British Treasury chief John Healey presented his first budget, funding a 100 pound ($133) winter energy payment for 20 million households, an extended value-added tax cut on electricity and the removal of gas standing charges through a temporary 3-point increase in the bank profit surcharge and higher taxes on gambling machines and on savings and property income, the BBC reported on Oct. 28. On the same day, the Office for Budget Responsibility cut its 2027 growth forecast to 1% from 1.6% and reduced the government's fiscal headroom to 15 billion pounds in 2029-30, down from 23.6 billion pounds in March.