Rachel Reeves axes winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners – live

Police officers in England and Wales are in line for a 4.75% pay rise from September.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper said officers of all ranks will receive the extra money this year.

In a written statement to parliament, she said the government “values the vital contribution of police officers across the country who work tirelessly to keep us safe every single day” as she confirmed it was accepting recommendations from the Police Remuneration Review Body in full.

The Home Office “will provide £175 million additional funding in 2024-25 to forces to help with the cost of the pay increase”, she said, adding: “While the recommendation for a consolidated award of 4.75% is significantly above what had been budgeted for in the 2021 spending review, it is right that we accept it in full.

“Police officers have a crucial role to play in delivering the Government’s manifesto commitments to make Britain’s streets safe and increase public visibility through neighbourhood policing.”

Some National Crime Agency officers are also due to receive a 5% pay rise, which in a separate statement Ms Cooper said will be funded from the organisation’s existing budget.

“I am confident it will greatly support the agency’s efforts to eradicate the most dangerous organised crime groups operating within and against the UK,” Ms Cooper added.

Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a 5% pay award for some prison officers and staff, with a “targeted focus on the lowest paid”, and a 6% rise for the judiciary.

Rachel Reeves has announced billions of pounds in spending cuts, after ordering the Treasury to carry out an audit of the UK’s public finances.

The chancellor said her aim was to “expose the scale of what has been uncovered” after Labour came to power, pointing to a £22 billion black hole left by the previous government.

Here is a quick look at the headline announcements from Ms Reeves’ speech in the House of Commons.

• £22 billion spending black hole: Ms Reeves told the Commons Labour had inherited “a projected overspend of £22 billion” beyond what the previous government had planned for, which she said the Tories had “covered up”.
• Overspends: The projected overspend by the previous Tory government on the asylum system, including the “failed” Rwanda plan, was more than £6.4 billion for this year alone, she said.
• Ukraine: There is “not enough money set aside for the reserve” to fund costs associated with Ukraine, the Chancellor said.
• Pay rises for doctors, teachers and other public sector workers: Among the pay offers was a deal agreed with junior doctors which will see them get a 20% pay rise over two years in a bid to resolve their long-running pay dispute with the government.
• Advanced British Standard: Rishi Sunak’s proposed new qualification, due to bridge the gap between A-levels and T-levels, will not go ahead.
• Pensions and social care: Adult social care charging reforms delayed by the Tories will not be taken forward, saving more than £1 billion by the end of next year, she also announced.
• Budget date set: October 30 will be the date of the new government’s first budget. The chancellor it will involve taking “difficult decisions” to meet Labour’s fiscal rules, and said this would include decisions on spending and tax.
• Office of value for money: The government will set up a new watchdog aimed at ensuring all public spending provides value for money.

A school leaders’ union boss has welcomed the additional government funding to cover a 5.5% pay rise for teachers amid “stretched” budgets.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Leaders and teachers will welcome today’s above-inflation pay offer – it is another clear sign that the new Government is serious about resetting the relationship with the profession.

“While pay remains below 2010 levels in real-terms, a 5.5% uplift is a significant step on the journey towards pay restoration, which we have long called for.

“We are currently in the midst of the worst recruitment and retention crisis in living memory – in part because under the last government the pay of leaders and teachers was cut by 20% in real terms.”

He added: “We are particularly pleased the Chancellor has pledged additional funding for this deserved pay rise, which is crucial at a time when many school budgets are stretched.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said Labour will not “return to austerity” despite outlining difficult decisions to be made in the upcoming budget.

Labour MP Jon Trickett (Normanton and Hemsworth) said: “I welcome the chancellor’s statement about public sector pay, but isn’t it clear though that after savaging public services, holding down public sector pay, driving three million people into the food banks, that this crazy austerity ideological programme of the Tories failed massively, but at the same time the richest 250 people in the country gained wealth of £500 billion.

“Can I tempt the chancellor to say that there are hard decisions to make we accept, that we reject the ideological commitment to this form of Tory austerity?”

Ms Reeves replied: “I think that we do owe it to our armed forces, our prison officers, our police forces, our nurses and our teachers to reward them properly for the work that they do, and that’s what we did today in implementing in full the recommendations of the pay review bodies.

“I would also echo the views of (Mr Trickett) that a return to austerity would be no way to run our economy. It resulted in growth haemorrhaging in the last parliament and all the damage that did both to living standards and money for public services.”

Rachel Reeves has accused every member of the last Tory cabinet of being “complicit” in the inheritance left behind in public finances.

The chancellor said: “I don’t believe there is any member of the previous cabinet who could have not been aware about the scale of this cover up and the scale of their spending.

“They should hang their heads in shame and instead of coming to the chamber today issuing platitudes they should have done the right thing and apologise to the country.”

Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park Sarah Olney has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to draw from their party’s revenue-raising measures to support public services instead of allowing “working people to pick up the tab” through tax rises.

She told the Commons: “The outgoing Conservative government will go down in the history books as one of the most damaging administrations our country has seen and today’s statement has thrown that picture into even more stark relief.

“It wasn’t just their catastrophic mini budget, we saw a vicious cycle of stagnation and recession driven by years of chaos and uncertainty.”

She added: “Over the last parliament we saw the Conservative Party raise taxes on hardworking households again and again just to pay for its own mistakes.

“So, will the Chancellor agree with me that it would be unfair to ask working people to pick up the tab a second time after they already suffered through years of painful tax raises? My party has set out detailed proposals to raise funding for our public services in a fair way.

“For example, by reversing the Conservatives’ tax cuts for big banks, putting in place a proper windfall tax on oil and gas producers, and raising the digital services tax on social media giants.”

The TUC union said chancellor Rachel Reeves is “right” to accept the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “If we want to repair and rebuild our country – and secure higher growth – we need strong public services, investment in infrastructure and a plan to make work pay.

“That’s why the Chancellor is right to respond positively to the recommendations of the pay review bodies.

“Her approach stands in stark contrast to the previous government, who played political games with the pay review bodies.

“I hope this is the crucial first step in dealing with the recruitment and retention crisis blighting our schools and hospitals. And it will need to be accompanied by a long-term plan for the public sector workforce.

“The Tories’ toxic economic legacy – which has been laid bare for all to see – cannot be allowed to define our future. Working people have paid the price for far too long.

“We shouldn’t shy away from having a national conversation about how we fairly tax wealth. Policies like equalising capital gains tax with the taxes paid on earnings will ensure those with the broadest shoulders pay their fair share.”

The FDA union which represents civil service professionals welcomed Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement that civil servants will receive a pay rise of up to 5%.

FDA general secretary Dave Penman said: “This pay rise for civil servants is clearly the right decision.

“For too long we’ve seen pay eroded due to short-term decision-making, with a broken pay system leading to record churn in the civil service and causing a crisis in recruitment and retention across the public sector.

“I appreciate that this announcement comes against a challenging economic backdrop and some departments may have some difficult decisions to make to achieve the efficiencies outlined by the Chancellor, but I welcome that the Government has recognised that public sector pay must be a priority.

“If we want world-class public services then we must invest in the public servants that deliver them, and this announcement is the first step in the right direction.

“There is still significant work to do and the FDA will continue to engage with the Government to improve the pay system so that it properly rewards hard work, attracts the skills and expertise we need, and provides the necessary progression to attract and retain talent.”

The UK’s economic watchdog has announced a review into how the former government prepared its forecasting for the spring budget, after the Chancellor said she had identified £22 billion worth of overspending.

Richard Hughes, chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, said he was only made aware of the extent of pressures on departmental budgets after meeting with the Treasury last week.

“If a significant fraction of these pressures is ultimately accommodated through higher DEL (department expenditure limits) spending in 2024-25, this would constitute one of the largest year-ahead overspends against DEL forecasts outside of the pandemic years,” he wrote in a letter published on Monday afternoon.

Mr Hughes said he was concerned about the “transparency and credibility” of existing forecasting and spending plans.