Philip Hammond will use his first Autumn Statement in a bid to frame the Conservative Party as a friend to “ordinary working-class people”, pledging to abolish controversial letting-agent fees for “generation rent” and easing the pain of welfare cuts.

The Chancellor is also promising a £1.4bn cash-injection for 40,000 “affordable homes” while permitting developers to use the money to build more rental properties.

Ministers hope the sweeteners, also including a rise in the minimum wage, might help distract attention from potentially explosive data exposing Brexit’s impact on the economy.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s assessment, released alongside the Chancellor’s statement, is expected to show slower growth and rising prices, with some early reports suggesting Brexit uncertainty has blown a £100bn hole in the Treasury’s coffers.

Theresa May promised in her opening speech as Prime Minister to lead a Government for the "just about managing", a group now known as the Jams.

In the Commons today, Mr Hammond will seek to build on that promise, unveiling measures “designed to improve the living standards of ordinary working-class people and their families”.

Among them is a proposed ban on letting agents’ fees aimed at helping 4.3 million households in private rental homes.

Theresa May Gives Maiden Speech Outside Downing Street as new PM

Citizens Advice say the fees, paid as people look to secure a property, are on average £337, whilst the charity Shelter has found one in seven pay more than £500.

The policy was promised by former Labour leader Ed Miliband back in 2014, while the Liberal Democrats have also campaigned for the move.

Shadow housing minister John Healey welcomed the Government’s “change of heart”, pointing out that Ms May had voted against a similar measure while Home Secretary. Lib Dem Peer Olly Grender said her party’s “relentless campaigning had finally paid off”.

Landlords and letting agents, however, warned the costs would now be passed on to households in rising rents.

Mr Hammond believes he will have to spend upwards of £1bn up to 2020 to ease the pain of planned cuts to the Universal Credit that have even caused consternation among some Tory MPs.

He will promise to reduce the 65 per cent rate at which UC is withdrawn from people who begin to earn higher amounts, to 63 per cent.

The Treasury said three million households will benefit. A couple with two children receiving the housing element of the UC, where one parent earns £30,000 a year, would benefit by £425 annually. A single parent with one child and no housing costs earning £15,000 a year would benefit by £170.

But critics pointed out that for most claimants the change in the taper rate will not offset the broader cuts to the UC brought in by the Conservatives last year.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said: “It would appear that this Autumn Statement is set to fail our first test to provide actual support for those on low and middle incomes.

“If, as reported, all the Chancellor is offering is a 2 per cent change in the taper rate, then it will be too little too late for those working families who have had to bear the brunt of six wasted years of failed Tory economic policies.”

The money for new affordable homes will form part of a broader housing package to be announced to MPs in the Commons.

Mr Hammond will also relax rules, allowing developers who previously could use government money to build housing for the Rent to Buy and Shared Ownership schemes, to also use it to build houses for the Affordable Rent initiative – which sees housing providers let homes at 80 per cent of the market rate.

It comes after Mr Hammond and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid pledged £5bn for schemes to boost housebuilding at Conservative conference.

The Government wants 200,000 new homes built each year, a target consistently missed. Just over 139,000 were completed in the year to June 2016, according to official data.

The focus on the rental market marks a shift from years of policy under former Chancellor George Osborne, aimed at boosting home-ownership, to instead trying to help those stuck paying landlords for a place to live.

Commenting on the new investment, Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb said it would be welcomed by Jams crying out for “genuinely affordable” homes.

He added: “We see the impact of our chronic shortage of affordable homes every day, with increasing numbers of people left with no choice but to fork out most of their hard-earned wages on expensive private rents, and wave goodbye to the chance of a stable home.

Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the “back of the queue” for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned – forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA – because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germany’s top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as “gateway to Europe” for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the Bundesbank—Germany’s central bank—told a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were “equivalent” between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still “miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market”, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEO’s performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterling’s fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty

“As always, the devil will be in the detail, and we looking forward to working with the Government to make sure that this funding helps provide homes for those struggling with high housing costs.”

Mr Hammond will also announce an increase in the National Living Wage to £7.50 an hour from April 2017 and spending £4.3m each year to strengthen minimum wage enforcement.

He will then have to present the OBR’s forecasts for growth and the state of the public finances in coming years, with one report suggested the body would highlight a £100bn black hole in government finances because of low tax revenues, slower growth and reduced investment on the back of the Brexit vote.

Mr Osborne had promised the UK finances would be in surplus by 2019-20, but instead the country is now on course to be running a significant deficit by then.