Public Expenditure: Coronavirus

(asked on 19th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the International Monetary Fund’s October 2020 Fiscal Monitor, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a programme of public investment to help economic recovery from the effects of the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Steve Barclay Portrait
Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This question was answered on 27th October 2020

In responding to the Covid-19 outbreak the government has announced unprecedented support for families, businesses, and self-employed people. The immediate focus for the government’s economic and fiscal strategy continues to be on supporting workers and businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government is conducting a one-year Spending Review, which will set departmental resource and capital budgets for 2021-22 and Devolved Administrations block grants for the same period. Alongside providing enhanced support for public services and certainty for departments to tackle Covid-19 and deliver our Plan for Jobs to support employment, the SR will invest in infrastructure to keep up the momentum of our ambitious plans to unite and level up, drive our economic recovery and build back better. Multi-year NHS and schools resource settlements will be fully funded, as will priority infrastructure projects. The Spending Review will conclude in late November.

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