Spring Statement Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Spring Statement

Rushanara Ali Excerpts
Wednesday 13th March 2019

(5 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Hammond of Runnymede Portrait Mr Hammond
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No, I cannot do that but I can assure the hon. Lady that special educational needs funding will be considered as part of the spending review. I am sure that her Committee will want to make representations. We have to make choices. I can confidently predict that the spending review will receive far more bids for funding from across the Government and agencies in all Departments than there is funding available, so we have to look at what our priorities are as a nation.

Rushanara Ali Portrait Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)
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The Government have slashed millions of pounds from policing, with 21,000 police officers taken out of the system. Violent crime has gone up; the knife crime epidemic is terrorising our communities; and the police are at breaking point. Will the Chancellor, ahead of the next spending review, prioritise investing in the police service so that we can genuinely tackle knife crime and violent crime in our country?

Lord Hammond of Runnymede Portrait Mr Hammond
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Well, I have just done it with £100 million today. As the hon. Lady knows, we have put £460 million into the police this year, £970 million will go in next year and an extra £100 million has been announced today. Of course the police will be considered very carefully in the spending review.