Chancellor Rishi Sunak will present his next Budget to MPs on 3 March.

The Treasury issued a short statement to confirm the date this week.

It said that: “The Budget will set out the next phase of the plan to tackle the virus and protect jobs and will be published alongside the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).”

Separately, the Chancellor announced this week the furlough scheme would be extended to April rather than ending in March.

The Chancellor’s presented his last Budget on 11 March, just before the first Coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

Since then the economy has been rocked by the pandemic forcing Mr Sunak to launch a rapid series of measures to protect jobs and maintain some economic activity. These included the ‘Plan for Jobs’ and the ‘Winter Economy Plan.’

Some commentators have forecast that he will need to raise taxes substantially in his next Budget to pay for Government pandemic measures but the Treasury has remained tight-lipped on any tax raising plans.

In his last Budget in March this year measures he announced included £12bn for ‘temporary’ Coronavirus support, increased NHS spending and an increase in the National Insurance Contribution threshold. The National Living Wage was raised to £8.72.

Later he announced a number of loan schemes designed to support business through the crisis.