In a couple of weeks, Jeremy Hunt will present MPs with what it is hoped will be a carefully crafted plan to combat the gaping hole in the country's finances.

Whatever he does, it is bound to be unpopular. Presenting a budget at a time when the economy is struggling always is, and introducing plans that give the financial market confidence that the economy will recover and grow always costs the man in the street, whether through reduced services or by higher taxation.

One issue yet to be decided is the triple lock on the state pension and whether the country can afford to increase benefits such as universal credit.

Increasing the State Pension in line with inflation will cost an extra five billion pounds, which Hunt must find elsewhere.

One plan that is being discussed is a freeze on foreign aid. The UK provides almost fourteen and a half billion pounds in foreign annually, with Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan and Yemen receiving the most, according to 2020 statistics.