Chancellor schedules spending review in late November

In order to prioritise the response to COVID-19, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have decided to conduct a one-year spending review, setting department’s resource and capital budgets for 2021-22, and devolved administration’s block grants for the same period.

"In the current environment its essential that we provide certainty. So we’ll be doing that for departments and all of the nations of the United Kingdom by setting budgets for next year, with a total focus on tackling COVID and delivering our Plan for Jobs," said the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak.

"Long-term investment in our country’s future is the right thing to do, especially in areas which are the cornerstone of our society like the NHS, schools and infrastructure. We’ll make sure these areas crucial to our economic recovery have their budgets set for further years so they can plan and help us Build Back Better." 

According to the government, the spending review will build on the support and focus on three areas:

• providing departments with the certainty they need to tackle COVID-19 and deliver the government's Plan for Jobs to support employment;

• giving the vital public services enhanced support to continue to fight against the virus alongside delivering first class frontline services; and

• investing in infrastructure to deliver ambitious plans to unite and level up the country, drive economic recovery and Build Back Better.

The Treasury earlier announced it would abandon plans for a three-year review, citing the need to focus on the response to the coronavirus pandemic.