Rachel Reevesis preparing to announce billions of pounds’ worth of extra spending for areas outside south-east England at next month’s spending review, after rewriting Treasury investment rules.
Reporting on the story, the Guardian’s political correspondent,Kiran Staceywrites:
In other news today, the government is setting outfunding allocations for building repairs, with ministers saying children and patients deserve to be safe and comfortable in schools and hospitals across England.
Schools ministerCatherine McKinnelland shadow paymaster generalRichard Holdenare on morning media round, so we’ll be hearing from them soon. And, Farage has announcedReform UKare now accepting donations in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
More on all of the above in a moment, but first, here are some other developments:
The UK is on the brink of signing a £1.6bn trade agreement with Gulf states, amid warnings from rights groups that the deal makes no concrete provisions on human rights, modern slavery or the environment.The deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council – which includes the countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates– is within touching distance, making it a fourth trading agreement by Keir Starmer after pacts were struck with the US, India and the EU.
Andrew Bailey has urged the UK government to deepen ties with the EU, as he warned a breakdown in global trade would make it harder for theBank of Englandto control inflation.In a speech in Dublin on Thursday, the Bank’s governor said a stronger relationship between London and Brussels could “minimise negative effects” ofBrexiton trade.
Kemi Badenoch has accused the Labour and Reform leaders of asking people to “fund unlimited child support for others” by scrapping the two-child benefit cap. Writing in the Daily Mail, the Tory leader accused Starmer and Farage of engaging in a “race to the bottom” on welfare.
Nigel Farage has launched a second attack video aimed at Anas Sarwar and accused the Scottish Labour leader of being “obsessed about race”, escalating the increasingly personal row before a key Holyrood byelection.The campaign for the central Scotland seat of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse is rapidly evolving into a head-to-head contest between the two party leaders. A Reform UK advert that incorrectly claims Sarwar has promised to prioritise Pakistani communities is nowsubject to formal complaints to Meta from Scottish Labour and the SNP.
“Millionaires” should not get “subsidy for their energy bills from the government”, a Treasury minister has suggested.Darren Jones has said that winter fuel payments will “still be targeted to those that need it the most”.
The treatment of autistic people who are referred to the government’s deradicalisation scheme could be in breach of equality laws, a human rights charity has claimed.In a pre-action letter to theHome Office, Rights & Security International (RSI) said it was “deeply concerned about a potential ongoing failure to collect and analyse data on the protected characteristics of those referred to Prevent and that this constitutes an ongoing failure to comply with their public sector equality duty”.
Schools ministerCatherine McKinnellsaid the government will make “substantial progress” in rebuilding schools, but was unable to provide a target for how much of the maintenance backlog would be dealt with.
CatherineMcKinnelltold BBC Breakfast on Friday:
Asked whether she could provide a figure for how much of the £14bn maintenance backlog would be eliminated or how when schools would be free ofRaac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete), she could not.
She added:
Asked again about Raac in an interview on Friday with LBC, McKinnell said:
According to the PA news agency, she went on to say that “we have identified all the Raac” and there are plans for buildings to either be fixed or rebuilt “because [ …] the fact that they have Raac in them means that they’re probably a substantial age as a building”.
Keir Starmeris braced for a major rebellion against his attempts to cut benefits when they come to a vote next month, with dozens of Labour MPs preparing to vote against the measures.
Nadia Whittome, theLabourMP forNottingham East, has been setting out her reasons for rebelling against the government this morning, telling the Today programme the plan is based on “very weak” evidence.
“How does cutting people’s benefits help? No one can answer this question,” she said. “The government hasn’t provided any evidence of that and is expecting MPs to vote on it without providing that evidence.”
She added:
Whittome’s backbench colleagueJake Richardsdefended the government, however, telling the programme:
Kemi Badenochhas accused the Labour and Reform leaders of asking people to “fund unlimited child support for others” by scrapping the two-child benefit cap, reports the PA news agency.
Her comments come afterNigel Farageannounced his party would abolish the cap as part of a series of spending promises including reinstating the winter fuel allowance and changing rules on tax-free allowances for married couples.
At the same time,Keir Starmersaid his government was looking at “all options” to drive down child poverty, but has not committed to getting rid of the cap.
Writing in the Daily Mail, the Tory leader accused Starmer and Farage of engaging in a “race to the bottom” on welfare.
She said:
Badenoch said both leaders’ comments on the cap showed they were “content to make promises they can’t keep”, arguing theConservativeswere “going to be the party of sound money and fiscal responsibility again”.
The cap, introduced by the Conservatives in 2017, preventsuniversal creditclaimants from receiving additional benefits for a third or subsequent child born after 5 April 2017.Campaigners say the cap exacerbates child poverty and has had a minimal impact on birthrate or family-size.
TheChild Poverty Action Grouphas said abolishing the cap would lift 350,000 children out of poverty and mean another 700,000 were in less deep poverty.
Rachel Reevesis preparing to announce billions of pounds’ worth of extra spending for areas outside south-east England at next month’s spending review, after rewriting Treasury investment rules.
Reporting on the story, the Guardian’s political correspondent,Kiran Staceywrites:
In other news today, the government is setting outfunding allocations for building repairs, with ministers saying children and patients deserve to be safe and comfortable in schools and hospitals across England.
Schools ministerCatherine McKinnelland shadow paymaster generalRichard Holdenare on morning media round, so we’ll be hearing from them soon. And, Farage has announcedReform UKare now accepting donations in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
More on all of the above in a moment, but first, here are some other developments:
The UK is on the brink of signing a £1.6bn trade agreement with Gulf states, amid warnings from rights groups that the deal makes no concrete provisions on human rights, modern slavery or the environment.The deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council – which includes the countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates– is within touching distance, making it a fourth trading agreement by Keir Starmer after pacts were struck with the US, India and the EU.
Andrew Bailey has urged the UK government to deepen ties with the EU, as he warned a breakdown in global trade would make it harder for theBank of Englandto control inflation.In a speech in Dublin on Thursday, the Bank’s governor said a stronger relationship between London and Brussels could “minimise negative effects” ofBrexiton trade.
Kemi Badenoch has accused the Labour and Reform leaders of asking people to “fund unlimited child support for others” by scrapping the two-child benefit cap. Writing in the Daily Mail, the Tory leader accused Starmer and Farage of engaging in a “race to the bottom” on welfare.
Nigel Farage has launched a second attack video aimed at Anas Sarwar and accused the Scottish Labour leader of being “obsessed about race”, escalating the increasingly personal row before a key Holyrood byelection.The campaign for the central Scotland seat of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse is rapidly evolving into a head-to-head contest between the two party leaders. A Reform UK advert that incorrectly claims Sarwar has promised to prioritise Pakistani communities is nowsubject to formal complaints to Meta from Scottish Labour and the SNP.
“Millionaires” should not get “subsidy for their energy bills from the government”, a Treasury minister has suggested.Darren Jones has said that winter fuel payments will “still be targeted to those that need it the most”.
The treatment of autistic people who are referred to the government’s deradicalisation scheme could be in breach of equality laws, a human rights charity has claimed.In a pre-action letter to theHome Office, Rights & Security International (RSI) said it was “deeply concerned about a potential ongoing failure to collect and analyse data on the protected characteristics of those referred to Prevent and that this constitutes an ongoing failure to comply with their public sector equality duty”.