Everything you can expect in Rachel Reeves’ spending review – from Winter Fuel for 9million to massive defence boost
RACHEL Reeves will tomorrow unleash a spending bonanza of more than £100billion as she seeks to get her shaky Chancellorship back on track.
The long-awaited package will see eye-watering sums of cash poured into shiny new projects like transport, energy and cutting-edge tech in a bid to drive growth.
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But it will also set day-to-day departmental budgets for the next four years – giving extra funding to some while putting the squeeze on others.
Weeks of haggling have seen Ms Reeves lock horns with Cabinet colleagues over how much of the pie they will get.
Tomorrow at 12.30 the Chancellor will reveal to MPs who are winners – and who are the losers.
Winter fuel
Ms Reeves has already announced a humiliating u-turn on winter fuel payments and will restore the £200-£300 sum to nine million pensioners.
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She revealed the screeching retreat – that will cost £1.25billion – ahead of tomorrow’s Spending Review.
But the about-term came without details of how it would be paid for, with the Chancellor only pledging not to plug the hole with more borrowing.
Critics have warned this could see taxpayers pick up the bill with a fresh raid at the next Budget in the autumn.
Free school meals
Children whose parents receive universal credit will be able to claim free school meals from September 2026 helping more than 500,000 pupils.
But teachers will find that their school budgets will be tightened as schools will have to fund about a quarter of their 4 per cent pay rises themselves.
Schools will be on the hook for around £400 million to stump up for the hikes as department money won’t cover the rise.
Police
One of the thorniest issues has been the funding settlement for the police, sparking a behind-the-scenes row with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
Top cops have been demanding more money to fight crime and monitor the increasing number of prisoners freed early.
It has seen Ms Cooper locked in furious talks with the Chancellor that went right down to the wire and only resolved on Monday night.
The Sun understands that she has secured a real-terms increase for the police, however tomorrow we will discover the extent of that hike – and whether senior officers are happy.
Trams and buses
A £15 billion pot for funding local transport links in the north of England and the Midlands has so far been set out.
Trams will be at the heart of the cash boost with investment into the systems in Greater Manchester. New bus stations will be built in Bradford and Wakefield.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is already said to be furious that the capital will miss out on big spending projects to improve transport links.
Defence
Defence Secretary John Healey is set to be one of the big winners from the Spending Review – having been promised 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027.
The MoD budget will also rise to 3 per cent at some point after the next election, with the ambition to hit the target by 2034.
It will be paid for by slashing the spending on overseas aid.
But Ms Reeves is under pressure to go even further on defence spending, with both Donald Trump and NATO boss Mark Rutte pushing for 5 per cent of GDP.
NHS boost
The NHS will be a big winner with £30 billion rise in its day-to-day spending.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is understood to have initially asked for a 4 per cent hike but will settle for 2.8 per cent.
But infrastructure spending in the health service will remain flat despite NHS managers demanding better buildings and improved IT systems.
Nuclear
The Sizewell C nuclear plant will be given the green light in a £14 billion investment – the first to get the go-ahead in thirty years.
Ten thousand jobs and 1,500 apprentices will help construct the Suffolk site but it won’t come on stream for at least another decade.
Several small reactors known as “mini-nukes” will be built with the government backing the first one with a design by Rolls-Royce.
Housing
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has been arguing for much more cash to build more social homes.
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She only settled with the Treasury over the weekend after playing hardball for a bigger funding.
Ms Rayner is also trying to secure more funding for local authorities tasked with building 1.5million more homes by 2030.