'I want a good job. I don't want to rely on universal credit'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered an update on her plans for the economy on Wednesday, announcing cuts to welfare and the civil service, but also increased spending on defence.

Reeves faces tough challenges, with the latest official economic forecast downgrading how much the UK economy is predicted to grow this year.

Those challenges are also being felt on the ground, in people's everyday lives.

People have contacted the BBC through Your Voice, Your BBC News to tell us how they are feeling about the months ahead and what plans they have to tackle the hurdles they face.

Health-related benefits were in the firing line when it came to the chancellor's changes to the welfare system.

Abdullahi Ibrahim from Croydon in south London has ADHD and autism, and receives universal credit (UC) and Personal Independence Payments (Pip).

His income varies, depending on how many hours he can get each week working as a teaching assistant, due to him being on a zero-hours contract. The more hours he works, the less he receives in UC.

Under the government's plans, there will be a stricter eligibility test for Pip, the main disability benefit, from November 2026. Under-22s will also no longer be able to claim the incapacity benefit top-up.

Abdullahi told the BBC the cuts to welfare were "concerning" as he relies on them to top up his income when he cannot secure work hours. He says he isn't sure yet whether his benefits will be impacted, but he'll "just accept it" if they are.

"It's not like I want to be in this situation. We don't want to be a lost generation," he says of young people like him.

Abdullahi continues to apply for a range of jobs but wonders when he discloses his health conditions on applications whether some employers decide not to interview or hire him.

"I do want to work a good contracted job and not rely on it (universal credit)," he says. "It has helped me a lot, but I would love to get more support – if there were more schemes to get into work."

Radhika Gupta was hoping for improvements to the NHS and cheaper travel costs.

She was disappointed public transport was not mentioned in Reeves's speech, as she was hoping for more action on reducing travel expenses because it is one of her biggest expenses at around £75 a month.

The student from Derry in Northern Ireland is in the third year of a five-year medical degree at Queen's University in Belfast.

She is pleased that NHS England is being dissolved as it "cuts out the middleman".

"If something is going wrong, you can hold the health secretary responsible for that," she says.

"Considering our healthcare is already a bit stretched, it'll be a long period of time before we get used to it," she adds, but suggests it could save money for the NHS in the long run.

Her parents and maintenance loan give her about £800 a month, which she supplements with tutoring and casual work in hospitality. Her rent is £600. There are extra costs like her scrubs - she needs several sets - at £35 a set.

"Things are quite tight," she says.

However, the fact the minimum wage is going up in April is something that she's happy with.

"Every penny counts, especially when you're a student," she says.

"I'm working paycheque to paycheque," says Dylan Caulkin. "If I have a tyre that pops, I rely on credit."

The teaching assistant, who lives with his parents near Truro, Cornwall, is about to start a new job as a support worker for people with learning difficulties.

At £12.24 an hour, his pay will be only just above the level the minimum wage is rising to in April. But it is more than he is getting in his current role.

"I'm very excited," he says. The opportunity for doing overtime, too, means the change will have a "massive impact" on his finances.

He pays his parents £160 a month rent and contributes to food costs, which are higher for him as he is on a gluten-free diet. His car - a necessity, he says - costs about £500 a month to run. And he has a small amount of credit card debt he is currently trying to clear.

He sometimes has £100 left over at the end of the month for spending on himself.

"I'm very lucky to have family around me," he says. "I wouldn't be able to survive without them."

He would like to see the government provide more help for young people like him.

"In the near-future I'm looking to move in with my partner but it is just so expensive."

Businessman Lincoln Smith owns and runs Custom Heat, a plumbing firm based in Rugby.

He saw Reeves's announcements as having a positive impact on his business, as the push to build more homes will mean more demand for plumbers.

"Things look more rosy for us. That the OBR (the government's financial watchdog) have proofed it all and validated it all, is all good," he says.

While he welcomes the chancellor's promise to build 1.5 million homes in the next five years, he says there is a skills shortage and tax rises will only make the problem worse.

"How on Earth are we going to build those homes? Brick and pipe layers are on the decline significantly.

"We are not on taking apprenticeships because of rising National Insurance and other costs - once they hit 20 years old, they are on a £25k salary and become unaffordable," he says.

Lincoln himself is taking a 20% pay cut to help balance the books for the forthcoming financial year.

He'll be earning £125,000, while his wife, who also works for the business, earns £45,000.

"It sounds like a lot," he admits, but the cut will still mean lifestyle changes. "When you are earning any salary, you set your outgoings based on it."

With a mortgage of £3,000 a month they are already at "breakeven point", he says.

"We haven't booked a holiday this year. We are definitely not going away," he says.

But if that is not enough he will look at moving house to reduce the mortgage.

It's a bit upsetting, he says, because it's the only house his sons, aged seven and four, have known.

"I know it's 'first world problems'," he says. "You've just got to do what you've got to do."

"There doesn't seem to be anything good on the horizon," says Malcolm Hindley, a retired window cleaner from Liverpool.

A widower, he lives with his daughter, who "does everything round the house" and cares for him and her disabled daughter.

He owns his own house, but finds it hard to get by on his £200-a-week state pension, plus attendance allowance of around £80 a week.

He needs a car to get to the shops and medical appointments, and has just been in a car accident that has left him with a neck brace, on top of existing mobility issues.

He says the chancellor's Spring Statement was a "waste of time".

"It's just hitting the poor again, isn't it? I don't really know what I was expecting - I certainly wasn't expecting more cuts.

"She is hitting the poor and worse off."

Losing the winter fuel payment was hard for Malcolm, because he feels the cold more as he gets older.

He doesn't have much left at the end of the month, but what he does have goes on ice creams and sweets for the grandchildren.

"When you see their faces it's brilliant," he says.

What happens next with interest rates is what matters most to Ellie Richardson and Billy Taylor.

They found their dream home for £350,000 last year, but the sale has been delayed and now won't be completed before stamp duty rises at the end of this month, costing them an extra £2,500.

"You have to roll with the punches," says Ellie, who works in sports PR. But they hope mortgage rates aren't also about to go up.

She and Billy, a builder, have been shuttling between his parents' and her parents' houses in Essex for the past three years.

"We've worked really hard to save as much as we can for this house," she says. "We're pretty set on it."

They have a joint income of around £80,000 and they have a mortgage offer that would see them pay around £1,200 a month.

But if the house purchase is delayed too long, they may end up having to apply for a new mortgage.

"The silver lining is, if we do complete later in the year, then hopefully mortgage rates could be lower," she says.

Additional reporting by Kris Bramwell & Emma Pengelly.