Summary
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says winter fuel payments will now be restricted to those on pension credits or other means-tested benefits
She says the Labour government has inherited a projected overspend of £22bn from the Conservatives
The projected overspend on the asylum system, including the Rwanda plan that Labour has now scrapped, was more than £6.4bn for this year alone, she says
She has also cancelled some road and rail projects - including the tunnel under Stonehenge
Reeves also confirmed the government has made a 22% two-year pay offer to junior doctors. Teachers and NHS workers will also get a 5.5% rise
Shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt says Reeves is "shameless" in paving the way for tax rises - and October's Budget will be a "biggest betrayal in history by a new chancellor"
Live Reporting
Edited by Francesca Gillett and Sean Seddon
How to read more about the Reeves announcementpublished at 19:27 29 July
19:27 29 July
Sean Seddon
BBC NewsThank you for joining us today. If you want to read more about the chancellor's intervention, take a look at these links below.
- Rachel Reeves's spending audit at-a-glance
- Winter fuel payments scrapped for millions
- Chris Mason: Reeves dollops blame on Tories
- Junior doctors offered 22% pay rise to end strikes
This page was edited by Francesca Gillett, Barbara Tasch and myself. It was written by Lana Lam, Seher Asaf, Rachel Flynn, Jacqueline Howard, Cachella Smith, Dearbail Jordan and Thomas Copeland.
Have a good evening.
Labour moves to fill 'black hole' in the public budgetpublished at 19:22 29 July
19:22 29 July
We're ending our live coverage of the chancellor's statement soon. Here's a breakdown of the biggest lines from the cost-cutting package.
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Labour has uncovered an overspend of £22bn. She said these are from plans the Tories had announced but could not pay for
- The big surprise was the decision to end winter fuel payments for some pensioners. Only those receiving means-tested benefits will be entitled to help from now on
- The government confirmed NHS workers and teachers will get a 5.5% pay rise, as recommended by independent pay review bodies
- It has also agreed an average 22% wage increase for junior doctors over a two-year period. Labour says that will prevent strikes in the NHS
- Road schemes including building a tunnel under Stonehenge will be binned. The government will also get rid of a £500m Tory promise to restore rural rail lines that were scrapped in the 1960s and 1970s
- The pledge to build 40 new hospitals made by Boris Johnson is now under review
- The Advanced British Standard qualification, proposed by former prime minister Rishi Sunak to replace A-levels and T-levels, will be axed
- A Budget will be held on 30 October. The Office for Budget Responsibility will provide a full fiscal and economic forecast on the same day
- The Tories have accused Labour of laying the groundwork for tax rises in a few months times
This is likely only act one of the difficult stuffpublished at 19:18 29 July
19:18 29 July
Chris Mason
Political editor
Image source, PA MediaThis is RachelReeves’s first big moment as chancellor of the exchequer.
This is her first big set ofchoices as she tries to convince you that her approach to managing the economyis better than what came before.
This was principally a political moment - anattempt by the new government to dollop blame on the Conservatives whileserving up the first helping of difficult stuff to announce.
The cuts cametoday and the tax rises are expected in the Budget in October.
The stand-outannouncements were on public sector pay and a hoped-for end to scratchy industrialrelations and strikes - but it does come with a hefty price tag.
Planned changes tosocial care in England delayed by the Conservatives, now scrapped by Labour, are the collective failure to arrive at a long-term solution to this huge issue forso many, now renewed yet again.
A government’s might is never greater than in itsopening months, hence this front-loading of cancellations and cutbacks, and thelikelihood is that this is only act one of the difficult stuff.
Tax rises for some –perhaps on capital gains, inheritance and pensions look likely in the autumn.
Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer will hope by the next general election fouror five years away this will all seem a distant memory.
Let’s see.
Transport projects culled in chancellor's money-saving drivepublished at 19:09 29 July
19:09 29 July
Katy Austin
Transport correspondentImage source, National HighwaysThe Treasury says £785m will be saved next year by stopping"unaffordable" road and railway schemes - and there will be a review of "unfunded" transport projects.
A controversial plan to build a road tunnelunder Stonehenge was meant to reduce congestion but has faced legalchallenges from opponents. Now it's been axed.
During the general election campaign, Labour said it would deferthe £320m A27 Arundel bypass – which had already been delayed - and use themoney to "fix up to one million additional potholes a year".
There was no mentionof what happens to that pothole promise now.
And it’s the end of the line for the Restoring Your Railway’scheme.
In 2020, £500m was promised to restore dozens of closed rail lines. Itenabled the restoration of the Dartmoor line, between Exeter and Okehampton.
The chancellor said cancelling the programme would save £85m next year.
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19:05 29 July
Branwen Jeffreys
Education editorThe Advanced British Standard qualification for 18 year oldsin England will not be introduced, Rachel Reeves has told MPs, in order to savemoney.
It would have led to a huge shake up in sixth forms andcolleges, replacing A-levels and the very recently introduced T-levels.
The ABS would have required 200 hours more teaching thanneeded for a student taking three A-levels, and taken a decade to introduce.
One of the requirements would have been to study maths up tothe age of 18 in some form.
Tories say Labour laying the ground for tax hikespublished at 19:04 29 July
19:04 29 July
Image source, ReutersThe Conservatives are busy selecting a new leader but its old guard are hitting back at Labour's attacks on the party's economic record in government.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Labour told the public "over 50 times" that they had no plans to raise taxes.
He added: "Now they’re laying the ground to break their word.Raising taxes will be the ultimate betrayal of working people and the mandate Labour were elected on. The British people will not forget it."
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt wrote on social media: "Labour told us they wouldn’t raise taxes - yet today they have laid the ground to break their word and betray working families."
Government ditches 'Tell Sid'-style NatWest share salepublished at 18:55 29 July
18:55 29 July
Dearbail Jordan
Business reporterImage source, PA MediaThose of a certain vintage will remember the "Tell Sid" ad campaign of the 1980s when the Thatcher government privatised British Gas and sold shares in the business to the public.
This most recent Tory government wanted to do the same thing with its remaining stake in NatWest. Veteran newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald had even been lined up to front the campaign.
But all that has now been binned by the Labour government, which said it would not be good "value for money".
It certainly hasn't been good value for money for NatWest itself: last week, it admitted it had spend £24m on the now-ditched campaign.
Government doesn't think pay rises will increase inflationpublished at 18:40 29 July
18:40 29 July
Image source, PA MediaFinally, the chancellor is asked whether she should have waited for her growth plans to produce results before moving to cuts immediately.
"We couldn't wait," Reeves responds. She says she couldn't know about the state of public finances "and not tell the British public".
Reeves adds that she has spoken with the Office for Budget Responsibility, the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of England in the last few days to brief them on her plans.
She also tells the press conference she believes her decision to award pay rises across the public sector will not increase inflation because they are in line with private sector wage settlements.
We should learn what the Bank of England thinks on Thursday when, as well as announcing the latest interest rate decision, it will publish its outlook for UK inflation.
And that's it from the chancellor - we'll be bringing you more analysis on a big day of news soon.
Hunt 'ignored' internal warnings from officials - Reevespublished at 18:36 29 July
18:36 29 July
Reeves is asked whether she has confidence in her Treasury permanent secretary given Tory-era estimates on public spending were signed off by senior civil servants.
She replies: "In the end, civil servants advise and ministers decide - and ministers made decisions to sign off spending without any idea of how it was going to be paid for."
The chancellor says when she arrived at the Treasury, she asked civil servants to provide an honest assessment of the state of public finances and spending pressures.
Reeves says they did as she asked, adding: "I believe they provided similar information to the previous chancellor. He chose to ignore it."
Tories had months to end junior doctor strikes - Reevespublished at 18:33 29 July
18:33 29 July
Reeves is asked about pay for other NHS staff in light of today's announcement on junior doctor.
She doesn't respond directly but again refers to the "cost" of industrial action.
The chancellor says Health Secretary Wes Streeting has done in three weeks what previous health secretaries "failed to do" for several months by meeting junior doctors and reaching an agreement.
Reeves stands by Labour manifesto tax pledgespublished at 18:27 29 July
18:27 29 July
Reeves is asked by the BBC's Chris Mason about October's budget and whether she will be "straight" that she will be putting up taxes for some.
Reeves reiterates Labour's manifesto commitments - namely that she does not want to increase taxes for working people, and "stands by" the commitment not to increase National Insurance, income tax or VAT.
However, Reeves adds that "the truth is" she did not know about the "black hole" in finances and says there will be more difficult decisions around spending, welfare and tax at the Budget and spending review.
Reeves was also asked about her decision to cut winter fuel payments while giving junior doctors a pay rise.
She tells the press conference there is a "cost of not settling" the junior doctor pay dispute, which meant 1.4m appointments did not go ahead last year.
Reeves repeats accusation of 'dire' inheritance from Toriespublished at 18:19 29 July
18:19 29 July
Rachel Reeves is now speaking at a press conference after revealing the new government has "uncovered" a £22bn overspend while setting out the measures it will take to bridge the funding gap.
The chancellor says the document she unveiled today exposed the "dire inheritance" Labour has been left with, pointing out that the £22bn "black hole" is not in years to come, but hits this year.
She says it exposes the "recklessness" of the previous government who "spent money like there was no tomorrow" because "someone else would pick up the bill".
Reeves says she has been "honest" with the British people. "If we cannot afford it, we cannot do it".
Now she's taking questions from the media.
'We want same treatment as doctors,' say nurses after pay dealpublished at 18:15 29 July
18:15 29 July
Nick Triggle
Health correspondentThe junior doctor pay deal reached with the British MedicalAssociation - worth an average of 22% extra over two years - now has to be putto the union’s 50,000 members in England to see if they want to accept it.
The BMA is recommending it, but there is of course noguarantee they will say yes.
The BMA had been after a 35% increase to make up for what itsays is 15 years of below inflation pay rises.
Inflation, particularly last year, takes a big bite out ofthis increase.
But the reaction elsewhere in the NHS will also requireclose monitoring.
Nurses and other NHS staff settled for 5% last year - alongwith a one-off lump sum.
They are to get another 5.5% this year.
Already, the Royal College of Nursing has issued a warning. “We do not begrudgedoctors their pay rise,” its leader Prof Nicola Ranger says. “What we ask foris the same fair treatment from government.”
Reeves to give news conferencepublished at 18:03 29 July
18:03 29 July
We're expecting to hear from Rachel Reeves again very shortly, at a news conference on her announcements.
We'll bring you the main lines - or you'll be able to watch along above.
Concern at axing social care plans (but no surprise)published at 18:01 29 July
18:01 29 July
Alison Holt
Social affairs editorThe chancellor’s decision to scrap plans to reform the waythe care system is funded in England will be greeted with disappointment,concern, but perhaps not surprise.
The reforms would have introduced an £86,000 cap on theamount an older or disabled person would have to pay towards their support athome or in care homes from next October.
The means-test threshold – the amount of savings and assetspeople are allowed to keep – would also have increased from the current £23,250to £100,000.
The Conservative government had already delayed the plans by two years and got rid of the National Insurance rise which was meant to fund them.
By scrapping the reform, Rachel Reeves estimates it will save £1bn by the end of next year.
But the problems of an over-stretched, underfunded, and unfair system remain. We are an ageing population, so a failure to reformsocial care also costs – ramping up the pressures on the NHS and on families.
Economic watchdog to review Tories' Budget preparationspublished at 17:55 29 July
17:55 29 July
Dearbail Jordan
Business reporterIn a major boost to the new chancellor, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) says it has launched a review into its own report into the UK's economic and fiscal outlook published at the March Budget - because it was based on spending plans put together by the Conservatives.
OBR chief Richard Hughes has said in the past that he was concerned about the public spending forecasts the Treasury had provided to the fiscal watchdog - he described them as “a work of fiction”.
In a letter following Rachel Reeves' speech, Hughes says he had "expressed my concerns about the transparency and credibility of the existing arrangements within government for forecasting, planning and controlling" public spending within departments.
Following Reeves' findings, Hughes says the OBR has now launched a review how the former government prepared its forecasting for the spring budget.
A real surprise - but also politically riskypublished at 17:46 29 July
17:46 29 July
Helen Catt
Political correspondentRestrictingthe winter fuel allowance to just those who get pension credit or other means-tested benefits was a real surprise; there hadn’t been any public discussionof it in the run-up to this statement.
Italso comes with political risk.
Morethan 11 million people currently receive it and under the change, most nowwon’t.
Politically,that’s a lot of voters to risk upsetting.
Questionshave been raised previously about whether it was really right for wealthypensioners to continue receiving it - but no government has previously wanted totake it away.
Itwas a particular issue for the Conservatives, who draw a large proportion oftheir support from older voters.
Labourcould face problems too though.
Whilepensioners have arguably been one of the better protected groups financially,they don’t necessarily feel that way.
Mostimportantly, it’s not just political: there are fears from some that it couldleave those pensioners just above the threshold struggling, particularly ifenergy prices rise again.
Tough decisions ahead for Scotland, says Swinneypublished at 17:37 29 July
17:37 29 July
Image source, PAThe reality of the UK’s finances will inevitably affect the funding available to Scotland, the country's First Minister John Swinney says.
Swinney says Rachel Reeves "has painted an appalling picture" of the financial future facing the UK.
"Their decisions today mean tough decisions ahead for Scotland," he says.
Earlier, the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the cuts were "a political choice" and that Labour was "extending austerity".
Labour has "broken its promise to voters", he said.
If you're just joining us...published at 17:32 29 July
17:32 29 July
Image source, Parliament TVNeed a recap? According to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the government needs to find £22bn to plug the country's finances. These are the projects she says will be scrapped or pulled back:
- The controversial plan to build a road tunnel on the A303 under Stonehenge
- A27 Arundel bypass - a road upgrade in West Sussex
- Restore your Railways program (individual cases can be reviewed) - a project to restore closed rail lines
- Advanced British Standard - a qualification announced by Rishi Sunak
- Winter fuel payments (for some pensioners) - more here
- The New Hospital Project to be reviewed - this was Boris Johnson's plan to build 40 hospitals by 2030, which was slow to progress
How many people will still be eligible for winter fuel payment?published at 17:21 29 July
17:21 29 July
Tom Edgington
BBC VerifyFromthis year onwards only those receiving pension credit or certain othermeans-tested benefits will be eligible for the winter fuel payment.
Pensioncredit is a benefit for those over state pension age who are on a low income, external.
In August 2023, there were 1.4 million people receiving pension credit, external. Abouttwo thirds of people getting it were women.
Butan estimated 850,000 eligible households aren’t claiming pension credit,according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Thefigures, which were published in June 2023, external, show that up to £1.7bn was going unclaimed.
Reeves earlier said she would try to “maximise the take up of pension credit”, byworking with older people charities and local authorities to identifyhouseholds not claiming it.
