Everything Rachel Reeves promised in Spending Review, including new asylum rules
Everything Rachel Reeves promised in Spending Review, including new asylum rules
The Chancellor has set out how money will be spent on everything from energy and border security to education, housing and the NHS
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves in the House of Commons
Rachel Reeves has set out her spending plans for the coming years, with big increases for the NHS, defence and schools. Arguing that the Government is 'renewing Britain', she said 'too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it'.
The Chancellor also announced more money for border security, and said the Government would end the housing of asylum seekers in hotels within the lifetime of this Parliament - saving £1billion a year.
The Chancellor said: 'To support the integrity of our borders I can announce that funding of up to £280 million more per year by the end of the spending review for our new Border Security Command. Alongside that, we are tackling the asylum backlog. The party opposite left behind a broken system: billions of pounds of taxpayers' money spent on housing asylum seekers in hotels, leaving people in limbo and shunting the cost of failure onto local communities. We won't let that stand.
'So I can confirm today that, led by the work of … the Home Secretary, we will be ending the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers in this Parliament. Funding that I have provided today, including from the Transformation Fund, will cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases, and return people who have no right to be here, saving the taxpayer £1 billion per year.'
Government departments
Total departmental budgets will grow by 2.3% per year in real terms, the Chancellor has announced as she set out her spending review. Reeves has said austerity under the coalition government was a 'destructive choice' for society. T he Chancellor said: 'In this spending review, total departmental budgets will grow by 2.3%-a-year in real terms. Compare that to the Conservative choice for austerity. In contrast to our increase of 2.3%, they cut spending by 2.9% per year in 2010.
'So let's be clear, austerity was a destructive choice for the fabric of our society. And it was a destructive choice for our economy too, choking off investment and demand, creating a lost decade for growth, wages and living standards.'
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She added: 'My choices are different. My choices are Labour choices. The choices in this spending review that are possible only because of my commitment to economic stability and the decisions that this Government has made. The Conservatives' fiscal rules guaranteed neither stability, nor investment. And that is why I changed them. My fiscal rules are non-negotiable and they are the foundation of stability and of investment.'
She said: 'This Government's task – my task – and the purpose of this spending review is to change that, to ensure that renewal is felt in people's everyday lives, their jobs, their communities.'
Increase for NHS and schools
Among the main announcements are a £30 billion increase in NHS funding, a rise of around 2.8% in real terms, along with an extra £4.5 billion for schools and a rise in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.
The Chancellor has already insisted that her fiscal rules remain in place, along with Labour's manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT. She said: 'I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal.
'These are my choices. These are this Government's choices. These are the British people's choices.'
Other announcements include £39 billion for social and affordable housing over the next decade as the Government aims to meet its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the next election. The Treasury said this would see annual investment in affordable housing rise to £4 billion by 2029/30, almost double the average of £2.3 billion between 2021 and 2026.
The Chancellor has also already announced some £15.6 billion of spending on public transport in England's city regions, and £16.7 billion for nuclear power projects, the bulk of which will fund the new Sizewell C plant in Suffolk. There is also an extension of the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027 and an extra £445 million for upgrading Welsh railways.
The Government has also promised £750 million for a new supercomputer – the UK's most powerful – in Edinburgh.
Defence spending increase
Defence spending will rise to 2.6% by April 2027, Reeves confirmed, as she said Britain will become a 'defence industrial superpower'.
The Chancellor quoted Sir Keir Starmer who said the global security situation meant a 'new era for defence and security' was needed. Increased spending would lead to jobs across the UK, she added.
She said: 'A new era in the threats we face demands a new era for defence and security. That's why we took the decision to prioritise our defence spending by reducing Overseas Development Aid so that defence spending will now rise to 2.6% of GDP by April 2027 including the contribution of our intelligence agencies.
'That uplift provides funding for the Defence Secretary, with a £11bn increase in defence spending and a £600m uplift for our security and intelligence agencies. That investment will deliver not only security, but also renewal in Aldermaston and Lincoln; Portsmouth and Filton; On the Clyde and in Rosyth. Investment in Scotland. Jobs in Scotland. Defence for the United Kingdom, opposed by the Scottish National Party delivered by Labour.'
Ms Reeves said £4.5 billion would be invested in munitions in Glasgow, Glascoed, Stevenage and Radway Green. £6 billion will be spent on upgrading nuclear submarine production in Barrow, Debry and Sheffield.
She added: 'We will make Britain a defence industrial superpower. With the jobs, the skills and the pride that comes with that.'
Money for AI and Port Talbot
Reeves has also announced £2 billion for an artificial intelligence (AI) action plan.
She told the Commons: 'Because home-grown AI has the potential to solve diverse and daunting challenges, as well as the opportunity for good jobs and investment in Britain, I am announcing £2 billion to back this Government's AI Action Plan, overseen by the Secretary of State for Science and Technology (Peter Kyle).'
She added: 'To champion those small businesses seeking access to finance as they look to grow I am increasing the financial firepower of the British Business Bank, a two-thirds increase in its investments. Increasing its overall financial capacity to £25.6 billion, to help pioneering businesses start up, and scale up, backing Britain's entrepreneurs and wealth creators.'
Earlier in her speech, the Chancellor also confirmed a £500 million grant to Tata Steel for its Port Talbot site.
Money for transport
The Government will set out plans 'to take forward our ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail' in the coming weeks, the Chancellor has announced alongside an additional £3.5 billion to upgrade the Transpenine route. The Chancellor has also already announced some £15.6 billion of spending on public transport in England's city regions.
Reeves announced a series of investment in the UK's railways, including an additional £3.5 billion for the TransPennine route upgrade.
In her speech, she told the Commons: 'I can announce a further £3.5 billion of investment for that route (TransPennine). But my ambition and the ambition of people across the north is greater still and so in the coming weeks I will set out this Government's plans to take forward our ambitions on Northern Powerhouse Rail.
'I have also heard the representations of … members for Milton Keynes North, Milton Keynes Central, and Buckingham & Bletchley. And I can tell the House today, to connect Oxford and Cambridge, and to back Milton Keynes' leading tech sector, I am providing a further £2.5 billion for the continued delivery of East-West rail.'
Money for nuclear energy
Britain's spending on small modular nuclear reactors will ensure the UK is at the 'forefront of a global race for new nuclear technologies', Rachel Reeves said. She said the preferred partner for the £2.5 billion project is Rolls-Royce. The same amount will be spent on nuclear fusion.
'This investment is just one step towards our ambition for a full fleet of small modular reactors as well as providing a route for private sector-led advanced modular reactor projects to be deployed in the UK,' the Chancellor told MPs. She added it would 'strengthen Britain's position at the forefront of a global race for new nuclear technologies'.
The Chancellor said the Government would also support the Acorn project for carbon capture in Scotland. She said: 'These are investments to make sure the towns and cities which powered our last industrial revolution will play their part in our next industrial revolution, to reduce our reliance on overseas oil and gas and protect working families from price shocks.
'A new generation of energy industries – for a renewed Britain. That is my choice. That is Labour's choice. And that is the choice of the British people.'
Money for parks and libraries
The Government has announced millions to go to local authorities to improve community facilities such as parks, swimming pools and libraries. The money will go to hundreds of communities, with a focus on those in deprived areas.
Money for prisons and police
There will £14billion to provide more than 14,000 new prison places. There will also be an increase in police spending of more than £2billion to be used to provide more police and PCSOs. Police spending power will rise by 2.3% a year in real terms over the review period, providing more than £2 billion for police forces, the Chancellor has announced.
Money for devolved nations
Rachel Reeves announced £52 billion for Scotland, £20 billion for Northern Ireland, and £23 billion for Wales, as she pledged the 'largest settlements in real terms since devolution was introduced'.
The Chancellor also announced £118 million will be spent on the safety of coal tips in Wales. She told the Commons: 'This spending review provides the largest settlements in real terms since devolution was introduced, with £52 billion for Scotland, £20 billion for Northern Ireland, by the end of the spending review period, and £23 billion for Wales.
'And having heard representations from many Welsh Labour colleagues and because I know the obligation we owe to our industrial communities, I am providing a multi-year settlement of £118 million to keep coal tips safe in Wales.'
She added there would be 'additional funding to support up to 350 communities, especially those in the most deprived areas'.
Money for training
Extra money will be spent on training and apprenticeships to stop people being 'turned away at the door'.
Rachel Reeves said the £1.2 billion funding increase was needed to help people 'thrive in the industries of the future'. She listed careers including scientists, engineers, designers as well as builders, welders and electricians.
She said: 'I know the ambition, the drive, the potential of our young people. And it cannot be right that too often those ambitions and that potential are stifled when young people who want training find courses oversubscribed turned away at the door forcing growing businesses, eager to recruit that talent, to look elsewhere. Potential wasted and enterprise frustrated.'
Money for education
The Chancellor announced £370million for school-based nurseries and £550million for 'transformation funding' to keep children at home, rather than going into care. The chancellor said she is announcing £4.5billion for education funding. She announced £2.3billion per year to upgrade schools and billions more to replace crumbling school buildings.
Rachel Reeves has said £370 million will be spent on school-based nurseries, in addition to £555 million to 'break the dangerous cycle of late intervention and low-quality care'.
The Chancellor told the Commons: 'I can also announce £370 million for school-based nurseries, to put us firmly on track to meet our Plan for Change commitment – for a record number of children being school-ready.
'And for children's social care, to break the dangerous cycle of late intervention and low-quality care, I am providing £555 million of transformation funding over the spending review period, so that children do not go needlessly into care when they could stay at home. And, for children where state intervention is necessary, better care and better outcomes.
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'And last week, I was pleased to announce, with … the Culture Secretary (Lisa Nandy) that more than £130 million from the Dormant Assets scheme with the financial services sector will be allocated to fund facilities for our young people, to give every child the chance to take part in music, sport and drama, to fund libraries in schools, so that the confidence and opportunities that those resources open up, are no longer the preserve of a privileged few.'
Money for NHS
The Government is increasing real-terms day to day spending in the NHS by 3% per year for every year of the review period, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced, providing an extra '£29 billion per year' for the health service.
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