'Budget won't fix social care or defence overnight - but will show clues of path ahead'

'Budget won't fix social care or defence overnight - but will show clues of path ahead' 'While the PM is rightly focused on the long term, the Chancellor has the immediate challenge of managing the money today', Treasury Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier writes It’s Budget season again. We know the new PM’s ambitions: growth in every postcode. Job opportunities for young people. Breathing space for businesses. Cost of living support and a pathway to increase funding to defend our nation. Nobody can say that he isn’t ambitious but he inherits the same challenges which the Labour Government did in 2024 – public finances bled dry and big issues parked. There are, thanks to the last Conservative Government, around 700,000 pupils studying in schools which are not fit for purpose. Hospitals are crying out for investment in crumbling buildings (those with reinforced aerated concrete literally have their roofs propped up) and we saw an increase of £33bn of taxpayers’ money spent on benefits in the last year of the Tory Government. Labour inherited crumbling buildings, struggling public services and households under pressure. These cannot be solved in short order. I’m wary of surprise announcements on Budget day that all too often unravel. Policies cooked up in Whitehall which don’t survive contact with the real world. While the PM is rightly focused on the long term (good politics is not just about dealing with today’s crisis and tomorrow’s challenge but about having the courage to think ahead) the Chancellor has the immediate challenge of managing the money today. The secrecy around a Budget is a challenge – some decisions could be damaging if leaked before Budget day. But the danger is that the Treasury can become a bunker – in order to avoid leaks, ideas are not tested. Remember the infamous pasty tax? (VAT on takeaway hot food). John Healey promised to clamp down on leaks and speculation and so far has succeeded – even the content of private meetings with stakeholders has, by and large, remained private. A lot of the Prime Minister’s agenda is about tackling the long neglected big challenges our country faces – most notably social care and funding defence in an increasingly dangerous world. The Budget is not the vehicle for solving these, but the detailed numbers behind the Budget will give some clues to what’s ahead. Nor will the detail of future public spending be laid out – that’s for the spending review next spring where the Government details precisely what your taxes will be spent on. Only the Chancellor and his inner circle know what will be in the Budget which is all but finalised by now. When we had leading economists in front of the Treasury committee this week they were positive about the direction of travel as they perceived it - cautious not flashy - and they called for a focus on the long-term - investment and giving responsibility to local areas for their own decisions and delivery. 'Man City raise serious questions about tax in football' We are a nation of football lovers. But that love, and the trust people have in fair play both on and off the pitch, has been rocked. The Premier League's investigation into Manchester City prompted serious questions about the club’s tax affairs. Football clubs, like every other taxpayer, should pay their fair share. So I wrote to HMRC to make it clear that we expect them to be alive to tax impropriety in football. They’ve told us they are on the ball, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on them and are likely to question HMRC on that subject the next time they appear in front of us. I hope for their sake that they come away with a clean sheet. (122 words) 'Celebrity Traitors shows trust is everything' Like you, I’ve been gripped by the BBC’s Celebrity Traitors. It’s a reminder that trust is everything, even when division is rife. People might think politics is more Traitor than Faithful, but delivering for Hackney and Shoreditch, and our country, takes teamwork, resilience, and a shared purpose. Ultimately, politics isn’t about outwitting your opponents; it’s about working together to deliver for people. That’s the real prize worth winning. 'Breaking Bad actor death is a timely reminder' The untimely death of Breaking Bad actor RJ Mitte who had cerebral palsy, reminds me of the work of Graeae and Access all Areas, theatre companies championing deaf, disabled, neurodivergent and learning disability performers. All disabled actors should be able to access taxpayer funded Access to Work support. The arts and our society will be better for it.