Chamber News
Budget deals struck with all departments, says Reeves
24 October 2024 • Sarah Medcraf
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she has now reached spending settlements with all government departments ahead of her much-anticipated Budget on 30 October.
It comes after reports of Treasury rows with multiple departments over the expected scale of spending cuts.
Reeves told BBC Radio 5 Live's Matt Chorley she had struck deals with all her cabinet colleagues - and in line with tradition, popped all balloons put up in the Treasury to represent each department's funding agreement.
While sympathising with "the mess" her colleagues had inherited, Reeves insisted departments needed to find savings to balance the budget.
In the run-up to the Budget, there have been reports of unease among cabinet ministers over potential cuts to meet a £40bn shortfall identified by the Treasury.
Sky News reported that the Treasury missed its initial 16 October deadline to finalise all major Budget measures for submission to spending watchdog the Office of Budget Responsibility ahead of the Budget.
Addressing reports colleagues had gone over her head to take their concerns about budget cuts directly to the prime minister, Reeves said, "I wouldn't believe everything you read" in the media.
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