
Spending Review: Labour boosts housing, NHS and defence budgets
A big day for the UK economy – Rachel Reeves made the NHS one of the biggest winners in today's Spending Review. It will get a 3% increase in its day-to-day budget for the rest of this Parliament. Even then, some were grumbling that it might not be enough.
But other departments like the Home Office, Foreign Office and the Environment face real cuts in current spending. The Chancellor also confirmed big increases for long-term capital spending on house building, defence and energy.
The Conservatives claimed it was a 'spend now, tax later' review.
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Households face council tax hikes and £10billion stealth levies as Reeves gets boxed into corner by shrinking economy
Economists warned the circumstances meant tax hikes are almost certain this autumn GOGGLE-BOXED IN Households face council tax hikes and £10billion stealth levies as Reeves gets boxed into corner by shrinking economy HOUSEHOLDS face council tax hikes and £10billion in stealth levies as Rachel Reeves gets boxed into a corner by the shrinking economy, experts warn. The Chancellor, who wore protective goggles during a visit to the University of Derby yesterday, learned growth fell 0.3 per cent in April — less than 24 hours after her £113billion spending review splurge. Advertisement 2 Rachel Reeves wears protective goggles during a visit to the University of Derby Credit: Simon Walker / HM Treasury 2 Households face council tax hikes and £10billion in stealth levies Credit: Getty Businesses are reeling from the National Insurance rise, a jump in the minimum wage and ongoing uncertainty over Donald Trump's global trade war. Economists warned the circumstances meant tax hikes are almost certain this autumn — along with hard-pressed town halls having to up council tax rates by five per cent next year to pay for local services. Former Office for Budget Responsibility committee member Andy King said 'the writing was on the wall for another fiscal hole' — which would trigger tax rises or possible spending cuts in the Budget. Another expert accused Ms Reeves of 'making up numbers' in her spending review as there were few clues where savings would be found. Advertisement READ MORE ON SPENDING REVIEW TAX BLOW Council tax bills to rise at fastest rate in 20 years after Reeves' review Paul Johnson, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said her demands that all Whitehall departments cut administration budgets by ten per cent a year were not the result of a 'serious analysis'. He also said that if Ms Reeves was forced to raise taxes, the most politically straightforward approach would be to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds. Mr Johnson added that her plans will result in a 'sting in the tail' because local authorities would have to raise their levies. More than half of Brits — 52 per cent — reckon Ms Reeves' spending review will have a negative economic impact rather than positive. Advertisement But one piece of good news did emerge yesterday, as it was revealed the UK was finally ready to sign its trade deal with the US.


The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Why can't ministers just tell us where they plan to house migrants once spending on hotels stops?
What trust? WHY can't ministers just tell us where they plan to house migrants once spending on hotels stops? Their only answer to the question is to repeatedly insist that the Government wants to deport those who have no right whatsoever to be here. 1 How can voters have any trust in that? In the year to March, just 6,339 people were forcibly returned. But more than 15,000 have arrived illegally by small boat already in 2025. Another 125,000 people are still waiting for decisons on their asylum claims. So in the unlikely event ministers find an immediate way of either stopping the boats entirely or sending migrants straight back to France, tens of thousands will have to be housed for years. The uncomfortable truth for the Government is that the vast majority will be shoved into rented accommodation — for several years to come. Blocks of flats filled largely with young, unemployed men. All living for free among families struggling to pay the bills. Surely even the Home Office can see this is not a recipe for community cohesion? Zero cheer PRESIDING over an economy as remorselessly sluggish as the UK's, it was perhaps unwise of the Chancellor to boast that Britain has enjoyed the fastest growth in the whole of the G7. Yesterday's GDP figures for April showing a 0.3 per cent fall mean we are now in danger of having the fastest SLOWING economy. Some of the mini-slump was caused by Donald Trump's insane tariffs. But the cost to businesses of the National Insurance rise on employers is now very real. It has cost jobs, while also squeezing wages and consumer spending. Next spring, bigger bills landing on the doorstep will include whacking great council tax. That is now set to rise at the fastest rate for 25 years. Far from fixing the foundations, the Chancellor's problems are again piling up. Awful April might just signal the start of an even worse year. Pray for them THE terrible scenes which unfolded during the Air India crash were, as the King said, desperately shocking. It is horrifying to think of so many loved ones gone in a few moments of appalling tragedy. Couples like Brits Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who were just returning from a holiday of a lifetime. Yesterday was a day of overwhelming pain and grief.


The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Hapless French cops get worse at preventing small boats from crossing Channel as they make mockery of £480m deal with UK
HAPLESS French cops are getting even worse at preventing small boats crossing the Channel — despite demanding more money from British taxpayers. Police in Calais are making a mockery of the current £480million deal with the UK by stopping a lower proportion of illegal migrants this year, shock figures show. 6 6 6 It comes the day after The Sun told how officers refused to get their feet wet as an asylum seeker family struggled in water trying to reach a dinghy off Gravelines. Analysis of Home Office data, which details how many migrants France claims to have prevented from making the journey, reveals the three-year cooperation agreement has changed nothing. Since May 2024, there have been only two months in which French cops have stopped more migrants than the number arriving in the UK — last August and this January. Our research also found that in March, for every migrant caught or made to turn back, 2.36 were picked up by the UK Border Force. During seven days in late April, 1,312 migrants arrived, yet only 303 were stopped — a ratio of more than four to one. Overall, three of the French police's five least effective weeks have come since the start of 2025. Former Tory security minister Sir John Hayes yesterday said: 'These figures reveal what most people suspected — the French are half-hearted about what we're paying for them to do. 'Frankly, they've got enough people and resources to puncture every dinghy before it sets off. They should be doing all they can to stop these boats launching, not just standing around.' Downing Street admitted there was 'more to do' in stopping small boat crossings. But defending the France deal, Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said: 'We have a stronger relationship with the French government. Ever closer cooperation is already bearing fruit but we do know that we need to go further and faster.' France counts arrests, dinghy captures, and finds of smugglers' gear like boats and life vests as 'preventions'. Scores of migrants board overloaded dinghies to make dangerous Channel crossing to UK - as French cops watch on It is set to change the law to allow 'taxi boat' interceptions at sea — but could demand more cash for a new elite police squad. However, militant police unions are blocking the measure and are instead instructing members to adhere to current guidelines that mean officers must stand back as soon as dinghies are in the water. It costs £41,000 a year for the UK to house and feed each illegal immigrant in one of 210 hotels or other private accommodation. 6 6 6 Had France stopped as many people as had arrived this year, 2,905 fewer migrants would have entered Britain between January and the end of May. That would have saved taxpayers at least £119million. Last week, The Sun revealed Britain's annual bill to keep migrants in hotels and look after them totals £4.7billion. That is the equivalent of every penny of tax from 582,000 workers, or all the workers in Manchester. More than 15,000 people have crossed so far in 2025 — up 42 per cent on this time year. The Home Office was approached for comment. BOUNCE CHECKS By Martina Bet REFORM UK claims taxpayers' cash is being 'explosively' blown on council waste — including trampolining for asylum seekers. Zia Yusuf recently stepped down as the party's chairman but has returned to lead its newly launched 'Doge team' — inspired by Donald Trump's Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency in the US. He told TalkTV: 'Some explosive things we've found councils spending money on. You can try taking asylum seekers and illegal migrants trampolining as an example.' Mr Yusuf last month said Reform could take the Government to court to prevent migrants being housed in areas where it now controls the local councils. And asked if the party's policy was to house migrants in tents, Mr Yusuf told the BBC: 'That's what France does.'