Rachel Reeves

Rachel Reeves

Labour — Leeds West and Pudsey

Speaking in the House of Commons on 29 July 2024

Debate

Public Spending: Inheritance

Contribution

First, there is a £9 billion reserve for departmental expenditure, and it was spent three times over before I arrived in the Treasury. That is why we face these problems today. Secondly, yes, we fully intend to set longer-term budgets for capital expenditure, but we will have three-year spending reviews every two years for day-to-day departmental expenditure, which is really important for giving certainty, so that Government Departments can plan for the future. Today, no Department or local authority knows its budget beyond next March. That is no position to put Departments in, including the Ministry of Defence.

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