Ahead of Wednesday's Budget, Chancellor John Healey has been rolling out a series of small-bore announcements designed to give families what he calls "breathing space" with the cost of living - a phrase that presumably means you can now afford to breathe, but only slightly more cheaply than before.

The measures include making higher tax-free mileage rates permanent and removing import taxes on some food items. The BBC understands the government will also freeze fuel duty again in the Budget, while the Times reports it may also slow the pace of pay increases for younger workers on the minimum wage. Nothing says "breathing space" like a slightly smaller pay rise, presumably.

Removing tariffs from 100 food items could save households up to £21 per year when combined with existing tariff suspensions introduced in June and applied to products including pasta, fruit juice and tuna, according to the government. That's £21 a year - roughly the cost of a decent lunch, or one very cheap gherkin, depending on which party's press release you read.

Healey said that the ongoing wars in Iran and Ukraine had "hit families here at home through higher everyday costs." "We can't control global events, but we can act where we can make a difference," he added, which is a diplomatic way of saying the government cannot stop wars but can perhaps make your pasta marginally cheaper.

Other measures announced include making permanent a 55p per mile tax-free mileage rate for those driving up to 10,000 miles for work, with the rate rising from 25p per mile to 35p above that. Carers will be allowed to earn more than an existing earnings limit without losing their entire allowance, replaced with a taper mechanism instead - ending the so-called cliff-edge. Self-employed fathers will get two weeks of paternity pay, having previously missed out on payments of up to £194 a week for the period. And hundreds of additional Post Office drop boxes will be rolled out to make sending parcels easier, because nothing says modern Britain like more places to queue.

The government will also freeze fuel duty again in the Budget, the BBC understands. The 5p duty discount is also set to continue - first introduced in 2022 for 12 months, it has been extended ever since, in the time-honoured tradition of temporary measures becoming permanent.

The Times reports that the government may slow the pace of pay increases for people aged 18 to 20 who receive the National Minimum Wage. Pay for that age group is likely to rise by 3.9% from £10.85 an hour to around £11.27 when the chancellor makes the announcement during the Budget. That is far below the 26% increase in the National Minimum Wage the Labour government has announced since returning to power in 2024. Labour had promised in its manifesto to remove "discriminatory age bands so all adults are entitled to the same minimum wage" - a promise now apparently on a slow boat to nowhere.

Even after the reported rise, the rate remains below the National Living Wage, which applies to over-21-year-olds and is currently £12.71 an hour. That rate is set to rise by 3.9% to £13.20, the Times said, which is the kind of mathematical symmetry that suggests someone in the Treasury really likes 3.9%.

The list of products the government is removing tariffs on includes plant-based drinks such as soya, nut, cereal or seed. The government said removing tariffs on fertiliser aimed to help farmers, while changes to import levies on kerosene are targeted at households that rely on heating oil - because nothing warms the heart like a tariff cut on kerosene.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "We are taking on the big challenges facing the country. But that doesn't mean losing sight of the everyday problems that cost people money or simply aren't fair." The Conservatives, however, said Burnham's "everyday fixes" had already been wiped out by higher borrowing costs, taxes and inflation. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said: "Shoppers face rising costs at the till and families are struggling to make ends meet, but Burnham's plan is cheaper gherkins. This is an insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises." One does wonder what the gherkin ever did to deserve this.