Voluntary redundancies expected across Whitehall as departments respond to chancellor’s spending review
Downing Street says wages can rise above inflation only with productivity gains to match
Whitehall departments say rises of more than 2.8% for NHS staff and teachers in 2025-26 would be unaffordable
Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones launches line-by-line assessment to find 5% savings
Ministers told to make their case for money from tight public funds
Britain’s largest force plans for major cuts to staff and services if budget negotiations fail
Delay from planned spring 2025 Treasury announcement will extend period of uncertainty for government departments
Sue Carr says preventing full operating capacity at crown courts has had a ‘drastic effect’ in worsening backlogs
Health secretary Wes Streeting plans to name England’s failing trusts and sack poor bosses in bid to raise performance
Data suggests that the long-term drag on health service delivery may be finally lifting
Chancellor to set out reform to fragmented local authority funds in Mansion House speech
UK chancellor describes last week’s £40bn tax-raising Budget as a ‘one-off reset’ and one ‘we will never need . . . again’
OBR chair says relationship with finance ministry moving to ‘system of trust but verify’
Funding commitments raise questions over whether the money can deliver needed long-term transformation
Ceiling rises 20% over 5-year period to £200bn to avoid ‘having to take short-term decisions’
Increase driven by rising costs of keeping power stations on stand-by for when renewables produce less
Warnings that private sector investment will be crowded out by increased state spending
Findings of IFS think-tank come as Reeves acknowledges policies could dampen pay growth
OBR says announcements amount to one of the biggest fiscal loosenings of recent decades
But some Whitehall departments including the Home Office face real terms cuts to their budgets
Rachel Reeves must now deliver on her investment plans, or taxes will rise even further
One does not need to subscribe to hyperbolic Tory rhetoric to recognise that this Budget heralded a major shift
Watchdog says it cannot tell how big ‘black hole’ inherited by Rachel Reeves would have been with full transparency
Departmental spending to increase by only 1.7%, with little going towards tackling poverty at home and overseas
Chancellor is due to unveil tax and spend measures, but she may struggle to boost growth quickly
