Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Sophy first asks about the issue dominating the headlines at the moment - migration, which Sir Brandon describes as "challenging". ONS data shows the government has borrowed less so far this year than implied by the OBR’s March forecast. This mainly reflects stronger-than-expected tax receipts. While day-to-day spending will continue to grow above inflation in future years, public spending faces many pressures. The government will get the most out of every pound spent by boosting public sector productivity and by focusing spending on the government’s priorities. The government is confirming the assumption for the future path of departmental spending. This will follow the profile set at Spring Budget 2023. After this Spending Review period, planned departmental resource spending will continue to grow at 1% a year on average in real terms, excluding the funding provided to local authorities in 2024-25 as part of the one-year Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure relief scheme. Departmental capital spending will follow the cash profile agreed at Spring Budget 2023, with new commitments funded in addition to this, including further support for levelling up programmes and business access to finance. Passing the Procurement Bill, which consolidated over 350 different procurement regulations and will enable more flexible procurement procedures across government. [footnote 39]
The government’s priority to reduce debt is aligned with the approach of other advanced economies. Several countries have reaffirmed their commitments to medium-term fiscal sustainability. In Europe, Germany has reimposed its constitutional debt brake, which limits its core budget deficit to 0.35% of GDP, while France has set out commitments to get debt falling over the medium term. [footnote 13], [footnote 14] The European Commission has consulted on changes to the Stability and Growth Pact, proposing to reintroduce updated debt and deficit rules that have been suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic. [footnote 15] Elsewhere, Canada and Australia have committed to reducing their debt-to-GDP ratios over the medium term. [footnote 16], [footnote 17]phase 1: unemployed claimants across Great Britain will receive regular support from a work coach to search for and move into work. To strengthen the government’s understanding of how early interventions can best help claimants find work or increase their income, the government has expanded Additional Jobcentre Support, currently live in 90 Jobcentres. [footnote 79], [footnote 80] This will test the impact of intensive support 7 weeks into a claimant’s work search journey, building on the pilot announced at Spring Budget 2023 to test the impact of interventions at 13 and 26 weeks We had the figures last week that showed under this government – last year – net migration hit the highest level EVER. div class="bvseo-author">Answered by: VTech Support