Public Spending: Inheritance

Jeremy Hunt Con

Godalming

Question

Hunt criticises the Chancellor's statement as a shameless attempt to lay grounds for future tax rises, without having the courage to explicitly announce them. He mentions that her statement will not fool anyone.

Minister reply

Reeves responds by stating that Hunt failed to take responsibility during his tenure and should have apologised for leaving behind poor public finances.

Clive Betts Lab

Sheffield South East

Question

Betts questions whether the previous Labour Government fixed the roof while the sun was shining, suggesting it destroyed foundations of public services. He welcomes two points made by Reeves: encouragement to work with local councils on pension credit and confirmation of multi-year settlements for local authorities.

Minister reply

Reeves confirms intentions to provide multi-year settlements for both Departments and local authorities, emphasising the importance of long-term planning. She also commits to working with local government to improve take-up of pension credit as recommended by elderly people’s charities.

Sarah Olney Lib Dem

Richmond Park

Question

Olney thanked the Chancellor for her statement and emphasised the need to invest wisely in health care providers like GPs, dentists, and hospitals. She urged the Government to set up a long-term industrial strategy to foster economic stability and address the crisis in health and social care by implementing free personal care and supporting unpaid carers.

Minister reply

The Chancellor thanked Olney for her contributions and highlighted plans for a modern industrial strategy with business partners, welcoming junior doctors back to work to reduce NHS waiting lists. She committed to no tax increases on working people and promised to meet constituents affected by the previous Government’s betrayal of hospital building promises.

Meg Hillier Lab Co-op

Hackney South and Shoreditch

Question

Hillier congratulated the Chancellor for making a strong start, emphasising transparency and accountability. She inquired about publishing Treasury assessments of public spending pressures as part of the charter for budget responsibility.

Minister reply

The Chancellor thanked Hillier for her question, agreeing that the charter will be published with legislation introducing a fiscal lock to prevent overspending like that seen under the previous Government.

Harriett Baldwin Con

West Worcestershire

Question

Baldwin criticised the removal of winter fuel allowance and questioned the focus on productivity, noting its decline in both public and private sectors according to OBR.

Minister reply

The Chancellor responded that productivity improvement is needed across both sectors. She highlighted the need for better value in public services while also boosting productivity in the private sector.

Jon Trickett Lab

Normanton and Hemsworth

Question

Trickett welcomed the statement on public sector pay, criticising Tory austerity policies that led to food banks and wealth accumulation for the richest individuals. He urged a rejection of ideological commitment to such austerity.

Minister reply

The Chancellor thanked Trickett for his question, committing to reward public sector workers properly as recommended by pay review bodies while rejecting a return to austerity.

Robert Jenrick Reform

Newark

Question

Jenrick criticised the Chancellor's credibility and trustworthiness in managing economic recovery.

Minister reply

The Chancellor advised Jenrick to start with an apology for previous Government’s mishandling of the economy.

Sam Carling Lab

North West Cambridgeshire

Question

I thank the Chancellor for her honesty on the incredibly serious situation that she has just outlined. Does she agree that the above-inflation pay deals agreed by this Government with our public sector staff will begin the process of rebuilding trust between them and our Government and will benefit the public purse by reducing strike action?

Minister reply

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. Let us just be clear that the pay recommendations today are in line with private sector pay. These are just the pay deals that are received by the majority of workers in the private sector. My hon. Friend is right that we owe a debt of gratitude to our frontline workers, who got us through the pandemic and so many other challenges over the last few years, and they deserve to be paid properly for their work.

Seamus Logan SNP

Aberdeenshire North and Moray East

Question

During the recent election campaign, we in the SNP repeatedly warned about an £18 billion hole in the Labour party’s spending plans. Now that the Chancellor has confirmed that today, will she apologise to those voters in Scotland who supported the Labour party leader in Scotland when he said: “Read my lips, no austerity”? Will she also reverse the 9% cut in Scotland’s capital allocation, please?

Minister reply

I am not sure if hon. Gentleman was paying attention. The £22 billion black hole is this year. The Institute for Fiscal Studies was warning about a black hole of £18 billion over the lifetime of the Parliament. Those are two very different things and both of them can be true. What we are showing today is an in-year gap of £22 billion that the hon. Gentleman did not know about, that no one on this side of the House knew about, that the OBR did not know about, and that the country did not know about. This is new information that is being published today, above and beyond what anyone knew when we were campaigning in the election.

Stella Creasy Lab Co-op

Walthamstow

Question

Frankly, the Conservatives’ response leaves something to be desired. After 14 years of stripping the engine of this country’s economy, their response is simply taking the piston. I am so proud that we now have a Chancellor who is not penny wise and pound foolish, but is conscious that all our constituents will have to pick up the pieces after the past 14 years. Can the Chancellor tell us a little more about her audit and what it has identified about the money wasted by the previous Government and their mismanagement of capital projects? We now know, for example, that the failure to rebuild Whipps Cross hospital has cost us an extra £15 million in the last few years alone. Our constituents will pay the price of the last Government for many years to come. This new Labour Government need to be honest with them. Sorry seems to be the hardest word for the Conservatives to say, but can the Chancellor tell us just how much money it will cost?

Minister reply

This country is owed a £22 billion apology by the Conservative party, and my hon. Friend is right to highlight the overspends, including on the hospitals programme; there is a £4 billion gap between what was announced and what is needed for those hospitals. There is also a £6.4 billion overspend on the asylum system. That was all unfunded and undisclosed until I disclosed it today.

Mark Francois Con

Rayleigh and Wickford

Question

I welcome the affirmation of the funding for Ukraine, which I presume was already fully allocated from the Treasury reserve, in the usual way. On the mainstream defence budget, the Chancellor has announced that all departmental spending will now be reviewed every two years. Given the speed at which Whitehall works, this means that the minute one review is finished, work will start on the next. All public spending, particularly capital spending, will effectively be under permanent review. This will not work. How can we commit to 10-year defence programmes, such as the vital new Tempest fighter, if all departmental budgets are up in the air every two years?

Minister reply

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.

Debbie Abrahams Lab

Oldham East and Saddleworth

Question

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, and particularly what she said about the public sector pay award. Could she share a little more about how, given the appalling economic conditions that we now face, she will incorporate equity in her decisions on how to address the in-year deficit?

Minister reply

I have to be honest that the decisions I have made today are tough decisions. They are not the decisions that I wanted to make, or that I expected to make. Given the seriousness of the inheritance that I face, they are the right decisions, the responsible decisions, and the fairest decisions that I could make in the circumstances.

Daisy Cooper Lib Dem

St Albans

Question

The legacy of the Conservatives’ new hospitals programme is dire, but the Chancellor will know that there is also a cost to delay. We have life-expired buildings that will continue to need to be patched up until they are replaced, so I urge the Chancellor, as I urged the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care last week, to give the go-ahead to those projects that are ready to go and involve life-expired buildings. Will she review the outdated rules, and allow hospitals to spend more of their capital funds on helping with repairs and rebuilds?

Minister reply

I welcome you to your place, Madam Deputy Speaker. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will meet with people affected. We were promised a new hospital in Leeds that has never been built, so I understand the concerns that right hon. and hon. Members have about the hospital programme. However, there is a £22 billion in-year overspend, which means taking incredibly difficult decisions. They are not the decisions that we would want to make, but they are responsible ones in the circumstances, given our dire inheritance from the Conservative party.

Jeevun Sandher Lab

Loughborough

Question

I used to work in the Treasury; what we have heard today about the Conservative party is shocking and shameful. The Chancellor has set out how far away the last Government were from meeting their own targets on hospital building. Does she agree that our plan, by contrast, represents a deliverable way to ensure we get waiting lists down?

Minister reply

My hon. Friend is welcome on the Government Benches with his expertise. Everything in our manifesto was fully costed and fully funded, including 40,000 additional NHS appointments every single week, which will be funded by cracking down on tax avoidance and ensuring that people who make their home in Britain pay their taxes here. We will finally deal with the terrible situation of non-doms claiming that they do not live in Britain for tax purposes, despite making their home here. Those people should contribute to the public purse; under Labour, they will.

Julian Lewis Con

New Forest East

Question

Congratulations on your election, Madam Deputy Speaker. I cannot hope to match the splendid double entendre of the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy), but may I say to the Chancellor that one effect of being here for a long time is a realisation that no one party has a monopoly on wisdom? Given the impartial assessment by the Library that covid cost this country between £310 billion and £410 billion, is she willing to at least concede that the previous Government did a pretty good job in getting inflation down to 2% less than two years after the pandemic?

Minister reply

The pandemic is no excuse for making unfunded spending commitments, which is precisely what the previous Government did. The right hon. Gentleman mentioned the pandemic, during which the Government handed out contracts to friends and donors to their party, putting them in a VIP lane. That is why we are appointing a covid corruption commissioner. We want that money back in our public services, where it belongs.

Bill Esterson Lab

Sefton Central

Question

Welcome to your place, Madam Deputy Speaker. It was not just the public finances that the Conservatives mismanaged over 14 years; they failed to support industry too. Figures published today demonstrate that Britain has dropped out of the top 10 countries for manufacturing for the first time since the industrial revolution. I welcome my right hon. Friend’s commitment to leveraging millions more in private investment to make up for the record low levels of private investment we saw under the previous Government. Does she agree that the latest manufacturing figures show how critical it is that the Government work closely with business and trade unions on a long-term industrial strategy?

Minister reply

I too saw the numbers today that show that Britain is out of the top 10 manufacturing countries, which is shameful given our history at the heart of the industrial revolution. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his work, which ensured that Labour went into the election as the most pro-business party. Through the reforms that we have already announced in our first three weeks in government—planning reforms, the creation of a national wealth fund, reform of our pension system and a modern industrial strategy—we will go about making Britain the best place to start and grow a business, and the best place to invest. We look forward to holding our international investment summit in the UK later this year.

Adrian Ramsay Green

Waveney Valley

Question

I have sympathy for the Chancellor’s seeking to address issues, but her solutions are focused on spending cuts. Will she please say more about revenue-generating opportunities and has she considered introducing a wealth tax?

Minister reply

We will not be introducing a wealth tax as it would discourage investment. We have set out manifesto commitments around non-dom tax loophole closures, energy profits levy, VAT on private schools, which we will consult on and introduce in the Budget.

Claire Hazelgrove Lab

Filton and Bradley Stoke

Question

Why did none of the Tory leadership contenders address this financial black hole when they were in government?

Minister reply

If I were taking part in the contest, I would distance myself as much as possible from the previous Government who caused this terrible mess.

Graham Stuart Con

Beverley and Holderness

Question

What commitment will this Government make to investment in carbon capture and storage?

Minister reply

We have created a national wealth fund that will leverage billions of pounds of private sector investment, including in carbon capture and storage. We will set out all our spending plans in the spending review later this year.

Dawn Butler Lab

Brent East

Question

Could we claw back money spent on unused PPE through a covid corruption commissioner, and use it to eradicate child poverty?

Minister reply

We are appointing a covid corruption commissioner because the money belongs in public services. We will do everything within our power to get their money back.

Ben Obese-Jecty Con

Huntingdon

Question

What reassurances can the Chancellor give about breaking ground on RAAC replacement hospitals, specifically Hinchingbrooke hospital in his constituency?

Minister reply

The previous Government failed to fund commitments. My right hon. Friend will meet affected people as soon as possible. We cannot spend money we do not have.

Mark Ferguson Lab

Gateshead Central and Whickham

Question

How does the Chancellor explain the OBR chair’s letter confirming a review into March forecasts, stating pressures were made aware at a meeting with Treasury last week?

Minister reply

The letter from the OBR confirms the seriousness of the situation. We have to address an £22 billion overspend compared to previous Budget forecasts.

Al Pinkerton Lib Dem

Surrey Heath

Question

Can the Chancellor recommit to Health Secretary’s commitment last week on prioritising spending on RAAC-affected hospitals, especially Frimley Park hospital?

Minister reply

I understand hon. Gentleman’s concerns and apologise for the state of public finances left by Conservatives. My right hon. Friend will meet him and affected people.

Polly Billington Lab

East Thanet

Question

Will Labour's plan to modernise transport deliver a unified rail system despite Conservative’s failure to fund commitments?

Minister reply

We have had to cancel road and rail infrastructure projects due to lack of funding. We will not make the mistakes of previous Government and crash the economy.

Desmond Swayne Con

New Forest West

Question

Where will illegal entrants go when they leave current accommodation under new legislation?

Minister reply

Under previous Government, no applications were processed. We will process those and send people who have no right to be here back home.

Jim Dickson Lab

Dartford

Question

Given extensive Tory cover-up with unfunded commitments across multiple Departments, does she agree that every member of the last Cabinet is complicit?

Minister reply

No member of previous Cabinet could not have been aware of the scale of this cover-up and overspending. They should apologise to the country.

Greg Smith Con

Mid Buckinghamshire

Question

The Chancellor has made two key political decisions this afternoon: one, to fund extraordinarily high public sector pay increases; and two, to clobber pensioners to pay for it. Will she explain to the House and every pensioner who will lose their winter fuel allowance in the process why she did not challenge the Bank of England on the taxpayer bailouts that it requires, to the tune of tens of billions of pounds, to cover its losses from bond sales?

Minister reply

First, it is an extraordinary omission that the previous Government did not set affordability criteria for the independent pay review bodies. It would be almost without precedent not to accept recommendations from an independent pay review body. If the hon. Gentleman wants to go to the doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers and those in the armed forces in his constituency and say they do not deserve a pay increase in line with private sector wages, that is up to him. On pensions and the winter fuel payment, this is not the decision I wanted to make and it is not the decision I expected to make, but we have to make in-year savings, which is incredibly difficult to do. Without doing that, we would put our public finances at risk.

Rachael Maskell Lab Co-op

York Central

Question

I thank my right hon. Friend for her forensic approach to the nation’s finances. As she digs deeper, she will see that York, the city I represent, is at the bottom of many of the matrices for the funding formulas. Will she look at the funding formulas before the Budget so that we can see the distribution of funding?

Minister reply

I know, particularly around flood defences, that there are many great needs in the York constituency that my hon. Friend represents. These decisions will all be made at the time of the spending review.

Josh Babarinde Lib Dem

Eastbourne

Question

Residents of Eastbourne will be outraged to learn that the Conservatives’ promise of a brand-new hospital for our town was not worth the paper it was written on. Eastbourne deserves better. Under-investment has consequences and, at the moment, Eastbourne district general hospital is closed for births due to that under-investment, and it has been since December. It needs investment.

Minister reply

I can see, on behalf of the hon. Gentleman’s constituents, the frustration and anger that he feels at the previous Government letting his constituents down so badly by not funding the hospitals that they promised. I commit to my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary meeting everybody affected.

Torsten Bell Lab

Swansea West

Question

Congratulations on your new post, Madam Deputy Speaker. There can be reasonable political debate across the House about the total levels of public spending but there should be complete agreement about the need for the Treasury to ensure that public money is well spent.

Minister reply

I thank my hon. Friend for that question and welcome him to his place in this House—he speaks powerfully, based on his previous experience. I will fix the mess that we have inherited but it is a terrible mess: a £22 billion in-year gap between what was forecast to be spent and what was actually being spent by the previous Government.

Nick Timothy Con

West Suffolk

Question

Earlier, the Chancellor quoted Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, but she omitted the end of his comments. He said that half of the spending hole she claims is public sector pay over which govt made a choice.

Minister reply

It was the previous Government who set the mandate for the pay review bodies. It is extraordinary that they did not include in that remit a measure of affordability, but they did not, which is why the pay review bodies made these recommendations.

Derek Twigg Lab

Widnes and Halewood

Question

Under the previous Government, there was at least a £17 billion black hole in defence, and of course they had hollowed out the armed forces. However, it is a surprise to find out today that not enough money was set aside in reserve to fund all the military assistance needed for Ukraine.

Minister reply

The problem that the previous Government got into was that every time they wanted to make a commitment, they said it would be paid for from the reserve. By the time I came into the Treasury on 5 July, that reserve had been spent three times over because they put so many commitments into that reserve that they could not afford.

Paul Holmes Con

Hamble Valley

Question

The Chancellor spent the election campaign saying that she was going for growth through investing in infrastructure. Instead, she is cutting it, while funding inflation-busting pay deals and scrapping pension benefits for the worst-off.

Minister reply

There is nothing pro-growth about making unfunded spending commitments. There is nothing pro-growth about a lack of respect for taxpayers’ money. We will continue to provide the winter fuel payment for the poorest pensioners, those in receipt of pension credit.

Gregor Poynton Lab

Livingston

Question

I thank the Chancellor for her statement today and for being straight with the public about the state of our finances—I know my constituents want a Government who tell it to them straight. Does she agree that ducking tough decisions and hiding bad news, as the Conservative party has done, just makes a bad situation even worse?

Minister reply

The previous Government and the previous Chancellor should hang their heads in shame for the inheritance they have left for this Government to fix but I will fix this mess: I will put our public finances and our public spending on a firmer footing.

Pete Wishart SNP

Perth and Kinross-shire

Question

I welcome you to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker. Everybody and their granny knew that there would be a multi-billion-pound black hole; only the Chancellor seemed to be deaf and blind to the situation.

Minister reply

My right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury briefed the Scottish Government today on these decisions. These decisions are necessary: it is not in the interests of the Scottish people to have unfunded commitments, and to put our public finances and reputation for economic stability at risk.

Katie White Lab

Leeds North West

Question

I thank my right hon. Friend for her clarity and candour. After 14 years of sluggish growth and low living standards, and then a cost of living crisis, how callous was it that the Tories went into the election asking for another five years in power with a manifesto of false hope, undeliverable promises and no mention of the numerous black holes that she has now uncovered?

Minister reply

I thank my hon. Friend for that question; I am pleased to have her as a constituency neighbour in Leeds. She is absolutely right that the previous Government went into the election knowing that there was a £22 billion black hole.

Stuart Anderson Con

South Shropshire

Question

Would the Chancellor confirm that all the information presented today was not known to her before last Thursday, when the estimates were laid?

Minister reply

When I arrived at the Treasury three weeks ago, I asked Treasury officials to do a full analysis. We concluded that analysis over the weekend and I am publishing it today for the House of Commons.

Natasha Irons Lab

Croydon East

Question

I thank the Chancellor for the urgent update. With living standards now worse than when the previous Government took office, people across the country continue to suffer the consequences of their broken promises and mismanagement, but this final fiscal mic drop is truly shocking. Does she agree that, in contrast to the unfunded fantasy promises put forward by the Conservative party, Labour’s manifesto showed cast-iron discipline in being fully costed?

Minister reply

I thank my hon. Friend for the question. Everything in Labour’s manifesto was fully costed and fully funded. We now know that on top of the £22-billion black hole that the previous Government left, they made unfunded commitments during the election. That was deeply irresponsible and the country was right to reject them.

Peter Bedford Con

Mid Leicestershire

Question

Does the Chancellor think that one of her first decisions to cancel infrastructure projects is consistent with her desire to grow the economy?

Minister reply

There is nothing pro-growth about making commitments that we cannot afford. There is nothing pro-growth about having £22 billion of unfunded commitments. We saw that when Liz Truss did her mini-Budget less than two years ago, and right hon. and hon. Opposition Members would do well to learn that lesson.

Clive Lewis Lab

Norwich South

Question

I welcome you to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor will probably not be too surprised to hear that when it comes to wasteful and expensive vanity projects, the Conservative party has not confined itself to national matters. Conservative-run Norfolk county council is attempting to push through a £300 million vanity road known as the Norwich western link, which measures 3.9 km at a cost of more than £70 million a kilometre. Will she look at that environmental and financial disaster, and work with those of us who know that there are more cost-effective and ecologically sound alternatives?

Minister reply

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. I will ask my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary to meet him and discuss it further.

Ben Lake PC

Ceredigion Preseli

Question

I am grateful for the Chancellor’s clarity on the state of the public finances and for confirming that the Government will accept the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies. She explained that doing so incurs an additional in-year cost of £9 billion and that Departments will be tasked with finding savings of up to £3 billion. Can she outline whether she anticipates that they will have to cover the entire cost of the pay review bodies’ recommendations, or does she anticipate that the Treasury will need to make additional funds available to make up the shortfall?

Minister reply

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the question. We have asked Departments to absorb £3.2 billion of the pressures, but it will be different in different Departments. We know that in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education, for example, it will be harder to absorb those pay pressures, given the huge challenges that they face. It will be different in different Departments, as we will set out in written ministerial statements by the relevant Secretaries of State.

Zubir Ahmed Lab

Glasgow South West

Question

I thank my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for coming to this House and outlining the difficult decisions she has had to take on behalf of us all—decisions that she would not have had to take were it not for the opaque fiscal negligence of the Conservative party. Can she reassure me that a Labour Government will always protect the vulnerable, and that under a Labour Government pensioners in this country will still be over £1,600 better off per year by the end of this Parliament?

Minister reply

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. We were determined to protect the most vulnerable, which is why we made the decision to ensure that the winter fuel payment would still be paid to the poorest pensioners on pension credit. More than that, we will work with local government and charities to increase the take-up of pension credit, so that everybody who deserves pension credit gets it, and with it the winter fuel payment.

Alicia Kearns Con

Rutland and Stamford

Question

We all remember Gordon Brown’s raid on pensions. It has taken just three weeks for Labour to revert to type, and it is pensioners who are suffering most. Martin Lewis has already criticised the decision online. On the estimates, the right hon. Lady cannot claim that, when permanent secretaries were signing off these estimates—over the weekend, I assume—they did not know about these supposed holes, but if that is so and they did sign them off with holes in them, that would be a breach of their legal duties. So will she be investigating them, or will she be apologising to them for throwing them under the bus today?

Minister reply

Instead of blaming civil servants, the hon. Lady should blame the people who are really responsible, and that is the previous Government. The country did the right thing by kicking them out three weeks ago. They deserve never to get their hands on power again.

Ian Lavery Lab

Blyth and Ashington

Question

During the last Parliament, the Government paid substantial amounts to the train operating companies to make good their losses during a prolonged period of industrial dispute, causing mayhem and causing chaos to the general public. At the same time, the train operating companies paid huge dividends and they also paid their executives massive increases in bonuses. Can my right hon. Friend say how much this actually cost the British taxpayer, and can she ensure that this never ever happens again?

Minister reply

Yes, page 5 of the “Fixing the foundations” document that we have published today sets out the pressures on public spending. On rail services: “Pressures have emerged on rail finances, primarily due to the weaker-than-expected recovery in passenger demand”, as well as the cost of industrial action, have led “to a pressure of £1.6 billion” in this financial year alone.

Christine Jardine Lib Dem

Edinburgh West

Question

I would also like to welcome you to the Chair, Madame Deputy Speaker. Much of what the Chancellor says I welcome—no fresh income tax, national insurance or VAT—but I am sure the Chancellor will recognise the concern that many pensioners, particularly in the coldest areas of the country, will be feeling at the announcement of the withdrawal of winter fuel payments. Although she is saying that she will work on bringing more people forward and encouraging them to sign up for credits, can she tell us how she is going to do that if she is also going to cut the Government communications budget?

Minister reply

I think the hon. Lady for that question. There are a couple of things we are committed to do. First, pension credit and housing benefit are due to be amalgamated. The previous Government put that back; we will bring that forward. We know that take-up of pension credit will increase when it is merged with housing benefit. That will make an impact in ensuring that people get the money they are entitled to. However, we have also committed, as elderly people’s charities have asked, to central Government working with local government to better identify people who are entitled to pension credit, but are not claiming it today. We want to make sure that everyone who is entitled to pension credit gets it, and with it the associated winter fuel payment.

Johanna Baxter Lab

Paisley and Renfrewshire South

Question

Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of the key failures of the Conservative Government over the past 14 years was their failure to grow the economy, and that that lack of growth meant they simply did not have the money to do the things that they none the less committed to voters in this country to do? That is why we should take no lessons on trust and credibility from the Conservative party.

Minister reply

If our economy had grown at just the average rate for OECD economies over the past 14 years, it would today be worth £140 billion more. That would have been worth £5,000 for every family in Britain and would have meant an additional £58 billion for our public services, without increasing tax by a single penny. That shows how important economic growth is, which is why getting our economy growing is the No. 1 mission of this Government.

David Simmonds Con

Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner

Question

Thank you and welcome to your place, Madam Deputy Speaker. The estimates day provisions presented by the Chancellor to the House last week included a capital departmental expenditure limit of £12.655 billion for the Department of Health and Social Care. We know that it included the funds for the new Hillingdon hospital, which was granted planning permission and where work has already started. Does the Chancellor of the Exchequer stand by what she told the House in the estimates day debate, on which we all relied when casting our vote? Can she therefore assure my constituents that that hospital project, which was fully budgeted for and where work has already started, will be delivered by this Government?

Minister reply

As the hon. Gentleman knows, estimates have to be published to ensure that Government funding continues, so we had to publish those main estimates, but we will be presenting new estimates to the House based on the revelations that we have set out today.

Luke Murphy Lab

Basingstoke

Question

Can I express the anger that many of my constituents will be feeling, not just about the economic mismanagement and the litany of broken promises from the Conservative party, but about the complete failure to be transparent both with them and with the British public at large? What does the Chancellor have to say to the Conservative party about the way it behaved in office?

Minister reply

We have now been in the Chamber for one hour and 40 minutes, but we have not had a single apology from any Opposition Members. They should have come to the Chamber today and apologised; they have not done so. The country kicked them out of office three and a half weeks ago, and we can tell why.

Lucy Rigby Lab

Northampton North

Question

May I point out to certain Opposition Members who might question the difficult decision that the Chancellor has taken to restrict the winter fuel payment to those on pension credit that this approach has been put forward by the Conservatives and the Lib Dems in recent manifestos? The Scottish Government’s own anti-poverty advisory body has stated that, as it stands, “this particular instrument is extraordinarily poorly targeted as regards…addressing poverty.” Does the Chancellor agree that although it is difficult, this decision is a sensible step towards fixing the huge Tory black hole in our public finances?

Minister reply

None of the decisions that we have made today was easy. None of them was a decision that I wanted to have to make, but leaving unaddressed a £22 billion in-year hole in our public finances was not an option. We saw what happened when a previous Prime Minister and Chancellor played fast and loose with the public finances. I will not do that, which is why today I have been honest with this House about the scale of the inheritance that we now have to deal with and the necessary decisions, including on winter fuel payment, that I have had to take today.

Alberto Costa Con

South Leicestershire

Question

Richard Mitchell, the chief executive of the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust, emailed me only a few days ago asking for a meeting about the new hospital programme. Putting aside the politics, will the Chancellor help to arrange a meeting with Labour and Conservative MPs of Leicester and Leicestershire to discuss the matter alongside the chief executive of Leicestershire’s hospitals?

Minister reply

My right hon. Friend the Health Secretary has agreed to meet all MPs affected and will, of course, also be talking to people who run our health service, to make sure that we can put right the mistakes made by the previous Government.

Anna Sabine Lib Dem

Frome and East Somerset

Question

Constituencies across the south-west, including my own, have waited years for final confirmation of plans to improve the A303 with a tunnel, a vital piece of infrastructure for our local communities and our regional economy. We now learn that, due to mismanagement of public finances by the previous Government, those plans are under severe threat. This is a hammer blow to our constituents, who have waited so long. Will the Chancellor meet me, my regional Lib Dem colleagues and the local communities who will be affected by this news?

Minister reply

I understand the hon. Lady’s frustration and anger on behalf of her constituents that today we had to be honest about the scale of the inheritance we face. There was no money allocated for the A303 by the previous Government, despite their saying that it was going ahead. That is the state of affairs that we inherited. I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary would be happy to meet the hon. Lady and colleagues to discuss the matter.

Jonathan Brash Lab

Hartlepool

Question

I thank my right hon. Friend for outlining the Conservative cover-up, for which they should apologise. One of the more shocking things to hear this afternoon is the repeated constant criticism of the idea of paying public sector workers properly. With the election of a Labour Government, are the days of scapegoating public sector workers when it comes to the public finances over?

Minister reply

I know how hard our teachers, doctors, nurses, armed forces, police officers and prison guards work to keep us all safe, healthy and educated. They deserve the pay awards that we have announced today. It was the independent pay review bodies that recommended those pay increases. It would be extraordinary not to honour them, and we have done so today.

Robbie Moore Con

Keighley and Ilkley

Question

May I welcome you to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker? During the general election campaign, the now new Health Secretary and the local Labour party in Keighley and Ilkley told my constituents that they were fully committed to delivering the full rebuild of the Airedale hospital—one of those hospitals that struggles with aerated concrete—following my efforts to secure the full funds. With millions of pounds being spent on the project and works well under way, can I seek reassurance from the Chancellor that this new Labour Government will not deny my constituents their right to a full rebuild of Airedale hospital?

Minister reply

The hon. Gentleman says he secured the funds, but he did not; the money was not there. That is why I am having to make this statement today. I share his frustration and anger, but it should be with the previous Government, who did not fund these schemes.

Jake Richards Lab

Rother Valley

Question

My constituents will be concerned about the revelations that the Chancellor has set out to the House this afternoon. Reading her statement, it is particularly shocking that the projected overspend on the asylum system, including the Conservatives’ failed Rwanda plan, will cost more than £6.4 billion this year alone. Does my right hon. Friend agree that instead of chuntering and shouting, a period of reflection would better serve the Conservatives, along with an apology to the country they have let down?

Minister reply

My hon. Friend is right. The people of Rother Valley will be shocked and appalled by the gross mismanagement of public finances, including a £6.4 billion overspend on asylum. That is why we are getting a grip on the public finances and public spending to put them on a firmer footing.

Kit Malthouse Con

North West Hampshire

Question

I congratulate you on your ascension, Madam Deputy Speaker. The right hon. Lady says she is keen on transparency. Can she confirm to the House that she had extensive access talks with senior civil servants in the Treasury in the run-up to the general election? It might be helpful, for transparency purposes, if she could lay the minutes of those meetings in the House of Commons for the rest of the House to understand. I am also concerned about the issue of misleading estimates being laid before the House. May I suggest, for the elucidation of Members, that she asks the permanent secretary at the Treasury, and the permanent secretaries of those Departments impacted by the decisions she has made today, to confirm to the House in writing that none of the information that should have been in the estimates was not included—if they were correct, was it included?—so we can see for ourselves whether she is covering up?

Minister reply

The cover-up was from those on the Opposition Benches. The sooner we get an apology to the British people, the better.

Deirdre Costigan Lab

Ealing Southall

Question

While the headline figures that the Chancellor has revealed are astonishing from an economic perspective, does she agree that it is important to remember the impact of Conservative mismanagement on our public services, our NHS, our education system and our national security? Indeed, how can the Conservatives be trusted to run our economy or our public services ever again?

Minister reply

The response today from former Conservative Ministers just shows how deluded and out of touch they were. The British people delivered their verdict three weeks ago, and after the evidence they have seen today, they will understand that things are even worse than they had thought.

Clive Jones Lib Dem

Wokingham

Question

Welcome to your place, Madam Deputy Speaker. I wish the Chancellor well in reversing years of economic mismanagement by the previous Government. I really welcome the commitment to speak to MPs who are affected by the failure to provide 40 new hospitals, which were promised four and a half years ago. Patients and—just as importantly—staff at those hospitals will have been waiting for a long time. Will the Chancellor ensure that there is a decision soon so that the staff and patients do not have to wait another four and a half years to know what is happening with their hospitals?

Minister reply

I share the hon. Gentleman’s frustration, anger and disappointment that the promises made by the previous Government turned out to be built on sand. The money simply was not there. The decisions that we are having to take today are not easy. They are not the decisions that I want to make, but we have to put our public finances on a firmer footing. That is essential. My right hon. Friend the Health Secretary will meet the hon. Gentleman and others affected as soon as possible to talk through the next steps to ensure that all our constituents have the public services, including the hospitals, that they rightly deserve.

Oliver Ryan Ind

Burnley

Question

The brass neck of Opposition Members is astonishing after what we have heard from the Chancellor today. My residents in Burnley, Padiham and Brierfield will be so disappointed to hear of the mismanagement over the last 14 years that she has uncovered in the Treasury—it was to be expected, anyway. Does she agree that the now shadow Chancellor should apologise and that, if he will not, he should resign?

Minister reply

I find it staggering that in almost two hours in the Chamber, not a single Opposition Member has apologised for the state they left our public finances and public services in. It has fallen on this new Government to address that challenge. We will rise to that, but they should never have been left in this state.

Saqib Bhatti Con

Meriden and Solihull East

Question

I welcome you to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Chancellor spoke about the need to lay the estimates. That is really important, and the legal duty is not just to lay them but for them to be accurate. The Chancellor is right that we have been here for nearly two hours, but we have not got an answer to the question of what she knew and when she knew it. Did she know any of the information that she has set out today before the estimates were laid? Please answer the question.

Minister reply

I have done more in three and a half weeks to get a grip of our public finances than the previous Government did in 14 years. I have worked these last three and a half weeks to get a grip of the public finances and to understand the true extent and scale of the challenge. We have pulled this together over the last three weeks, and at the weekend we were able to produce the document showing the £22 billion gap between what the previous Government were spending and what they had budgeted for.

Leigh Ingham Lab

Stafford

Question

It is clear now that even the OBR, whose express purpose is to provide independent analysis of the public finances, was simply not told about the black hole in Conservative spending plans. What will the Chancellor do differently to ensure that we never end up in such a position again?

Minister reply

I thank my hon. Friend for her question. In the letter published by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) today, the Chair welcomed the important actions announced today by HM Treasury to improve transparency and credibility of institutional arrangements for forecasting, planning, and controlling DEL. By taking these actions, we will ensure that never again can any Government withhold information from this House, the country, and the OBR.

Gregory Stafford Con

Farnham and Bordon

Question

Residents in Farnham and Bordon will be concerned to hear about the scrapping of the new hospital programme, especially those living in the north of the constituency who are served by Frimley Park hospital. Will the Chancellor confirm that work on RAAC-affected hospitals like Frimley Park will still go ahead? When can we have assurance on this so that we can reassure our constituents?

Minister reply

The hon. Gentleman’s constituents will be rightly angry with the previous Government for making unfunded spending commitments that they knew they could not pay for. My right hon. Friend, the Health Secretary, will meet all those affected by RAAC to address the challenges facing his constituents and others because of unfunded promises made by the previous Government.

Michael Payne Lab

Gedling

Question

May I congratulate you on your election, Madam Deputy Speaker? The Conservative party’s response to its own failures is always to cover them up—from partygate to the state of our prisons and now the black hole in public finances. What will my right hon. Friend do differently?

Minister reply

We have introduced legislation for a new fiscal lock, published a charter for budget responsibility at the Budget on 30 October, and set out institutional changes to ensure that never again can any Government withhold information from this House, the country, and the OBR.

Danny Kruger Reform

East Wiltshire

Question

The Chancellor claims a black hole in this year’s Budget yet proposes cutting infrastructure investment for years. One example is the Stonehenge tunnel, which was to cost little money this year but has been cancelled. My constituents will be disappointed. What would she say to them? What will she do about traffic congestion?

Minister reply

The hon. Gentleman’s constituents will rightly be annoyed with the previous Government for saying they would go ahead with A303 work without budgeting a single penny for it.

Peter Swallow Lab

Bracknell

Question

Cash-strapped councils are projected to spend £12 billion on children with special educational needs and disabilities by 2026, up from £4 billion a decade ago. Does the Chancellor agree that Tory failure to address this crisis has put public finances at risk while letting SEN children down?

Minister reply

I think every Member of the House will have faced difficult constituency casework about young people not getting diagnoses or support on time. We will set out all our spending plans and priorities at the spending review later this year.

Wendy Chamberlain Lib Dem

North East Fife

Question

I welcome the Chancellor of the Exchequer and her team to their place. I am concerned about 1950s women who suffered maladministration of their pensions. Could she confirm whether she is considering this report and will provide a statement before the Budget?

Minister reply

My right hon. Friend, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is considering that report as we speak.

Catherine Atkinson Lab

Derby North

Question

For my constituents, this mess goes beyond money; it’s about trust in politics. Does the Chancellor agree that the damage goes even deeper than harm to our economy?

Minister reply

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Today's revelations of a £22 billion overspend come on top of partygate and handing contracts to friends during the pandemic, which dents public trust.

Danny Chambers Lib Dem

Winchester

Question

Congratulations on your new role. My training as a veterinary surgeon shows that prevention is more cost-effective than treatment. Does the Chancellor agree that when finances are stretched, there must not be temptation to view primary care as a cost to cut?

Minister reply

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The spending review will focus on integration and prevention because it saves taxpayers' money and delivers better outcomes for people.

Matt Turmaine Lab

Watford

Question

I congratulate you on your election, Madam Deputy Speaker. My constituents are disappointed by the consequences of the announcement made in relation to the rebuild of Watford hospital, which was promised and scrapped repeatedly. Where was the money?

Minister reply

We have heard that hon. Members campaigned on projects they thought had funding but didn't. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will meet my hon. Friend and all MPs affected by problems left by the previous Government.

Caroline Johnson Con

Sleaford and North Hykeham

Question

Congratulations, Madam Deputy Speaker. This Labour Government has taken winter fuel payments away from pensioners. What estimate has she made of what her changes will cost the NHS?

Minister reply

Pension credit is paid to single persons with an income just under £12,000 and couples at just under £18,000. We will keep it for the poorest pensioners but cannot make promises without funding sources. Previous Government's broken commitments are a road to ruin.

Luke Charters Lab

York Outer

Question

The OBR chair’s letter suggests we could be facing one of the largest year-ahead expenditures outside a pandemic, with this level of cover-up intolerable in private sectors. Does my right hon. Friend agree that transparency is needed?

Minister reply

My hon. Friend speaks powerfully on behalf of his constituents who voted for change from unfunded commitments and deteriorating public services after 14 years of Conservative Government, finding a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.

Gideon Amos Lib Dem

Taunton and Wellington

Question

I congratulate you on your post, Madam Deputy Speaker, and the right hon. Lady on her position as Chancellor. Does she share anger over unfunded hospital promises? Will cancellation apply to projects like Wellington station with GRIP stage 4 approval?

Minister reply

I understand why constituents are angry about unfunded commitments. I assure him that projects already started will go ahead.

Jim Shannon DUP

Strangford

Question

I am very pleased to hear the Chancellor’s statement. The clear financial predicament is one that all the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is in together. Will she confirm that, in light of the budget gap and the welcome announcement of the junior doctor pay offer, savings will be made in ways that do not affect required pay increases at the expense of our health staff, but that they will focus on cutting back on unnecessary quangos, on the estimated £500 million of taxpayers’ money that has been spent on issues such as diversity and inclusion—although important, they do not deserve priority in public spending—or on vanity projects such as Casement Park in Northern Ireland?

Minister reply

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions, and for persevering for so long. I fully agree that the focus should be on frontline public services. We have committed ourselves to back-office efficiency savings of 2% in all Government Departments, and a reining in of consultancy and Government communications spending. Those things got out of hand under the last Government, and we will rein them in.

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