Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has stated she is making tough decisions following a Treasury audit that uncovered £22 billion in unfunded commitments. She confirmed the Autumn Budget will be delivered on 30 October.
In a parliamentary statement, Ms Reeves made several announcements, noting that further details on tax and spending would follow at the Budget. She highlighted the £22 billion shortfall in public finances, stressing the need for urgent measures to reduce pressure by £5.5 billion this year and over £8 billion next year.
Among the immediate actions announced, Winter Fuel Payments will be cut for those not receiving pension credits or other benefits. Additional savings include:
- £800 million this year and £1.4 billion next year by cancelling the Rwanda migration partnership and ending retrospection of the Illegal Migration Act.
- £70 million this year by discontinuing the Investment Opportunity Fund and smaller projects.
- £185 million next year by scrapping the Advanced British Standard.
- £785 million next year from halting unaffordable road and rail projects.
Ms Reeves also set out plans to implement key tax measures from Labour’s manifesto, including removing VAT exemptions for private schools from 1 January 2025 to fund the recruitment of 6,500 new teachers, and replacing the non-domicile tax regime with a new residence-based system to maintain international competitiveness.
The Chancellor said:
‘This is not the statement I wanted to give today, and these are not the decisions I wanted to make. But they are the right decisions in difficult circumstances.’
Information obtained here
