Philip Hammond weighs options for spring statement spending

Philip Hammond’s plans will be boosted by improved income tax receipts over the past year. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty ImagesOn Wednesday, MPs expect to hear the chancellor tell them that austerity will soon be consigned to history. Philip Hammond said in last year’s budget that “austerity is coming to an end” and teased ministers with the promise of the cash that he and his predecessor George Osborne denied them in the previous eight years.There is a huge gap to fi