John Glen: Over the past 12 months the government has acted decisively and compassionately to support the people of Ukraine and Afghanistan to escape oppression and conflict and find refuge in the UK. At the Autumn Statement, the government committed to providing additional resources of £1 billion in 2022-23 and £1.5 billion in 2023-24 to help meet the significant and unanticipated costs which have...
John Glen: The Chancellor has regular conversations with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The government is committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing, including through the £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme which is the largest cash investment in affordable housing in a decade.
John Glen: The Government recognises that public sector workers play a vital role in the running of our economy, and in delivering our world-class public services. Pay for most frontline workforces – including nurses, teachers, armed forces, and police officers – is set through an independent Pay Review Body process. The Pay Review Bodies consider a range of standard evidence and other special...
John Glen: As the Government’s official independent forecaster, the Government has a close working relationship with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). In the lead up to the recent Autumn Statement and accompanying OBR forecast, the OBR were engaged in the normal way. As is set out in the foreword of the OBR’s November Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), the forecast process involved the OBR...
John Glen: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the UK Government’s independent official forecaster. The OBR’s most recent forecast was published alongside the Autumn Statement on 17 November 2022. The OBR forecast that tax receipts will increase from £1.0 trillion in 2022-23 to £1.2 trillion in 2027-28, an increase of £196 billion. Debt interest spending (net of the Asset Purchase...
John Glen: In developing proposals for fiscal events, such as the Autumn Statement on 17 November, the Treasury takes care to ensure compliance with legal requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the Equality Act 2010, to consider the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics. This is in line with both our legal obligations to pay “due regard” to...
John Glen: The government understands that people are worried about the cost of living challenges ahead. That’s why the government has announced support worth £26 billion for 2023-24, designed to target the most vulnerable households. The Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24. This is in addition to benefits uprating, which is worth £11 billion to working age...
John Glen: The Government understands that people across the UK are worried about the cost of living as they spend more on energy bills and essentials. The Government has acted to bring down the cost of energy, and support all households with their bills this winter, including families in receipt of maternity pay. This includes the Energy Price Guarantee, which limits the unit price for electricity...
John Glen: The Efficiency and Savings Review will keep spending focused on the government’s priorities and help manage pressures from higher inflation. Government departments will continue to identify efficiency savings in day-to-day budgets. We need to be ambitious as a government in finding ways of working even more efficiently and focus spending where it delivers the greatest value for the...
John Glen: The Blind Person's Allowance provides an extra amount of tax-free allowance for individuals who are registered as blind. The Government announced at Autumn statement 2022 that the Blind Person’s Allowance will be uprated by September CPI figure in 2023-24 to £2,870. The Government also provides support to help disabled people with the additional costs associated with living with a...
John Glen: The government set out last week its plans to refocus the Investment Zones programme, building high potential clusters for our growth industries. As a result, the original Expression of Interest (EOI) process run by DLUHC has not been taken forward. The EOI process has provided important insights into local area’s growth needs and challenges, which will help DLUHC to design the refocussed...
John Glen: Whilst taking difficult decisions at the Autumn Statement to ensure broader economic stability, we have increased funding for local authorities. At Autumn Statement 2022, the Government provided local authorities with access to up to an additional £2.8 billion for adult social care, discharge, and other services in 2023-24, increasing to £4.8 billion in 2024-25. This includes £1 billion of...
John Glen: The Digital Markets Unit (DMU) was established in April 2021 as part of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The DMU is funded through the CMA’s regular budget setting process. In the Spending Review 2020, set up costs for the DMU were included in the CMA’s 2021-22 resource budget of £109.6m. At Spending Review 2021, the CMA’s resource budget, which includes the DMU, was set...
John Glen: At Spending Review 2020, the New Hospitals Programme received £3.7bn of funding up to 2024/25. At the Autumn Statement, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to the New Hospitals Programme, which includes Leeds General Infirmary. I have not discussed the specifics of this case with the Secretary of State, though I look forward to discussions with him about the New Hospitals Programme,...
John Glen: HM Treasury does not prepare formal forecasts for household income or the outlook for the UK economy, which are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The government has announced further support for next year designed to target the most vulnerable households. This cost of living support is worth £26 billion in 2023-24, in addition to benefits...
John Glen: The government hugely values and appreciates NHS staff and we have committed to give NHS workers a pay rise in 2023/24, asking the independent pay review bodies for recommendations on pay for staff in scope. This year, over one million staff under the Agenda for Change contract, including nurses, have benefited from a pay rise of at least £1,400 backdated to April 2022. This is on top of the...
John Glen: With regards to Investment Zones, the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities will work with local stakeholders to determine the most appropriate locations for Investment Zones and develop a package of interventions, which will be announced in due course. More generally, the government already offers support to a wide range of left-behind places through the Levelling Up Fund and...
John Glen: The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society, such as disabled people and people with long-term health conditions – who may have additional energy costs. That is why the Government is taking decisive action to support households while ensuring we act in a...
John Glen: The Government understands that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society. That is why the Government is taking decisive action to support households while ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way. In addition to the Energy Price Guarantee, the Government has announced £37 billion of...
John Glen: HMT continues to engage regularly with the devolved administrations. The Chancellor met with the devolved administration First Ministers Mark Drakeford MS and Nicola Sturgeon MSP on Thursday 10 November where discussion included cost of living and rising energy costs and the First Ministers had the opportunity to set out their priorities to the Chancellor. I also met with the Welsh...