People will not face higher taxes on their payslips after budget, education secretary says
People will not face higher taxes on their payslips after the budget, a cabinet minister said, as she refused to be drawn on what measures could be in the £40bn revenue raiser.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson repeatedly said she could not speculate on how Chancellor Rachel Reeves intends to fill the black hole in the nation’s finances, which is understood to be more than double it was previously thought.
Politics Live: Budget a ‘choice between investment or decline’
Labour said in its manifesto that it will not raise national insurance, income tax or VAT on “working people” – but it is not clear exactly who that means.
Ms Phillipson told Sky News it is someone “whose main income arises from the fact that they go out to work every day”.
However, she refused to say whether it meant someone who does this and also has savings, telling Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “You’re once again asking me to speculate on matters that are for the chancellor.”
She added: “We set out in our manifesto that we would not be increasing VAT, national insurance or income tax on working people. We will hold to that. And in the payslips that they see after the budget, they will not face higher taxes.”
Government sources were later forced to clarify that the promise was valid right up to the next election, after the education secretary appeared to fumble her lines on the matter.
There was further confusion over remarks she gave to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, when she declined to say whether a small business owner with an average net profit of around £13,000 is considered a “working person” by the government.
She acknowledged it is “frustrating” she can’t talk about the budget, but said “that’s not my job – that’s for the chancellor”.
While ministers have remained tight-lipped about the fiscal event next week, it is thought capital gains tax, fuel duty and inheritance tax are some of the levers Ms Reeves could pull.
In recent weeks, ministers have said their commitment not to raise national insurance only applied to the worker element, fuelling speculation that the employer part of this levy could also go up.
It has emerged the government is looking to fill a £40bn shortfall, more than double the £22bn black hole they had previously warned about and used to justify the cut to winter fuel payments.
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told Sky News if that is the case Wednesday’s fiscal event will be “certainly one of the biggest tax rising budgets in history”.
The Conservatives have accused Labour of misleading the public during the election campaign with their economic plans.
Gareth Davies, the shadow exchequer secretary, said: “Labour are not keeping their word. They’re attempting to pull the wool over the public’s eyes – but it won’t work.”
He accused Labour of breaking their manifesto promises not only by raising taxes but also by “fiddling the figures to whack up borrowing” despite vowing not to change their fiscal rules.
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UK’s black hole is ‘genuinely big’
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It comes after Ms Reeves confirmed that she will change her definition of debt to allow her to borrow more to invest.
Speaking to Sky News earlier this week, she said the self-imposed fiscal rule under which borrowing must be falling by the fifth year of economic forecasts will be redefined from the current measure of public sector net debt.
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Former Bank of England governor looks ahead to budget
Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned the move could lead to people’s grandchildren shouldering the burden of national debt in the years to come, and Ms Reeves should “demonstrate how that higher borrowing in the short term is going to be constrained in the future”, such as through higher taxes.
He advised Ms Reeves to be “open and honest” about what the higher borrowing will deliver because “it’s the merits of the spending that will determine whether or not people are willing to accept higher taxes in order to see the benefits”.
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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