Sajid Javid to pledge extra £2bn for Brexit planning in spending review
2 min read
Sajid Javid will pledge to hand Whitehall departments an extra £2 billion to cover the costs of Brexit when he sets out his spending plans.
The Chancellor will use his 12-month spending round on Wednesday to announce that cash pledged for 2019/20 will continue into 2020/21.
It brings the total spend on planning for and delivering Britain’s exit from the bloc since the 2016 referendum to more than £8bn.
The new money will be used to help the Home Office support Border Force capability, for the Department for Transport to assist ports, and for a possible UK replacement for the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation system.
Mr Javid said: “One of my first acts as Chancellor was to announce £2.1bn additional funding to prepare to leave the EU. We've now provided £8.3bn to help departments prepare for Brexit.
“This new funding will ensure that departments can grasp the opportunities created by Brexit after we leave on 31 October.”
The statement will set out overall budgets for Government departments for 2020-21, with a full multi-year review planned for 2020.
The Chancellor has already pledged to use his first Commons setpiece to prioritise spending on schools, the NHS and policing.
He has also pledged that no department will be handed a “blank cheque” and vowed to stick to the “fiscal rules” followed by his predecessors over the last decade as they grappled with the deficit.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell called on Mr Javid to rule out “tax cuts and light touch regulation for the finance sector”.
"I am staggered that the bankers are lobbying Javid for tax cuts and deregulation," he said.
"Obviously with Johnson as Prime Minister they know they have a friend willing to line their pockets.
"They have a real front after our people have suffered more than nine years of austerity, as a result of the financial crash, caused by the irresponsibility and greed of the bankers.
"I am calling on Sajid Javid to send them packing and to prevent them getting their noses in the trough."
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