Four ways the spending review could impact you
Rachel Reeves has said her spending review tomorrow will be about 'making working people better off', admitting that not enough Britons are feeling their lives improving under the Labour government.
Sharing out some £113 billion freed up by looser borrowing rules, the chancellor is expected to announce funding increases for the NHS, schools and defence along with several infrastructure projects.
However, other areas could face cuts as the Treasury tries to fulfil its self-imposed fiscal rule to match day-to-day spending with revenues.
Some have suggested that the government will be unable to achieve this balance without imposing higher taxes, with tomorrow's spending review likely to set the tone for this year's autumn budget.
Here, Yahoo News takes a look at what the spending review entails, and how it is likely to affect your lives.
A spending review is the process the government uses to set all departments' budgets for future years, according to the gov.uk website, including for public services.
The current 2025 spending review takes place in two phases – the first of which concluded at the 2024 autumn budget when spending plans for 2024/25 and 2025/26 were confirmed.
Phase two, will prioritise delivering the government's missions, and has seen departments holding negotiations with the Treasury over their spending plans for the coming years.
Reeve's announcement tomorrow will set planned day-to-day spending totals for all government departments from 2026/27 to 2028/29, and investment spending plans for a further year (from 2026/27 to 2029/30).
The government has said that its review will be 'zero-based', meaning it will set budgets from zero and assess all spending for value for money, rather than adjusting up or down from existing budgets, according to Parliamentary documents.
Here are some ways this process could affect the lives of ordinary Britons.
The NHS is expected to receive an additional £30bn in funding in tomorrow's spending review – most likely at the expense of other public services.
A 2.8% increase to the Department of Health and Social Care's day-to-day budget is reportedly to be set over the three year spending review period, which according to The Times, amounts to a £17bn real-terms increase, although capital spending is only expected to rise in line with inflation.
What does this mean for patients? Well, it could help the government achieve its target of 92% of patients in England waiting for planned treatment being seen within 18 weeks of referral by the next election, rather than the current 60%.
The spending review will likely benefit the government's 10-year plan to modernise the NHS, including with more community-based care, better preventative treatment and digital technologies, with details on a revamp and additional funding of the NHS app expected to be announced in tomorrow's review.
This, in theory at least, means you could have more freedom and flexibility in accessing scan and test results, booking appointments, and receiving information on treatments and trials, as well as the ability to choose which hospital to go to.
Ahead of her review, Reeves announced that £15.6bn will go towards improving public transport projects in the North and Midlands – hopefully improving travel times and available routes.
The spending settlement includes £2.5bn for Greater Manchester for projects including new tram stops in Bury, Manchester and Oldham and £2.4bn for an extension of the metro from Birmingham city centre to the new sports quarter.
It also includes £2.1bn to start building West Yorkshire Mass Transit by 2028, £2bn for the East Midlands to design a new mass transit system between Derby and Nottingham and £1.8bn for a metro extension linking Newcastle and Sunderland via Washington.
An additional £1.6bn is being given to Liverpool City Region for new bus routes, including to the airport and football stadiums, while £1.5bn will go to South Yorkshire, including £530m to renew the region's trams.
The deal also includes £1bn for Tees Valley, including £60m for the Platform 3 extension at Middlesbrough station and £800m for the West of England, including £200m for mass transit links between Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and north Somerset.
The spending review looks to provide a big boost to public transport outside the capital, but Londoners will not fare as well, with Mayor Sadiq Khan decrying a lack of cash being allocated to London.
Campaigners feared that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's Warm Homes Plan was in line for cuts, although a government source has told The Guardian that Reeves has decided against this.
If this does prove true, then up to 300,000 households will likely have the same level of support in saving money on their bills and making their homes more energy efficient.
The plan includes a boiler upgrade scheme supporting households switching to a heat pumps, while lower-income households and renters are entitled to energy efficiency upgrades such as insulation and low-carbon heating.
Access to affordable housing may still prove challenging after tomorrow's review, however, with Inside Housing writing that the government's target of delivering 1.5 million new homes by the end of this Parliament is regarded by most as "unfulfillable".
Council services such as tenant support and homelessness services could also take a hit, with councils currently making an unprecedented £1.2bn of savings and cuts to balance their books, with the County Councils Network warning tomorrow's review will be a "make or break" moment.
It is rumoured that the government is considering introducing taxes on rental income for landlords in its Autumn budget to pay for the Department of Housing's spending.
Schools are expected to receive an unexpected extra £4.5bn a year in the upcoming spending review in a move that will be welcomed by teachers and parents alike.
This means day-to-day funding for schools will increase by more than £4.5bn a year by 2028-9 compared to this year, The Observer reports.
This will help cover the expansion of free school meals for families who receive Universal Credit, and partly fund a pay rise for teachers agreed upon last month.
However, school finances are still likely to feel squeezed, as the government puts £615m towards pay rises, with schools having to find £400m from their own budgets.
More money is also expected for reforms to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision, which will help more pupils stay in mainstream schools.
Additional money is also set to be made available from the Treasury's £113bn capital investment fund to repair leaking roofs and crumbling classrooms.
What is the spending review? Everything Rachel Reeves could announce to fix UK economy (The Independent)
London bracing for cuts in Chancellor's Spending Review (The London Standard)
Voices: Wes Streeting has won the spending review – but will he blow his winnings? (The Independent)
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