Rachel Reeves outlines boosts for NHS and housing
Rachel Reeves, as she outlined her budget forecasts for the coming years, she revealed an extra £29 billion a year for the NHS, as well as funding increases for defense and housing. The chancellor outlined how much money each department would need for day-to-day spending between 2026-29 and investment projects up until 2030 while speaking in the House of Commons. The Foreign Office and the Environment Department are among the departments that will see squeezes in their day-to-day budgets. Reeves said that her Spending Review would provide stability, economic growth, and an NHS fit for the future,
but Conservative shadow chancellor Mel Stride said it was a "spend now, tax later study.
When he said the chancellor would announce tax hikes, he predicted a rough summer of speculators
ahead of the fall Budget.
The spending analysis was the culmination of weeks of dialogue between Reeves and her cabinet colleagues. Negotiations with Housing Secretary Angela Rayner and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper have been particularly lengthy, with no agreements being reached before Sunday and Monday respectively, with some not being reached until Sunday and the Monday. In England, Rayner's department gained £39 billion over ten years for social housing. According to Reeves, the spending power
of police forces will rise by 2. By 2029, which is expected to include funds from council tax bills, and has pledged to reduce the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers by the end of the Parliament, which was predicted in 2029. Over three years for day-to-day running costs, the NHS budget increased by 3% per year. Many departments have failed, including the Foreign Office, which lost 6. 9% per year, mainly in aid; transportation, which drops by 5% per year over the next three years; and the Environment Department, which loses 2. 7%. Other spending recommendations included £86 billion for science and technology research, £15 billion for transportation, and an increase of the number of children receiving free school meals at a cost of £1 billion.
