The government has announced that it will be streamlining the production of medication and treatment, including those used to treat inherited disorders and blood cancers.

In all, two new programmes have been set up to help companies produce more medication and get them to patients quicker , with enterprises in Oxford, Northumberland and London awarded £4.3 million in funding to develop digital solutions such as artificial intelligence, streamlining production of next-generation medicines.

He said the new tax would include “the manufacture and import of plastic packaging which has less than 30 per cent recycled plastic content”, because of the 2.26 million tonnes of plastic packaging used in the UK each year, the majority is virgin plastic because of the higher cost implications related to recycled materials.

Although announced within this year’s budget, the treasury made it clear that it would not come into effect until April 2022, after a period of consultation.

It is hoped that the tax will provide a clear financial incentive to make the switch from virgin to recycled plastics, and that the tax would launch alongside a new scheme aiming to encourage packaging producer responsibility.

As part of the push on tackling the plastic problem, Mr Hammond also announced he would be committing £10 million on further plastic research and another £10 million on innovations in recycling processes.

The tax on packaging was chosen over the likes of an introduction of an incineration or landfill tax, as the government says it wants to encourage a sustainable recycling effort as much as is possible.