It's budget day for the UK. Recognised as a key opportunity for the conservatives to pitch for votes ahead of the May general election, George Osborne's new measures will be watched closely by manufacturing and healthcare alike.
We bring you industry reactions as they come through.
Ahead of the first announcements, Kamal Ahmen, the BBC's Business Editor advised business:
Expect some help in the Budget for big business, which is very much a part of the government drive to rebalance the economy and reduce the reliance on public sector employment. There will be measures to support North Sea oil and gas producers in the wake of the slide in oil prices, such as tax cuts and relief on investment. George Osborne is also expected to announce moves aimed at getting big technology companies to pay their "fair share" of UK tax - and a crackdown on tax evasion as well.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls also takes the chance to dig for votes over the critical issue of the NHS, writing in his blog:
There’s one thing we can be certain of about George Osborne’s Budget today: from start to finish, it will be a cover-up of his terrible record as Chancellor.
The Conservatives came into office saying they’d protect our NHS, make people better off and balance the books -- but all three promises have been broken
Anita Charlesworth, Chief economist at the Health Foundation, told Channel 4:
How are we going to square the circle of dealing with the deficit while giving the NHS the additional funding that it needs to sustain services?
George Osborne comes to the subject of manufacturing in Budget 2015:
Britain's manufacturing output has grown more than four-and-a-half times faster than it did in the entire decade before the crisis. [...] We are seeing a truly national recovery.
British journalist Robert Peston tweets in reference to George Osborne's commitment to the Internet of Things (Mr Osborne gave the "ridiculous example" of smart fridges)
Osborne appears to have decided on support for the internet of things to generate a two-kitchens gag about ed miliband #budget2015
One twitter user said on the implications of the budget on medtech:
Great the UK #Budget2015 pledge on public access defibrillators & training. But untrained use (greater awareness) is key too. #AED #medtech
Commenting on measures to help the Oil & Gas sector, Paul Raynes, Director of Policy at EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, said:
“It is clear that the fall in oil prices has been a mixed blessing for manufacturing with firms exposed to delayed or cancelled investments in oil & gas exploration quickly feeling the effects through lost orders. Today’s announcement provides a solid signal from the Chancellor that government stands behind greater levels of activity in this important sector.”