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Scottish Sun

All the winners and losers in today's spending review – from pensioners to parents… everything you need to know

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RACHEL Reeves today splurged £300bn on public services in a make-or-break attempt to appease her party and the country. Ms Reeves reversed winter fuel cuts, restoring the £200-£300 sum to nine million pensioners at a cost of £1.25bn. 2 Rachel Reeves announced £113bn worth of spending commitments today Credit: Alamy 2 The Chancellor splashed the cash on free school meals, affordable housing and the NHS Credit: Crown Copyright She also committed £39bn to affordable housing and confirmed free school meals will be given to all kids living in households that claim universal credit. But the Chancellor refused to reveal how her spending spree will be paid for, triggering fears of huge tax rises in the Autumn Budget. Here are the major winners and losers from today's Spending Review announcement. WINNERS HOUSING The Chancellor confirmed a £39bn cash injection over the next decade into social and affordable housing. She said the plan would 'match the scale of the housing crisis,' with direct funding focused on homes for social rent. An extra £10bn will also go to Homes England to unlock private investment and deliver hundreds of thousands more homes. SCHOOL MEALS Half a million more kids will be entitled to free school meals under a massive expansion of the scheme. Every child in a household on Universal Credit will now be eligible for state sponsored lunches, in a move that should lift 100,000 children out of poverty. Expanding free school meals will save parents on benefits £500 per child every year, according to the Department for Education. Kids in UC households currently not eligible will be able to start claiming lunches from the start of the 2026 school year. Meanwhile, more than 750 free breakfast clubs will be rolled out across the country. Defence The Chancellor unveiled a major hike in defence spending today, raising it to 2.6 per cent of GDP by 2027 — up from the previous 2.5 per cent pledge. She confirmed an £11bn boost for the Ministry of Defence and £600m for the UK's intelligence services, calling it essential in an 'age of insecurity.' An additional £6bn will be spent to upgrade nuclear submarine production, which will support thousands of jobs across Barrow, Derby and Sheffield. Ms Reeves said: "The investment will deliver not only security, but also renewal." NHS The NHS will benefit from a whopping £30bn cash boost for day-to-day spending. The technology budget for the health service has been raised by 50%. A mega £10bn will be invested into dragging the NHS into the digital age, including improving the app. Transport The Chancellor confirmed a £15bn package to 'properly connect' Britain's towns and cities The cash includes upgrades to buses in Rochdale, stations in Merseyside and Middlesbrough, and mass transit in West Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, Birmingham and Stockport. She also announced a four-year settlement for Transport for London, a fourfold increase in Local Transport Grants, and a £3.5bn boost for the Transpennine Route Upgrade. A further £2.5bn is going into East-West Rail and new funding was confirmed for the Midlands Rail Hub and £445m for Welsh railways. Pensioners The Chancellor confirmed that over three quarters of pensioners will receive the Winter Fuel Payment this year, as part of efforts to ease the cost of living. She also pledged to cut bills in future winters through an expanded Warm Homes Plan, including £30m for Blackpool, £11m for Rugby, and £7m for Bradford. To help families now, the £3 bus fare cap will be extended until at least March 2027, and school uniform costs will be capped. She said: "I know that for many people the cost of living remains a constant challenge. "Which is why we are capping the cost of school uniforms. "And I can tell the House today that I am extending the £3 bus fare cap until at least March 2027. "Earlier this week, we announced that over three quarters of pensioners will receive the Winter Fuel Payment this year. "And there is more, to get bills down not just this winter but in winters to come, we have expanded the Warm Homes Plan to support thousands more of the UK's poorest households, including providing £7 million to homes in Bradford; £11m to homes in Rugby; And £30m to homes in Blackpool." Nuclear Energy The Chancellor has pledged the "biggest roll-out of nuclear power for half a century" - with a £30bn commitment to clean, homegrown energy. She confirmed £14bn for Sizewell C to power six million homes and create over 10,000 jobs, including 1,500 apprenticeships. An extra £2.5bn will fund Small Modular Reactors with Rolls Royce as the preferred partner, and a further £2.5bn will go into nuclear fusion in Nottinghamshire. LOSERS POLICE Despite a major lobbying effort by police chiefs, spending power for forces will only rise by an average 2.3% per year in real terms. The £2bn funding hike has been slammed as no where near enough to meet pledges from the government to halve knife crime and end violence against women and girls. commitment of putting 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales. FARMING Family farms will continue to be clobbered by a 20% inheritance tax raid. Environment Secretary Steve Reed has had to accept funding for farms will be reduced, money restricted to just a small number. Meanwhile, DEFRA hasn't manage to secure huge funding for flood defences. EDUCATION Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has been forced to accept a major squeeze on school spending in the years ahead. Head teachers will have to raid existing budgets to help fund a 4 per cent pay rise for staff next year. Ministers have pledged £615m to help pay for the rise - but that will only cover around three quarters of the cost.