Baggy Shanker
Main Page: Baggy Shanker (Labour (Co-op) - Derby South)Department Debates - View all Baggy Shanker's debates with the HM Treasury
(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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Rachel Reeves
We published the strategic defence review earlier this year, and in the spending review last year, the biggest uplifts in spending were at the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Health and Social Care. The previous Government said that they would get to 2.5% at the end of the next Parliament. We will get to 2.6% by April next year, and that money is already being spent. The right hon. Gentleman does not need to worry about that.
Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)
My constituents in Derby will be worried about the devastation that they see across the middle east, and they will agree that de-escalation must remain a priority. They are also worried, though, about the impact on their weekly shopping bills, petrol prices and energy bills. Does the Chancellor agree that stability for our businesses and local people is vital, given the volatility we are seeing internationally?
Rachel Reeves
I am pleased that since I became Chancellor, the Bank of England has cut interest rates six times, and we have been able to take £150 off energy bills and freeze prescription charges and rail fares. My hon. Friend’s constituency contains Rolls-Royce, which will benefit from small modular reactors and also from the increased defence spending that is already going in.