Public Spending: Inheritance
Debate between Michael Payne and Rachel Reeves(3 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Rachel Reeves
The hon. Gentleman’s constituents will be rightly angry with the previous Government for making unfunded spending commitments that they knew they could not pay for. My right hon. Friend the Health Secretary will meet all those with affected hospitals—including those affected by RAAC—to ensure that we can as quickly as possible address the challenges that his constituents and so many others now face because of the unfunded promises made by the previous Government.
Michael Payne (Gedling) (Lab)
May I congratulate you on your election, Madam Deputy Speaker? I thank the Chancellor for demonstrating today that she will always put country first and party second. The Conservative party’s response to its own failures is always to cover them up—from partygate to the state of our prisons, and now the black hole in our public finances that has been revealed today. What will my right hon. Friend do differently?
Rachel Reeves
We have already introduced legislation to Parliament for a new fiscal lock. We will publish a new charter for budget responsibility at the time of the Budget on 30 October. I have set out new institutional changes to the Office for Budget Responsibility to ensure that never again can a Government withhold information from this House, the country and the Office for Budget Responsibility.