Chancellor George Osborne will give his eagerly-awaited Autumn Statement to Parliament today at lunchtime (12.30 pm) and Financial Planner Online will be running live Twitter updates throughought his statement and after. To receive the alerts highlighting aspects of the statement relevant to Financial Planners and wealth manager simply follow our Twitter feed at: @FPM_Online. If you are not yet a Twitter user sign up for a free account now at twitter.com and then follow our tweets.

Experts believe Mr Osborne will be under pressure to kickstart the UK's moribund economy amid a backdrop of depressed GDP forecasts for next year. He will give MPs an update on the growth prospects for the UK economy and talk about the economic forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Details of already reported new measures including capital projects, credit easing, youth employment schemes and investmenet infrastructure investment are expected along with other measures.
The OECD has recently forecast that the UK economy will slip back into a modest recession in the first half of 2012 and while Mr Osborne will be under pressure to stimulate growth few expect any U-turn on the governmen's commitment to cut the deficit.
One area where Financial Planners are likely to show much interest is pensions with Mr Osborne believed to be considering attempts to encourage British pension funds to inject some £30bn in infrastructure projects over the next 10 years.
There may also be a £40bn scheme to guarantee bank loans to small businesses, a move which may help some expanding planning firms looking to grow, and a mortgage indemnity scheme to boost the housing market.

In its Autumn Statement wishlist Hargreaves Lansdown has urged Mr Osborne to alow transfers between Child Trust Funds and Junior Isas.

Danny Cox, head of advice, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Now Junior ISAs have launched, we simply do not believe that CTFs, under the current rules, are a long-term solution. The result is a two-tiered system, and the gap between those tiers is likely to become ever wider as more firms enter the Junior Isa market, making it ever more competitive."

"We believe the best way to avoid a two tiered system is to allow parents to choose by changing the rules to permit transfers from CTFs to Junior ISAs. This will allow children with CTFs a greater product choice and a wider investment choice. It also provides a more equitable solution for parents with children who currently qualify for different schemes, making it easier for parents to manage multiple accounts."