CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond will use his Budget today to dish out more austerity, as he tries to prepare for the financial calamity of Brexit.

Speaking ahead of this afternoon’s statement, Hammond said he was ready to take “difficult decisions,” with tax hikes and spending cuts used to pay for any “turbulence” when Britain leaves the EU.

SNP budget spokesman Stewart Hosie said the Chancellor needed to explain how he would protect the country from the “Tory hard Brexit bombshell” that would leave black holes in the finances of just about every sector in the country.

In some good news for the Chancellor last night, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said it now expected growth of 1.6 per cent this year – up from the 1.2 per cent it predicted in November.

That should mean more money in the Chancellor’s coffers.

However, the OECD did not revise its prediction for growth in 2018, which remained at just one per cent.

“UK growth is expected to ease further as rising inflation weighs on real incomes and consumption, and business investment weakens amidst uncertainty about the United Kingdom’s future trading relations with its partners,” the OECD said.

Those figures are expected to be reflected in the statistics from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, to be unveiled by Hammond later today.

Speaking at the weekend, Hammond made clear his Budget priority was to build up a war-chest to deal with the uncertainties surrounding Brexit.

One option under consideration was an increase in taxes paid by the self-employed, with a 3p increase in the pound of the National Insurance class four rate. This would bring the self-employed in line with the 12 per cent NI rate paid by employees, and could bring in about £1 billion.

Last night the Government revealed a plan to establish a panel of offshore industry experts to look at how “tax can assist sales of oil and gas fields, helping to keep them productive for longer” and to “consider options that will further help this vital industry that meets around 50 per cent of the UK’s primary energy needs.”

This was, the Treasury said, in response to concerns from Oil and Gas UK and Scottish Government finance secretary Derek Mackay.

Mackay said it was good that the Treasury were finally willing to act on the tax regime in the North Sea.

He said: “This is an area where we have repeatedly called for reform and which the UK Government have been slow to react, therefore it is important that this group comes to a swift conclusion and is not simply another talking shop.”

There will be a further £500 million to boost science and innovation with support for electric vehicles, robotics and artificial intelligence.

Hammond has already set out plans for £500m for additional spending on schools in England, with £320m for 140 new free schools.

The Treasury said this would mean extra money coming to Scotland through the Barnett Formula.

However, last week, departments were told to outline potential spending cuts of up to six per cent. The chief secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, announced that all Whitehall departments should take part in the government’s “efficiency review” which aims to save up to £3.5bn by 2020.

Mackay said those consequentials should be seen in the context of other savings being made by Whitehall.

“The cuts already planned by the UK Government mean that by 2019-20, the Scottish Government’s discretionary budget will be £2.9 billion lower in real terms than it was in 2010-11. Any change in spending must be seen against the context of the huge cuts we are already facing,” he argued.

SNP economy spokesperson Stewart Hosie said the Tories were about to take the country out of the EU with no deal and off the cliff edge: “Everything in today’s Budget has to be seen in the context of the Tory hard Brexit bombshell. Philip Hammond must set out how he will support UK industries facing trade barriers, and how he will fill the black hole left by the loss of EU funding for our universities, for our businesses, and for key sectors of our economy like agriculture – all because his Tory colleagues have got the UK into a Brexit mess of their own making.

“In addition to the threats of a hard Brexit to our economy, the UK Government wants even more cuts proving beyond any doubt that this is still a right-wing Tory Government wedded to failed austerity. They are fooling no one – and the chilling report from the Resolution Foundation confirmed that as a result, we’re heading for the biggest inequality in our society since the Thatcher years.”

Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the Budget shouldn’t be used to make people worse off as part of the Government’s “risky Brexit strategy”.

He said: “We need an urgent change of direction from the Tories after seven wasted years of economic failure. Under George Osborne and now Philip Hammond the national debt will balloon to almost £2 trillion, our public services are being cut back and living standards eroded.”