Hammond boosts housing and NHS spending as growth forecasts are slashed

Autumn budget also includes stamp duty cut, £1.5bn universal credit U-turn and extra £3bn for Brexit preparationsOur writers’ verdict: ‘Help for housing or a kick in the teeth?’Philip Hammond has reduced stamp duty for first-time homebuyers as part of a package of measures to boost the economy, despite a sharp cut in forecasts for economic growth as the UK prepares to leave the European Union.In the government’s first major economic announcement since Theresa