Spending review now settled, says Downing Street
The government's latest spending plans are settled, the prime minister's official spokesman has said.Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to expected to announce funding increases for the NHS, schools and defence, along with a number of infrastructure projects, when she sets out her day-to-say spending and investment plans for each department in Wednesday's Spending Review.Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was the last to fix a deal on Monday afternoon, following public warnings from police chiefs, calling for more money.Housing Secretary Angela Rayner reached a deal with Reeves and the Treasury on Sunday evening.
Reeves has loosened Treasury borrowing rules to free up about £113bn for investment in infrastructure projects, but will need to squeeze budgets elsewhere in order meet her own rules, which include not borrowing to fund day-to-day spending.Last week, she admitted that she had been forced to turn down requests for funding for projects she would have wanted to back.Ministers seeking to protect their budgets remained locked in budget talks over the weekend.Announcing ministerial negotiations over the government's spending review had been completed, the prime minister's official spokesman said the chancellor would be investing in public services and growth."The spending review is settled - we will be focused on investing in Britain's renewal so that all working people are better off," he said."The first job of the government was to stabilise the British economy and the public finances, and now we move into a new chapter to deliver the promise and change."The Home Office had argued privately that police numbers must be maintained for the government to deliver its policy commitments on neighbourhood policing, but that under the spending proposals this would not be possible.Police chiefs including Sir Mark Rowley, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, had publicly lobbyied the government for more money in recent weeks, and there were suggestions the Treasury might have "imposed" a settlement on the Home Office.Over the weekend, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg the chancellor was facing pressure from all departments for additional funding. Kyle said "every part of society was struggling" and declined to rule out a squeeze on policing.The last-minute talks with Cooper come ahead of what is set to be a highly significant week for every part of government.Reeves has already U-turned on removing Winter Fuel payments from all but the poorest pensioners, and will now give these 75% of pensioners, which will cost an estimated £1.25bn.The government has also pledged to hike defence spending, invest £86bn in science and technology, and give free school meals to half a million more children.To balance the spending, Reeves has announced a £14bn package of savings in March, including £4.8bn of welfare cuts.However, opponents have accused the government of having the wrong priorities.Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "They have chosen to prioritise spending on Ed Miliband's mad green projects, on inflation-busting pay rises for their trade union paymasters and spending £100bn a year – five times the police budget – on debt interest payments."Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has urged the chancellor to rule out cuts to social care, which is financed through local councils.He said the government would have "more money in the pot, more growth, more revenue" if it pursued closer trading ties with Europe.
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