Rachel Reeves delivers government’s spending review – UK politics live

1 day ago

Reeves says use of hotels for asylum seekers will end 'in this parliament'

Reeves says the Tories lost control of the border.

She says last year she set aside £150m for Border Security Command. This will increase by up to £280m a year, she says.

And she says the government is tackling the asylum backlog.

The government will end the use of hotel for asylum seekers “in this parliament”.

She says this will save the taxpayer £1bn a year.

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Government backing two new carbon capture and storage projects, Acorn in Scotland and Viking in Humberside, Reeves says

Reeves says funding for two carbon capture and storage plants were announced last year.

And today she can announce that the government will back the Acorn carbon capture and storage project in Scotland, and the Viking project in Humberside.

Reeves says the government is also investing £2.5bn in nuclear fusion.

Reeves says where things are made matters. That is what she means by securonomics.

Energy security is national security, she says.

So the government is investing in the biggest rollout of nuclear power for 50 years.

She refers to yesterday’s Sizewell C announcement. And there is £2.5bn for a small modular reaction programme, with Rolls-Royce as the preferred partner.

Reeves says use of hotels for asylum seekers will end 'in this parliament'

Reeves says the Tories lost control of the border.

She says last year she set aside £150m for Border Security Command. This will increase by up to £280m a year, she says.

And she says the government is tackling the asylum backlog.

The government will end the use of hotel for asylum seekers “in this parliament”.

She says this will save the taxpayer £1bn a year.

Reeves says the govermment is making investments in Scotland opposed by the SNP.

Defence spending is support jobs across the UK, she says. The government will make the UK “a defence industrial superpower”.

Reeves attacks Tories and Reform UK over economy, saying Reform have made unfunded spending commitments worth £80bn

Reeves says the Tories crashed the economy because they wanted to cut taxes for the rich. She will never do that, she says.

And she says Reform UK would do the same thing.

But Nigel Farage described the Liz Truss budget as “the best Conservative budget since the 1980s”.

And she says Reform have alread racked up unfunded spending commitments worth £80bn since the election.

Reeves says her first rule is that day to day spending must be paid for from tax receipts.

She says she can allocate £190bn more for day to day services than the Tories were planning.

Her second rule is that debt must fall over the long term. This allows £113bn more for investment.

The opposition parties opposed these plans, she says.

Reeves says she is allocating the spending envelope set out in the spring.

She says total departmental budgets will grow by 2.3% in real terms.

But the Tories cut budgets by 2.9% in 2010, she says.

They left a legacy of a decade of lost growth.

She says her choices are different. And they are only possible because of her commitment to stablity.

The Tory fiscal rules guaranteed neither stability nor investment.

Reeves says the government is renewing Britain.

But too many people don’t feel it, she says.

She wants to ensure people do feel that renewal.

Her priorities are those of working people.

Rachel Reeves delivers statement on spending review

Rachel Reeves is speaking now.

My driving purpose since I became chancellor is to make working people in all parts of our country better off, to rebuild our schools and our hospitals, to invest in our economy so that everyone has the opportunity to succeed after 14 years of mismanagement and decline by the party opposite.

Joani Reid (Lab) asks about the Labour win in the Hamilton byelection. She asks about the report about John Swinney facing a leadership challenge. (See 11.24am.) Does the PM agree that, given Swinney’s record against Labour, he should stay.

Starmer says the Scots want real change.

Darren Paffey (Lab) asks what the government is doing to limit the access children have to social media and the internet.

Starmer says the Online Safety Act will protect children, and the government “will not hesitate” to take further action if necessary, he says.

Sarah Bool (Con) asks about screening for type 1 diabetes.

Starmer says his mother had diabetes. He says there is a screening programme. But he praises Bool for campaigning on this.

Chris Webb (Lab) asks the government to invest more in social housing.

Starmer says this is happening. The Housing Association has called the housing settlement transformative, he says.

Claire Young (Lib Dem) says it is outrageous that parents are punished when special needs children miss school.

Starmer says SEND pupils face more complex needs. He says the government will consider the Lib Dem amendment to the schools bill mentioned by Young that would stop these parents being punished. But the government must “strike the right balance”, he says.

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