Prime minister says money will initially be used to rescue NHS as he faces backlash over manifesto-busting plan

• Nadhim Zahawi ‘not comfortable’ with breaking manifesto promises
• Boris Johnson faces growing red wall rebellion over social care tax rises

11.46am BST

This is from my colleague Heather Stewart.

Hearing the chancellor may increase taxation of company dividends as part of the package, to address the issue that company owners who pay themselves through divvies won’t be hit by the NICs rise.

11.44am BST

Boris Johnson (or, to be more accurate, the person who manages his Twitter account), has posted four tweets this morning about the announcement he will make at 12.30pm. They imply the national insurance increase is primarily needed to rescue the NHS after Covid, in line with the message being given out by Downing Street last night. (See 9.48am.)

1: The NHS cared for us when we needed it most, during the worst pandemic in a century.

Today I will set out my plan to ensure the NHS has the long term funding it needs so that we can help our NHS as it helped us.

2: The NHS heroically treated over half a million COVID patients and administered more than 91 million vaccines.

But the inevitable result of this extraordinary effort is that COVID has caused mounting backlogs and the number of patients needing care is at a record high.

3: So I will set out how we will support the NHS in the biggest catch-up programme in its history.

I will also set out a plan for social care to ensure that older people get the best possible care, without the fear or anxiety of catastrophic social care costs.

4: We will build back better from the pandemic and ensure that we have a health and care system fit for the future.

Our NHS remains the pride of the United Kingdom, and we will continue to make sure it is the envy of the world.