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 preparationsPhilip 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 May lost the Conservatives’ majority at the election, the chancellor axed th