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Spending Round 2019 05/09/2019 Labelled as Development, Finance

The Chancellor Sajid Javid delivered his statement on the 2019 Spending Round to Parliament on 4 September 2019.

 

Reference to housing and social housing in particular, was conspicuous by its absence in the Chancellor's speech on the 2019 Spending Round which he claimed heralded the fastest planned increase in day-to-day departmental spending for 15 years 'turning the page on austerity'.

 

The only significant announcement of additional funding for housing was for £422 million resource funding to help reduce homelessness and rough sleeping, including an additional £54 million in 2020-21.

 

The Chancellor said that day-to-day departmental spending will grow by 4.1% above inflation in 2020-21 compared to the previous year and for the first time since 2002, no government department will see a cut to its day-to-day budget.

 

Compared to the previous year, departments will get a £13.8 billion real term increase in day-to-day spending to deliver on priorities which the Government says reflect "the peoples' priorities". The main headlines in the Chancellor's spending plans announced in his speech to Parliament were:

 

Increased funding for schools:This Spending Round provides an increase in funding for schools with every secondary school allocated a minimum of £5,000 per pupil by 2020-21, and every primary school £4,000 per pupil by 2021-22. Over £700 million extra funding will be made available to support children and young people with special educational needs compared to 2019-20 funding levels, and £400 million to train and teach more than a million 16 to 19-year olds the skills they need for the modern economy.

 

Increased funding for the NHS:This Spending Round reaffirms the government's commitment to a cash increase of £33.9 billion a year for the NHS by 2023-24 compared to 2018-19 budgets. A new £1,000 personal development budget over 3 years has been allocated for every nurse, midwife and allied health professional.

 

An extra £1.5 billion for social care:Councils will have access to a further £1.5 billion for social care - £1 billion through a new grant and £500 million through the adult social care precept.

 

20,000 more police officers:The Home Office will receive extra funding to recruit 20,000 additional police officers, and tackle child sexual exploitation.

 

10,000 additional prison places:There is extra funding to begin delivery of 10,000 additional prison places, improve security in prisons, and support the ongoing reform of the probation system to provide better supervision and rehabilitation of offenders.

 

£2.2 billion for the Armed Forces:£2.2 billion in additional funding will be made available for the UK's Armed Forces.

 

£490 million for transport:A £490 million cash increase in the UK's transport network will include extra funding to make buses more environmentally friendly, improve track maintenance and support development of major projects.

 

Brexit funding for after the UK has left the EU:£2 billion in 2020-21 will help the UK to establish a new relationship with the EU, and capitalise on the opportunities created by Brexit.

 

Additional funding for decarbonisation, air quality, and biodiversity:The Spending Round provides additional funding to accelerate decarbonisation schemes, improve air quality and to protect and enhance biodiversity. At least £250 million will also be provided to the international climate and environment funds, including the Green Climate Fund - the leading fund dedicated to helping meet the Paris Agreement on climate change.

 

Read the full transcript of the Chancellors statement to Parliament on the 2019 Spending Round.


Further analysis of the Government's Spending Round Document published alongside the Chancellor's statement shows that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) settlement includes amongst other things:

 

  • a 2.7% real-term increase to the department's resource budget from 2019-20 to 2020-21;
  • £422 million resource funding to help reduce homelessness and rough sleeping, including an additional £54 million in 2020-21. This represents a real-terms increase of 13% compared to 2019-20;
  • £24 million additional funding for the Building Safety Programme to support the new building safety regime. This comes is in addition to the £600 million of government funding for the removal of aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding in the private and social residential sectors;
  • continued support to increase home ownership through the Help to Buy equity loan and other housing programmes, including providing Homes England with additional funding to deliver more homes where people need them; and
  • continued funding for the Troubled Families programme.

 

Analysis of the Document shows that the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) settlement includes:

 

  • A £106 million package to fund the "Plan for DWP Excellence" including:
    • £40 million additional funding for Discretionary Housing Payments to tackle affordability pressures in the private rented sector in England and Wales;
    • £36 million to ensure DWP decision-making is accurate and the application processes are straightforward and accessible, as well as improving safeguarding by creating a new independent Serious Case Panel;
    • £7 million to expand Jobcentre advisor support in schools for young people with special educational needs and extending eligibility for Access to Work to internships for disabled people; and
    • £23 million to fund a range of other measures, including support for vulnerable claimants and people with complex needs migrating to Universal Credit, additional outreach activities to support those who are homeless, and increasing the number of Armed Forces champions to support veterans when entering the labour market.

 

Full details of the Government's spending plans can be found in the Government's Spending Round document.


The Chancellor's announcement to Parliament on the Spending Round was to some extent overshadowed later in the day when the Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost a Commons vote as MPs blocked his bid to trigger a General Election on 15 October. Nevertheless, most political commentators believe a General Election at some point in the next few weeks is almost inevitable and of course the Chancellor's spending plans could of course be overturned if there is an incoming government of a different political colour.

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