Reeves says decision not to raise income tax taken by her and Starmer 'as a team'
John Glen (Con) goes next. He says he cannot see what new “data points” the chancellor had between 4 November, when the chancellor gave her speech implying income tax would go up, and 13 November, when the FT said that plan had been dropped. He says the forecasts from the OBR imply those data points had not changed.
Reeves says the published forecast figures were not the only relevant data points. She says there were also OBR costings for proposed policies.
Q: What changed between 4 November and 13 November?
Reeves says she was clear on 4 November that everyone would have to contribute.
She claims that was not a breach of the manifesto.
Q: The manifesto said you would not raises taxes for working people?
Reeves ignores this point, and says she was clear in her speech on 4 November on the need to build more headroom into the plan, and on the need for everyone to contribute.
She says they did look at putting up income tax.
But they were able to keep the contribution from working people as low as possible.
Q: Who made the decision?
Reeves says she was meeting the PM two or three times a week at this point. They decided this “as a team”, because that is what they are.
Q: Will you publish your leak inquiry findings?
Bowler says he will publish the findings of his review of budget security.
But he does not commit to publishing the inquiry findings.
Hillier says her committee would like to see those findings anyway. She says her committee does not leak.
Before the budget, the Treasury had higher revenues than expected because of inflation.
But Reeves says she did not regard that as good news. The government wants lower inflation, she says.
Q: You told the BBC on 10 November that you could keep your manifesto commitments, but that would need deep cuts to capital spending. Which option did you choose?
Reeves says she said everyone would have to make a contribution. But she kept that to a minimum.
Q: So of those two options, which did you choose? Or did you choose other options?
Reeves says there are always other options.
By freezing the thresholds, she asked everyone to contribute.
She says the Tories froze thresholds for seven years. She has frozen them for another three years.
Reeves is now being asked about the leak to the Financial Times on 13 November saying that Reeves had dropped plans to raise income tax in the budget.
Reeves claims some aspects of the story were misleading.
She says it contained some inaccurate information and an inaccurate picture of her budget strategy. It implied that she had given up elements of her plan, including wanting to raise extra headroom.
She says that was why No 10 issued a statement.
Hillier says the story was written by George Parker, the FT’s political editor. She says he is very experienced. His story said his information came from someone briefed on Reeves’s plans.
Reeves says the leak was definitely not authorised. It was a leak; it was not a briefing to the press.
Bowler tells the committee the inquiry will definitely have to intensify its security in relation to budget information.
Reeves says the Treasury will soon advertise for a replacement for Richard Hughes as chair of the OBR. But that will probably start after Christmas, she says.
Reeves says there were 'too many leaks' ahead of budget, but procedures being reviewed, and leak inquiry underway
The Treasury committee is starting.
Meg Hillier, the chair, starts.
Q: Does the resignation of Richard Hughes as chair of the OBR show that, when an organisation makes a mistake, the honourable thing is for the leader to resign?
Rachel Reeves starts by paying tribute to Hughes.
She says leaks are unacceptable.
The budget had too much speculation. There were too many leaks. And much of that leaks and speculation was inaccurate.
Reeves says she wants to state how frustrated she is about this.
She is doing something about this.
A leak inquiry is underway.
A review of Treasury physical security procedures is under way, she says.
And she says the National cybersecurity Centre has been asked to do a forensic examination of the way the recent OBR report was accessed. She says that will be published.
James Bowler, the Treasury permanent secretary, says the National Cybersecurity Centre review will also look at how the March OBR report was accessed early. He says a media organisation has said it did that.
Lammy says Council of Europe 'heading for politcal declaration' on ECHR
David Lammy, the deputy PM and justice secretary, is in Strasbourg this morning for a Council of Europe meeting where reform of the way the European convention on human rights is interpreted will be discussed.
Here is our overnight preview story by Pippa Crerer and Rajeev Syal.
And this is what Lammy said this morning, according to a Sky News report.
I’m very pleased that the initial conversations that I have had with now well over 20 member states [has] demonstrated that, on the way that some of these issues have been interpreted in member countries, we can achieve consensus and we can arrive at a political declaration that chimes with our respective populations.
We’re heading for a political declaration, and I’m very pleased to be here to kick off that process.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, will start giving evidence to the Treasury committee at 10am. She will appear alongside James Bowler, permanent secretary at the Treasury, and Dharmesh Nayee, its director of strategy, planning and budget.
This is what the Treasury committee said in a news release about the topics it wants to cover.
Members are likely to examine the significant changes to the Treasury’s tax and spending plans, and potential implications for the economy, public services and government debt.
The chancellor is also expected to answer questions on topical issues, such as how her department handled the months leading up to the budget and the recently announced leak inquiry.
Starmer says £500m boost to youth services will give every child 'chance to thrive'
Keir Starmer has been tweeting this morning about the national youth strategy.
It’s our generation’s responsibility to break down barriers to opportunity for young people.
We’re investing in youth services so every child has the chance to thrive and we’re boosting apprenticeships so young people can see their talents take them as far as they can.
At the heart of the strategy is a plan to spend £500m boosting youth services. This is how the Department for Culture, Media and Sport summarises it.
-Build or refurbish up to 250 youth facilities over the next four years, as well as providing equipment for activities to around 2,500 youth organisations, through a new £350m ‘Better Youth Spaces’ programme. It will provide safe and welcoming spaces, offering young people somewhere to go, something meaningful to do, and someone who cares about their wellbeing.
-Launch a network of 50 Young Futures Hubs by March 2029 as part of a local transformation programme of £70m, providing access to youth workers and other professionals, supporting their wellbeing and career development and preventing them from harm.
-The first eight hubs to be operational by March 2026 are in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, County Durham, Nottingham, Bristol, Tower Hamlets, and Brighton and Hove.
-Support organisations in underserved areas to deliver high-quality youth work and activities through a ‘Richer Young Lives Fund’ worth over £60m.
-Boost young people’s wellbeing, personal development, and essential life skills through a new £22.5m programme of support around the school day in up to 400 schools.
-Recruit and train youth workers, volunteers and other trusted adults with £15 million of investment.
-Strengthen youth services through £5 million to improve local partnerships, better information sharing, and digital infrastructure, ensuring young people receive high-quality, safe, and effective support in their communities.
Nandy says she does not think Australian-style social media ban for teenagers could be enforced in UK
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, was on the media round for the government this morning. She was there to talk about the new national youth strategy being published today. There is a news release about it here, the actual strategy is available here, and here is Pippa Crerar’s story about it, based on an interview with Nandy.
In the interview Nandy expressed scepticism about the UK followng Australia and banining under-16s from having social media accounts.
She has spoken more about that in her interviews this morning. She said the government is not totally ruling out doing something similar. Asked if the UK would follow Australia if the Australian ban is deemed a success, she told BBC Breakfast:
Yes, we certainly would consider it, not only if it worked, but if young people … believed that it was working and trusted that that was a solution.
But she also stressed that at this point the government is not minded to introduce a similar social media ban for teenagers. She told Times Radio:
We don’t think [this will be a good idea]. We asked young people what they thought about it, and the overwhelming response was concerns about enforceability.
Are we seriously saying that we’re going to start prosecuting young people for going on social media?
There’s also a real concern particularly amongst girls that if people can’t see the problem with behaviour online, they won’t be able to see the problem with behaviour in the real world.
What they really wanted was more education, more advice, and particularly someone who cared about them, who they could talk to, an adult who they could trust … to be able to navigate some of this.
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Asylum overhaul in UK could lead to rise in homelessness and backlogs, says report
Shabana Mahmood’s radical plans to overhaul the asylum system could cause “unintended consequences” such as increased homelessness among people seeking refuge and growing case backlogs, Whitehall’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, has concluded. Rajeev Syal has the story.
Here is the NAO’s report. And here is its eight-page summary.
Rachel Reeves faces Treasury committee before Tory censure motion in Commons saying she misled voters about budget
Good morning. It is PMQs today, but Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is also facing intense scrutiny in the Commons today. She is giving evidence to the Treasury committee at 10am and then, from about 4pm, she will face a rare censure motion in the Commons.
Anyone who listens to Commons debates regularly will have heard an MP accuse another member of “misleading” people, only for the speaker to intervene to say they must have meant “unintentionally misleading”. Under rules intended to maintain decorum in debates, MPs are not allowed to accuse each other of lying, or anything similar. But there is an exception if whether or not a particular MP has lied is the actual subject of the debate.
And that is what is happening today. It is an opposition day, meaning the Conservative party can decide the motions to be debated, and it has tabled a censure motion urging Reeves “to apologise for misleading the country about the state of the public finances, rolling the pitch for raising taxes, breaking her promises and increasing welfare spending”. There is no chance of the motion passing, but it does mean that for about three hours in the Commons in it will be open season on the chancellor.
Commenting on the motion, Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said:
Rachel Reeves has repeatedly misled the British public. She promised she wouldn’t raise taxes on working people - and then she did. She insisted there was a black hole in the public finances - and there wasn’t.
Rachel Reeves has put party before country, so today the Conservatives are giving MPs the chance to formally censure the Chancellor and call on her to apologise to families across the country.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The ONS publishes annual life expectancy figures.
Morning: David Lammy, the deputy PM and justice secretary, and Lord Hermer, the attorney general, attend a Council of Europe summit in Strasbourg to discuss migration and the European convention on human rights.
10am: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, gives evidence to the Commons Treasury committee about the budget.
Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
After 12.30pm: MPs debate two Tory opposition days motions: first, one criticising the employment rights bill, and accusing the government of “making seasonal, flexible and part-time work more difficult”; and then another urging Reeves “to apologise for misleading the country about the state of the public finances, rolling the pitch for raising taxes, breaking her promises and increasing welfare spending”.
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