Spring statement: The 10 areas where Brexit money could be spent
TORY Chancellor Philip Hammond is under extreme pressure to loosen the purse strings in tomorrow's spring statement. Here are 10 areas in which the money could be spent.
ROADS
Warnings of an epidemic of pot holes in Britain's roads have been sounded as councils divert cash to social care.
The Local Government Association has estimated that just 5p in every pound spent by councils would go to improving roads and street-lighting because of funding shortfalls.
Howard Robinson, the chief executive of the Road Surface Treatments Association, said that a £5.8billion funding gap in council budgets by 2020 will have an impact on transport.
TERRORISM
At the end of last year Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced an extra £50million for the police and other security and intelligence officials at the frontline in the fight against a range of terror threats.
It raised the annual budget to £757million next year after she convinced Philip Hammond of the need for more support.
Intelligence services are currently running more than 500 live operations and there were 400 arrests for terrorism-related offences in the year to last September.
TAX CUTS
Philip Hammond can expect increasing pressure from Tory MPs to deliver tax cuts as the Treasury's debt mountain begins to shrink.
Many believe that lifting the tax burden on businesses such as corporation tax and local levies can help to boost the economy.
They also believe the party must put more money in the pockets of middle-income families to maintain the Tory's tradition as the low tax party.
Mr Hammond has also cut stamp duty for first-time buyers in a bid to boost the housing market.
RAIL
An outcry about inflation-busting hikes in train fares at the beginning of the year highlighted concerns about the financial pressures on the rail network.
Commuters dogged by widespread delays, cancellations and strikes saw average fares rise 3.4 per cent.
Critics complain about decades of scant funding under both Labour and Tory-led governments. Network Rail last year complained it was facing the biggest funding shortfall since the financial crisis in 2008.
SOCIAL CARE
Social care budgets across the country are facing an unprecedented strain.
A combination of the ageing population, increasingly complex care needs, cuts in funding to councils and increases in care costs is being blamed for the pressure on the services, which care for both the frail elderly and vulnerable such as those with severe disabilities.
Figures show that net current expenditure on adult social care in England increased by 3.5 per cent in cash terms but fell once the effects of inflation are taken into account.
The Local Government Association estimates that adult social care services will face a funding gap of £1billion by 2020.
DEFENCE
Growing numbers of Tory MPs are joining senior defence chiefs in calling for a major increase in funding for the Armed Forces.
Last month General Sir Gordon Messenger, the vice-chief of the defence staff, said Britain faced the prospect of defeat in future military conflicts unless the Ministry of Defence gets more cash.
Theresa May has committed her Government to raising defence spending by at least two per cent every year throughout the current parliamentary term.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has repeatedly pressed the Treasury for more cash. The shortfall in the budget has been estimated at up to £30billion over the next decade.
SCHOOLS
School budgets are facing cuts of eight per cent in real terms by 2020, according to a report from the National Audit Office.
The financial watchdog claimed that while school funding is supposed to be protected from spending restrictions across Whitehall, a range of pressures is forcing spending per pupil down.
Head teachers complain that they have to cope with increased costs resulting from higher contributions to teachers' pensions, pay rises, the introduction of the national living wage and the apprenticeship levy.
Teachers complain of a lack of textbooks and computers while some schools are asking parents to make voluntary contributions to fill in funding gaps.
POLICE
Ministers are increasingly facing complaints of rising levels of violent crime following reductions in the numbers of police officers.
Official figures show that the number of police officers in England and Wales fell from a peak of 144,353 in 2009 to 122,859 in 2016, the period when Theresa May was Home Secretary.
At the same time the number of specialist armed police officers has fallen from 6,796 in 2010 to 5,639 in 2016.
Figures from the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies show that spending on the police in England and Wales fell by 14 per cent between 2010-11 and 2014-15.
THE NHS
Around 120,000 unnecessary deaths have resulted from the squeeze on NHS finances since 2010, according to a report published in the British Medical Journal last year.
In England alone the NHS is swallowing up more than £100billion every year.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt frequently points out that Government funding for the NHS rises every year.
Official figures show that hospitals and other services are facing the lowest annual rises in NHS history. Once inflation is taken into account, the NHS budget in England is set to rise by around 1.1 per cent a year between 2015 and 2020 compared with an average of 3.8 per cent since 1956.
HOUSING
Many Tory MPs believe that tackling Britain's housing shortage is vital for their party's hopes of winning the next general election.
In his Budget last year, Philip Hammond announced that councils will be able to spend an extra £1billion collectively to invest in housing. And at his last Budget he announced a £44billion package of investment, loans and guarantees to increase the annual amount of new homes built.
While the Government has set a target of building 300,000 new homes a year, construction industry experts say far more cash is needed. Ministers complain that some councils are failing to spend money available to them to build houses.