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Budget 2013: BBC News special
George Osborne has said he will "tackle the economy's problems head on" when he outlines his fourth Budget shortly.
In a message ahead of the annual statement, due at 12:30 GMT, the chancellor said he would help "those who want to work hard and get on".
The government is under pressure after output shrank at the end of 2012 and the UK lost its triple A credit rating.
There will be more cuts to fund infrastructure projects but Labour is urging Mr Osborne to "change course".
However, the government has vowed to stick with its central plan to cut the deficit. Ahead of the Budget, figures showed unemployment had increased for the first time in a year, rising by 7,000 to 2.52 million in the three months to January.
Mr Osborne will start speaking in the House of Commons straight after the half-hour Prime Minister's Questions, which began at noon.
Among media speculation about likely measures, The Sun said he would scrap next month's 6p rise in the cost of a pint of beer and would abolish the "alcohol duty escalator" where prices for beer, wine, cider and spirits automatically rise by 2% above inflation every year.
The Guardian said the chancellor might delay a planned rise in fuel duty due in September while The Times said he planned to offer help to "homebuyers, small businesses and cash-strapped households".
The Daily Mail says the chancellor will "unlock £4.8bn in child trust funds and allow parents to transfer their investments into more generous junior Isas".
Spending freezeIn a message on the micro-blogging website Twitter, Mr Osborne said his Budget would "tackle the economy's problems head on" and help "those who want to work hard & get on".
The chancellor will give his fourth Budget speech on 20 March at 12:30 GMT
There is full coverage of the Budget and how it affects you on the BBC News website
You can watch a special programme on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel from 11:30 GMT, with Budget specials on Radio 4 and 5 live from noon
Conservative MPs have called for tax cuts and a spending freeze, while Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable has led calls for an increase in capital spending, to build roads and houses.
On Tuesday, the chancellor told cabinet colleagues they would have to cut 2% of their departments' spending over the next two years, saving about £2.5bn. This money will be used to fund projects to benefit the economy.
Both Prime Minister David Cameron and Mr Osborne have ruled out extra borrowing to fund measures designed to boost growth.
Instead, the additional 2% departmental cuts - which come on top of the 3% spending reductions announced for the next two years in last year's Autumn Statement - will be used to boost capital spending.
The move, which will see health, schools and overseas aid protected, is made possible by underspending by government departments this year.
As well as additional cuts, Mr Osborne is also expected to set out the "spending envelope" - the total amount of spending available to departments - in the forthcoming Spending Review, which will take place on 26 June.
The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said the state of the public finances gave the chancellor little room for manoeuvre, while the latest economic forecasts to be announced on Wednesday were likely to be gloomy.
'Straight and competent'After Mr Osborne had to reverse a number of proposed tax changes in the last year's Budget following criticism, Nick Robinson said the chancellor would be determined this year's package "held together" and was regarded as being "straight and competent".
"Start Quote
End QuoteFirst the cuts. Next the giveaways. Then the grim economic forecasts."
But Labour leader Ed Miliband said the chancellor must be prepared "to change course, not to offer more of the same, because his economic plan is failing".
Mr Osborne is expected to announce government policy on alcohol pricing, following reports the government has ditched plans for a 45p-per-unit minimum alcohol price in England and Wales.
If the beer escalator is scrapped, the chancellor might also feel under pressure to increase taxes on cheap but strong alcoholic drinks, Nick Robinson added.
A boost for housebuilding and an extension of the government's NewBuy scheme, which helps people with small deposits buy newly built homes, may also be included in the Budget.
Simon Hughes, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said supporting construction was the "quickest way" to create jobs, while his party would also like to see further progress towards increasing the threshold at which people start to pay income tax to £10,000.
Inflation targetWhat is expected in the Budget
- Additional 2% cuts to most Whitehall departments over the next two years. The savings will go towards large-scale infrastructure projects
- Extension of the NewBuy scheme, to help people with small deposits buy newly built homes
- A further increase of the personal tax allowance to reach the coalition's stated ambition of £10,000
- An announcement on the government's policy on alcohol pricing. This could include scrapping the beer duty escalator, but with increased taxes on cheap, strong alcohol
- Possible changes to the remit of the Bank of England, to help it promote growth
- Possible downgrade of growth forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility and higher future borrowing
And there has been speculation the chancellor may look at changing the remit of the Bank of England to help the economy get back to sustained growth. potentially altering the 2% inflation target mandate set for its interest rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee.
Canadian Mark Carney, who takes over as governor in July, has expressed interest in expanding the Bank's role in some way, potentially targeting growth or unemployment alongside its current inflation target.
Ahead of the Budget, the government announced plans for some parents in the UK to be able to claim back up to £1,200 a year for each child - or 20% of childcare costs - from 2015.
Meanwhile, members of the UK's largest civil service union, the Public and Commercial Services Union, are staging a 24-hour strike on Wednesday in a dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions.
Government departments, driving test centres, museums and job centres are among workplaces expected to be hit while a rally will be held at Westminster while Mr Osborne delivers his Budget.
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