Philip Hammond vowed to 'write a new chapter' for Britain today as he unveiled a package to help struggling families and prepare us for Brexit.

The Chancellor said his Autumn Statement would focus on 'supporting the economy' ready for cutting ties with Brussels.

A ban on the fees charged to tenants by letting agents and another increase in the Living Wage will be the centrepiece of efforts to help the so-called JAMs - 'just about managing' families.

Philip Hammond, pictured leaving Downing Street for the Commons today, said he is writing a 'new chapter' for the country

Mr Hammond will also plough an extra £1billion into welfare spending in a decisive break with the era of his predecessor George Osborne.

The Chancellor told the Cabinet this morning that his Autumn Statement 'is focused on preparing and supporting the economy as we begin writing a new chapter in our country’s history'.

He said the measures will have a ‘particular emphasis’ on raising productivity as well as a focus on ‘living within our means’ and ensuring economic ‘flexibility’ for the challenges ahead.

Mrs May told her senior ministers the package would be 'balanced and prudent'

‘This is an Autumn Statement which will deliver on the Government’s commitment to build an economy that works for everyone an which sets the economy on the right path for the long term,’ she said.

Ministers greeted Mr Hammond’s briefing with several rounds of banging on the Cabinet table.

In a controversial move, letting agents will be banned from imposing charges, averaging around £340 each, on young people and families seeking to rent a home.

Officials said the upfront fees – which are charged in addition to deposits and demands for the advance payment of rent – were making life hard for the lower paid and students.

Theresa May (seen leaving Downing Street for PMQs this morning) has been urging Mr Hammond to bring forward measures to help hard-pressed workers

But landlords last night reacted with fury to the ‘unworkable’ plans, which they warned would have a ‘boomerang’ effect.

Critics said the charges would simply be passed on to buy-to-let landlords – many of whom are middle-class families who own a second property as a nest egg – or to the tenants themselves.

The measure will be unveiled in Mr Hammond’s first Autumn Statement, which parks Theresa May’s Government firmly on the centre ground of British politics and is intended to squeeze the life out of Labour.

A ban on the fees charged to tenants by letting agents and another increase in the Living Wage will today be at the centre of a Government package to help families who are ‘just about managing’. Philip Hammond is pictured making his final preparations in No11 yesterday

Ministers were assembling at Downing Street today to be briefed on the final details of the Chancellor's Autumn Statement. Pictured, Home Secretary Amber Rudd

Other measures will include: an extra £1.4billion to provide 40,000 new homes; £37million of handouts to military charities and other groups funded by fines on bankers; a £1billion investment in broadband and the mobile network; £1.3billion for roads and other transport projects.

Insiders said that, apart from spending on infrastructure such as roads and broadband, the package will be ‘fiscally neutral’.

This means that any new spending commitments intended to help families who are ‘just about managing’ – nicknamed JAMS in Whitehall – will be funded by tax rises elsewhere. Mr Hammond is also expected to unveil measures to crack down on tax avoidance and a raid on some of the ‘salary sacrifice’ perks enjoyed by middle-class workers.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, left, and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon were among those gathering at Downing Street today

£1BILLION TO REVERSE OSBORNE CUTS TO UNIVERSAL CREDIT An extra £1billion will be ploughed into the welfare budget to reverse George Osborne’s cuts to Universal Credit. The cash will be used to soften the impact of £3billion of reductions in the value of state handouts to those on low-paid jobs. Insiders said this will be paid for by raising taxes elsewhere, rather than new borrowing. A key aspect of Universal Credit – the brainchild of former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith – is encouraging the unemployed to return to work by not removing all of their benefits straight away. Ex-chancellor Mr Osborne fixed the so-called taper rate at 65p in March, meaning for every pound a worker earns over a fixed threshold, they will keep 35p of their benefits. Today Chancellor Philip Hammond will announce he is lowering the taper to 63p at a cost of £1billion. Treasury officials said it amounted to a ‘significant investment … which will increase work incentives for approximately three million families’. Advertisement

Education Secretary Justine Greening (left) and Brexit Secretary David Davis are being filled in on the Autumn Statement measures, which include a ban on letting agent fees

The ban on letting agent charges – which was first suggested by former Labour leader Ed Miliband – was dismissed as unworkable by the Cameron government only six months ago.

Last night Richard Price, of the UK Association of Letting Agents, said: ‘A ban on agent fees may prevent tenants from receiving a bill at the start of the tenancy, but the unavoidable outcome will be an increase in the proportion of costs which will be met by landlords, which in turn will be passed on to tenants through higher rents.’

Richard Lambert, of the National Landlords Association, said: ‘Banning letting agent fees will be welcomed by private tenants, at least in the short term, because they won’t realise that it will boomerang back on them.’

But Campbell Robb, of Shelter, said: ‘Millions of renters have felt the financial strain of unfair letting agent fees for far too long, so we’re delighted with the Government’s decision to ban them.’

Business Secretary Greg Clark and Justice Secretary Liz Truss arrive in Downing Street for the Cabinet meeting this morning