Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the article by the Institute for Fiscal Studies Up to £10 billion of the Chancellor's 'Plan for Jobs' will be funded by underspends on previously planned projects, published on 16 July, how much money included in the Summer Economic Statement had not already been announced or included in previous economic statements; and what steps they are taking to improve the transparency and accuracy of fiscal announcements and statements.

Since the start of the pandemic the government has provided support for people, businesses and public services worth more than £200 billion.

The Plan for Jobs in July set out ambitious capital investment plans to accelerate £8.6 billion of decarbonisation, infrastructure and maintenance projects. As set out in the Plan for Jobs document, this included £5.6 billion of infrastructure projects announced by the PM to start many projects sooner than previously planned. The package was to fund additional activity in 2020-21 and 2021-22, both by accelerating planned programmes and funding new projects to help support jobs and improve our infrastructure. It is funded by a mix of additional funding and underspends in 2020-21, with future years coming from the spending envelope announced at Budget. The Chancellor will be setting out further capital investment plans at the Spending Review, with details outlined in the accompanying document.

In the usual way, the Office for Budget Responsibility will provide their independent assessment of the effect of government policy on the economy and public finances when they publish their forecast alongside the Spending Review on 25 November.