Reeves hands NHS £29bn extra per year and pledges to end asylum hotels

Published

2 months ago

June 12, 2025

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Day-to-day spending on the NHS will increase by £29bn a year, Rachel Reeves has announced, as she accepted that voters are yet to feel an improvement under Labour.

Delivering her spending review, the chancellor also declared an end to the use of asylum hotels this parliament by investing in cutting the backlog and returning more people with no right to be in the UK – which she said would save taxpayers £1bn a year.

Politics live: Reaction to spending review

Ms Reeves acknowledged that almost 12 months on from Labour’s landslide election victory, “too many people” are yet to feel their promise of national renewal.

She said the purpose of her spending review is “to change that”, with departmental budgets to grow by an average of 2.3% a year in real terms until 2028-29.

Key settlements include:

• NHS: The health service gets £29bn for day-to-day spending – a 3% rise for each year until the next general election;
• Housing: £39bn over the next 10 years to build affordable and social housing;
• Defence: Spending will rise from 2.3% of GDP to 2.6% by 2027, made up of an £11bn uplift on defence and £600m for security and intelligence agencies;
• Science and tech: Research and development funding will hit £22bn, with AI plans getting £2bn;
• Transport: £15bn for new rail, tram, and bus networks in the North and the West Midlands, a new rail line between Liverpool and Manchester, and a four-year settlement for TfL, plus the £3 bus fare cap extended to 2027;
• Nations: Scotland gets £52bn, Northern Ireland £20bn, and Wales £23bn, including for coal tips;
• Education: Free school meals extended to 500,000 children, while the extra £4.5bn per year will also go on fixing classrooms and rebuilding schools;
• Nuclear: A £30bn commitment to nuclear power, including £14.2bn to build Sizewell C plant in Suffolk and £2.5bn in small modular reactors;
• Prisons: 14,000 new prison places will be funded with a £7bn injection;
• Police: 13,000 more police officers will be paid for with £2bn.

Read more: The key announcements

Many of Wednesday’s announcements have been front-loaded by cash injections made since Labour took office, meaning that from 2025-26 the increase is a more modest 1.5% on average.

Over the course of the whole parliament, it equates to spending £190bn more on the day-to-day running of public services and £113bn more on capital investments than under the previous government’s spending plans, the chancellor said.

Ms Reeves drew a distinction between her review and the Tories’ austerity agenda in 2010, saying they cut spending by 2.9%.

She said austerity was a “destructive choice for the fabric of our society” and “different choices” would be made under Labour.

However, while overall departmental spending will increase day to day, some departments face a squeeze.

Home Office budget squeezed

This includes the Home Office, whose spend will reduce by 1.4% over the next three years, including daily spend and capital investments.

Daily spend covers the daily running costs of public services, while capital investment is spending by the state on the creation of fixed, long-term assets, such as roads and railways.

Combined, the Foreign Office and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) also face reductions, as does the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and the Cabinet Office.

Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said 3% a year increases in NHS spending “does mean virtually nothing on average for current spending elsewhere”.

Ms Reeves said the cash boost for the NHS would fund more appointments, more doctors and more scanners.

She used this to draw dividing lines with Reform UK, saying they have called for an ‘”insurance-based system” whereas Labour created the NHS, protected the NHS and under this government would “renew the NHS”.

Speculation of tax rises

Ms Reeves said she was able to raise the money through decisions made in her autumn budget and spring statement, which saw taxes raised by £40bn and cuts made to the welfare budget.

However, the Tories said the review “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on” and further tax hikes will be needed.

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said that “this is the spend-now, tax-later review”, adding Ms Reeves “knows she will need to come back here in the autumn with yet more taxes and a cruel summer of speculation awaits”.

The Liberal Democrats said the “smoke and mirrors” spending review would leave a black hole in social care as local government budgets remain at breaking point.

“Putting more money into the NHS without fixing social care is like pouring water into a leaky bucket,” said the party’s Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper.

UK

Man, 76, arrested on suspicion of administering poison at summer camp after eight children taken to hospital

Published

7 hours ago

July 31, 2025

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A 76-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of administering poison at a summer camp which led to eight children being taken to hospital, police said.

Police received reports of children feeling unwell at a summer camp in Canal Lane, Stathern, Leicestershire, on Monday.

Paramedics assessed eight children, who were taken to hospital as a precaution and have all now been discharged.

The suspect was arrested at the camp and remains in custody on suspicion of administering poison with intent to injure/aggrieve/annoy.

Detective Inspector Neil Holden said: “We understand the concern this incident will have caused to parents, guardians and the surrounding community.

“We are in contact with the parents and guardians of all children concerned.

“Please be reassured that we have several dedicated resources deployed and are working with partner agencies including children’s services to ensure full safeguarding is provided to the children involved.

“We also remain at the scene to carry out enquiries into the circumstances of what has happened and to continue to provide advice and support in the area.

“This is a complex and sensitive investigation and we will continue to provide updates to both parents and guardians and the public as and when we can.”

The force said it has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over what it said was the “circumstances of the initial police response”.

UK

‘No evidence’ malign activity caused Wednesday’s air traffic disruption, says transport secretary

Published

8 hours ago

July 31, 2025

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'No evidence' malign activity caused Wednesday's air traffic disruption, says transport secretary

There is no evidence that malign activity was responsible for yesterday’s outage of air traffic control systems, the transport secretary has said.

Heidi Alexander said she has spoken with the chief executive of National Air Traffic Service (NATS), Martin Rolfe, and added that what happened was an isolated incident.

NATS has apologised for the IT problems after thousands of passengers suffered extensive travel disruption during one of the busiest times of the year.

The technical glitch led to more than 150 flight cancellations, leaving airlines reacting furiously.

Ms Alexander wrote on X: “I have spoken with NATS CEO Martin Rolfe who provided further detail on yesterday’s technical fault.

“This was an isolated event and there is no evidence of malign activity.

“I know that any disruption is frustrating for passengers.

“Flights are now resumed and I am grateful to airlines who are working hard to get people to where they need to be.

“I will continue to receive regular updates. Passengers should check with airlines before travelling.”

Officials said a “radar-related issue” caused the air traffic control failure.

A spokesperson for NATS said: “This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety.

“There is no evidence that this was cyber related.”

The problem occurred at NATS’ control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, and affected the vast majority of England and Wales.

Aviation analytics company Cirium said 84 departures and 71 arrivals were cancelled to or from UK airports up to 10pm on Wednesday, with several flights diverted to other European airports.

There was limited disruption on Thursday, with a handful of British Airways flights cancelled because aircraft and crew were out of position.

Heathrow and Gatwick airports said they had resumed normal operations.

Affected passengers are unlikely to be entitled to compensation as the disruption was outside of airlines’ control, but they will be able to claim expenses for a reasonable amount of food and drink, a means to communicate and overnight accommodation if required.

Ryanair has called on Mr Rolfe to resign, claiming “no lessons have been learnt” since a similar systems outage in August 2023.

The airline’s chief operating officer Neal McMahon said: “It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe’s continued mismanagement of Nats.”

UK

‘No lessons have been learned’: Airlines furious after another technical glitch cancels flights

Published

15 hours ago

July 31, 2025

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'No lessons have been learned': Airlines furious after another technical glitch cancels flights

Airlines have reacted furiously after a technical glitch in air traffic control systems led to more than 150 flight cancellations.

The National Air Traffic Service (NATS) has apologised for the IT problems – and said systems were back up and running 20 minutes after the “radar-related issue” was detected at 4.05pm.

But with thousands of passengers suffering extensive travel disruption, during one of the busiest times of the year, airline executives have warned this isn’t good enough.

Ryanair’s chief operating officer Neal McMahon has called for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign – and claimed Wednesday’s incident was “utterly unacceptable”.

He said: “It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe’s continued mismanagement of NATS.

“It is clear that no lessons have been learnt since the August 2023 NATS system outage, and passengers continue to suffer as a result of Martin Rolfe’s incompetence.”

Mr McMahon was referring to a glitch that affected more than 700,000 passengers two years ago – and said that, if Mr Rolfe refuses to step down, the government should intervene.

“Heidi Alexander must act without delay to remove Martin Rolfe and deliver urgent reform of NATS’ shambolic ATC service, so that airlines and passengers are no longer forced to endure these preventable delays caused by persistent NATS failures,” he added.

The Department for Transport says Ms Alexander does not have any direct control over NATS – and no powers over staffing decisions at the service.

EasyJet’s chief operating officer David Morgan added: “It’s extremely disappointing to see an ATC failure once again causing disruption to our customers at this busy and important time of year for travel.

“While our priority today is supporting our customers, we will want to understand from NATS what steps they are taking to ensure issues don’t continue.”

NATS is yet to comment on the calls for Mr Rolfe’s resignation – but has stressed that the glitch is not believed to be “cyber related”.

“This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety,” a spokesperson had said.

Departures at airports across the country have now resumed – but passengers are being urged to check with their airline before heading to terminals.

John Carr, from Stourbridge, was on his way from Heathrow to Norway to help arrange his brother’s wedding when he discovered his flight was cancelled after checking in.

“I’m pretty gutted,” he said. “We’ve got loads of stuff in the suitcases to set up the venue, because we’re obviously flying to Norway. We’ve got the wedding rehearsal to do. It’s quite stressful.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for an urgent investigation and also referred to the “utterly unacceptable” disruption two years earlier.

“With thousands of families preparing to go on a well-earned break, this just isn’t good enough. The public deserve to have full confidence in such a vital piece of national infrastructure.”

Flights departing or arriving at a UK airport, or aircraft operated by a UK airline arriving in the EU, are subject to rules concerning delays or cancellations.

Airlines may have to provide compensation, although there are exemptions for “extraordinary circumstances”, according to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority.