Trade unions respond to Government Spending Review

On Wednesday the Chancellor made a statement to the House on the 2025 Spending Review, announcing overall departmental spending will rise by 2.3% a year in real terms.

Some headline announcements were the NHS receiving a 3% real-terms rise in annual day-to-day spending, the core schools budget in England growing by 0.4% a year, and £39bn committed for affordable housing over the next 10 years. However, the Home Office, FCDO, Transport and DEFRA, among others, will all face cuts in their day-to-day spending.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said that the Government was ‘on the right track’, adding:

“The much-needed cash injection into the NHS and schools will be vital to help fix our public services after years of Conservative austerity, and an important boost for the workforce. […] but after more than a decade of Tory neglect, investment in all public services will need to be sustained in the years ahead to deliver national renewal.”

While Unite’s Sharon Graham welcomed funding set aside for the Sizewell C nuclear plant, as well as changes to the winter fuel payment policy and increases in defense spending, the union remains critical of the Government’s cautious approach, saying:

“The UK is the sixth richest economy in the world, and we need to end this cautious cycle of robbing Peter to pay Paul. You can’t have an NHS without workers. Staff are crying out for fair pay increases to offset a decade of real terms pay cuts. Pitting workers against communities is not the answer.

As was done in 1945, this Labour government needs to bite the bullet and admit that change needs vision and money. The self-imposed fiscal rules need to change, and we must look at the implementation of a wealth tax.”

The Education Unions have also responded  cautiously to the review, with the NAHT’s  leader Paul Whiteman saying:

“This is not a time for celebration, and it is clear that school budgets will remain under considerable pressure for some time to come”.

Unison General Secretary, Christine McAnea, described the spending review as the Government ‘trying to turn the page’ on the austerity disaster inflicted on communities across the UK by successive Conservative governments. While investment in social and affordable housing is welcome, the union joins others in expressing concern that not enough is being committed to put councils back on track.