The emergency Budget will be held on Tuesday 22 June, the Chancellor George Osborne has announced.

Osborne has also announced the creation of a new Office for Budget Responsibility, headed by respected fiscal and macroeconomic expert Sir Alan Budd, to assess the state of the nation's finances.

This is the first Budget of the new Government and will be the first one where the new Office for Budget Responsibility will provide the forecasts for the economy and public finances.

Speaking at the Treasury's offices in London, Osborne said he wanted an emergency Budget that would "show that Britain can live within its means and...provide the solid foundation for a private sector recovery."

He added that the Chief Secretary, David Laws, would meet Cabinet colleagues this week to agree £6 billion of cuts in this year’s spending.