George Osborne delivers Autumn Statement: latest updates CHANCELLOR George Osborne will confirm his plans for Whitehall's budgets, including the Scottish Government, in his Autumn Statment today. Follow it live with The Scotsman's politics team. Eddie Barnes (@EddieBarnes23), David Maddox (@DavidPBMaddox) and Tom Peterkin (@TomPeterkin) with the latest... 12.43pm: Growth forecast for 2012 is down to -0.1%. The OBR says it is the eurozone crisis to blame, declares the Chancellor. We have a problem with "credit rationining," he adds - which presumably an improvement from a credit crunch. The OBR's longer term forecasts show that growth will be 1.2% next year, 2% the year after and 2.3% in 2015. 12.42pm: Osborne: "The economy is recovering and more quickly than our neighbours." Growth of 1.2 per cent growth estimated by OBR for next year. 12.40pm: OBR forecast says economy performed less strongly than expected and will shrink this year but weaker than expected growth over optimism by net trade not government fiscal policy. OBR gets Osborne out of trouble a little. 12.39pm: It is taking time but Britain's economy is healing," George Osborne said, prompting laughter from his opponents. People know we face deep seated problems at home and abroad. He says the UK has had to live with a decade of debt and a failure to equip the economy. Abroad, there is the US fiscal cliff and a eurozone in recession. "We are on the right track and turning back would be a disaster," Osborne says. 12.36pm: A surprisingly confident looking George Osborne opens off: "It has taken time but the British economy is healing." Osborne adds: "The message from this statement is that we are making progress." Progress but not as fast as he hoped as he will have to explain later. 12.27pm: Signs of the coalition rift growing further. For the first time since the Tories and Lib Dems came together in May 2010 there will be a separate Lib Dem briefing on the Autumn Statement. This has happened for previous Budgets and Autumn Statements and, as with the Leveson report last week, could mean there will be two different government lines. 12.23pm: During a very-soon-to-be-forgotten Prime Minister's Questions, David Cameron insists we are "cutting the deficit," and have reduced it by 25% since it came into office. He also exhibits what will be the Coalition's main line of counter-attack against Labour today. "How on earth can you deal with a borrowing problem by promising to borrow more?" he asks Ed Miliband. Ed Balls, needless to say, looks like he can barely wait to get on his feet to get stuck into the fact that Mr Osborne's deficit reduction plan is now no longer. 12.08pm: Here's what's at stake today... Robert Peston tweets: "Can the Chancellor save UK's AAA rating today? Investors tell me AAA is impossible to salvage,. will go in new year 11.30am: The Chancellor has briefed the cabinet on the Autumn Statement, telling them "Britain is on the right track" and we are "equipping Britain to succeed in the global race." Some leaks emerging: Lib Dem president Tim Farron says he expects benefits may be adjusted by less than the rate of inflation. He says this is "unavoidable" but the rich should shoulder the biggest burden. But it also looks likely that Mr Osborne will raise taxes on banks to help fill the hole in his budget. Overall, the Chancellor will be delighted this afternoon if the detail of his plans today - such as extra cash for infrastructure - overshadows the gloomy economic data to be published today which looks set to cause Mr Osborne to extend the "era of austerity" and force him to re-set his big deficit reduction plans.