has also been cut to 1.4% in 2018, 1.3% in both 2019 and 2020, before picking back up to 1.5%, and finally 1.6% in 2022.

Like buses, the first three gags of the Budget speech have come along.

Firstly, the chancellor quips that he will be "sticking to water" despite teasing to have something more alcoholic.

And, referring to Theresa May's ill-fated conference speech, he has brought a packet of cough sweets "just in case".

And boom, number three, he says that now comes the "bit with the long economicky words in it".

This Budget is about "much more than Brexit", Mr Hammond says.

The world is "on the brink of a technological revolution" and he plans to invest to keep Britain at the forefront of it.

The chancellor says the UK is working "to achieve a deep and special partnership" with Europe and to ensure the country is ready for every outcome of Brexit negotiations.

Therefore, he is setting aside another £3bn for Brexit preparations over the next two years, in addition to the £700m already invested in Brexit preparations.

"No-one should doubt our resolve," he says.

Chancellor Philip Hammond starts his Budget by saying the UK economy "continues to grow, continues to create more jobs than ever before, and continues to confound those who seek to talk it down".

With the UK preparing for a future outside the European Union, the government will "express its resolve to look forwards not backwards" in this Budget, he adds.

The chancellor has begun his Budget speech.

A Conservative MP asks the PM to confirm support for the "highest standards of animal welfare" before and after Brexit.