Rachel Reeves has set out spending plans for the coming years with big boosts for the NHS, defence and schools as she said the UK was “starting to see the results” of Labour’s efforts.
The spending review sets out day-to-day spending plans for the next three years and capital spending plans for the next four.
Government departments will see an average of 2.3% growth to their budgets over the five-year period to 2028/29, and 1.5% over the three years.
Changes to the Treasury’s “green book” rules that govern whether major projects are approved are being published alongside the spending review.
The plans provide £52 billion for Scotland, £20 billion for Northern Ireland and £23 billion for Wales.
The measures include:
– The NHS will get a real-terms, day-to-day spending increase of 3% per year, equating to £29 billion per year.
– £39 billion over the next 10 years to build affordable and social housing. Spending is due to reach £4 billion a year in 2029/30.
– A £30 billion commitment to nuclear power, including £14.2 billion to build Sizewell C plant in Suffolk and £2.5 billion in small modular reactors.
– Defence spending will rise to 2.6% by April 2027, including intelligence agencies. This is made up of an £11 billion increase in defence spending and a £600 million uplift for the security and intelligence agencies.
– Universities and high-tech industries will get a boost in research and development, with it rising to £22 billion per year by the end of the spending review. £2 billion will go to an AI action plan to support “home-grown AI”.
– Efforts to stop migrant crossings will get a boost with up to £280 million more per year for the border security command by the end of the spending review. This is on top of £150 million in last year’s budget.
– The use of hotels to house asylum seekers will end during this Parliament, which the Chancellor said would save £1 billion per year.
The Home Office will get £200 million of transformation funding to speed up the process.
– Increasing police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period, giving more than £2 billion to meet targets to get more neighbourhood police on the streets.
– Schools will get a cash uplift of more than £4.5 billion a year of additional funding for the core schools budget by the end of the spending review. £2.3 billion per year will go to fixing crumbling classrooms and £2.4 billion per year to rebuild 500 schools.
– Children’s social care will get £555 million to address late intervention and low-quality care.
– Some £15 billion for public transport projects in England’s city regions and a four-year settlement for Transport for London.
– £445 million for upgrades to Welsh railways over 10 years.
– A multi-year settlement of £118m to keep coal tips safe in Wales.
– A further £3.5 billion of investment to upgrade the TransPennine rail route that links York, Leeds and Manchester and £2.5 billion for East West rail between East Anglia and Oxfordshire.
– A £1.2 billion funding increase for training and apprenticeships.
– £7 billion to fund 14,000 new prison places and up to £700 million per year into reform of the probation system.
– An extension of the £3 bus fare cap until at least March 2027.
