‘Tough’ autumn budget ahead to balance the books, warns Rishi Sunak
THE Chancellor will use a Budget and a spending review next month to set out how he plans to balance the nation's books.
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Rishi Sunak said the three-year 2021 Spending Review and his Autumn Budget will take place on October 27. Mr Sunak has warned of a “tough autumn” ahead as the economy recovers from the Covid pandemic and repeated lockdowns. Governments usually use the Budget to outline the state of the country’s finances and propose tax changes.
Whitehall departments will be handed new budgets up to 2024/25 in the review, which will determine whether cuts have to be imposed across Government. Every department has been asked to find savings of at least 5 percent, the Treasury said.
Mr Sunak will also set out his financial priorities for the coming year in the Autumn Budget, alongside the official economic forecasts.
The Chancellor said: “Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve delivered on an unprecedented scale to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods. Despite the worst economic recession in 300 years, we have not only got people back into work through the Plan for Jobs, but continued to deliver on the priorities of the British people.
“At the spending review later this year, I will set out how we will continue to invest in public services and drive growth while keeping the public finances on a sustainable path.”