The Budget will take place on Wednesday 24 March, the Government has confirmed today.
All eyes will now be on Chancellor Alistair Darling to see if he has taken note of the pleas for a freeze on beer duty.
Duty is set to rise 2% above inflation if Darling sticks to his duty escalator plan announced two years ago.
But with the pub sector hit by a mammoth 20% rise in duty since March 2008 and closures hitting 52 a week earlier this year, the industry will hope Darling will relent on the escalator.
The British Beer and Pub Association has already told the Treasury a freeze on beer duty could save 7,500 jobs over the next 12 months.
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