Jeremy Hunt yesterday dismissed criticism from the Cabinet Secretary that the Conservatives had contributed to uncertainty in government spending plans.
In a letter to the former Chancellor, Simon Case said that ‘sizeable in-year changes to spending plans in recent years’ had been caused in part by the last government’s failure to hold a spending review before the election.
Rachel Reeves has claimed that the Tories left behind a £22 billion ‘black hole’ in the government’s spending plans for this year.
In his letter to Mr Hunt, the Cabinet Secretary did not endorse the figure. But he said the lack of a spending review since 2021 meant that some budgets were failing to account for new spending pressures.
Mr Hunt said the letter ‘vindicated’ his position as it confirmed that government plans submitted by him earlier this year had been signed off by civil servants and did not contain shortfalls at the time.
Jeremy Hunt yesterday dismissed criticism from the Cabinet Secretary that the Conservatives had contributed to uncertainty in government spending plans
In a letter to the former Chancellor, Simon Case (pictured) said that ‘sizeable in-year changes to spending plans in recent years’ had been caused in part by the last government’s failure to hold a spending review before the election
He added: ‘First of all, he doesn’t endorse this fictitious £22 million black hole. Secondly, he defends the civil servants.
‘He says that the accounting officers acted appropriately – it would be a breach of the ministerial code if they put figures to Parliament that were not true, and they put figures to Parliament that said there was not a black hole.
‘So that says to me that, you know, the civil service is trying to distance itself from these total criticised claims.’
He added: ‘I don’t remember receiving advice that ‘we should have a spending review, Chancellor’, because what the civil service view was – and my view, by the way – was that the appropriate time to have a spending reviews at the start of the next parliament.’
Mr Hunt said claims of a ‘black hole’ were ‘a political device to justify tax rises – a political choice the Government made long before the election.’
And he said Ms Reeves’s claims were ‘already falling apart’ under scrutiny, with critics pointing out that half of the alleged sum resulted from inflation-busting public sector wage rises she signed off herself.