Budget Resolutions

Debate between Chris Hinchliff and James Murray

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

I thank my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for opening the debate.

Of course, today’s debate follows yesterday’s publication of the OBR’s report into the early release of the “Economic and fiscal outlook” and the subsequent resignation of Richard Hughes. Let me be clear that what happened last week with the EFO should never have happened, and nor should it ever happen again. We take the report’s findings very seriously. As I informed the House yesterday, we will work with the National Cyber Security Centre to take forward a forensic examination of potential premature access at previous fiscal events.

The OBR is a key part of our fiscal framework, and the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee continues under the experienced leadership of Tom Josephs and Professor David Miles. In the coming weeks, the Treasury will launch a competitive external recruitment process to appoint a new chair. As with all appointments to the Budget Responsibility Committee, the appointment of the new chair will be made by the Chancellor and will be subject to the consent of the Treasury Committee.

This Government put the utmost weight on Budget security, including the prevention of leaks of information, and a leak inquiry is under way. The Treasury will work closely with the OBR to ensure that robust security arrangements are in place before the spring forecast and for all future forecasts, and the permanent secretary to the Treasury will conduct a review of the Treasury’s security processes to inform future fiscal events.

As the Health Secretary so powerfully set out when he opened today’s debate, cutting NHS waiting lists is a top priority for this Government. We prioritised the NHS at the Budget because a strong health service where people can get the treatment they need is a priority for the British people. Our determination to get the national health service back on its feet and invest in the future of our country stands in stark contrast to the Conservatives, who offer nothing but decline. They offer cuts to funding for public services that are equivalent to firing every police officer in the country twice. After 14 years in power and one year in opposition, the Conservatives still refuse to take responsibility for the state they left the country in, and offer no apology for the damage they did to our public services and our economy when they were in power—and on top of that, they boast that they would do it all again.

The Government are taking the fair and necessary choices to renew our country. Last year at our first Budget, we fixed the foundations by funding the largest ever capital settlement for health, introduced fiscal rules to ensure that the books are always balanced, and chose to invest in roads, rail, energy and homes across the UK.

[Chris Hinchliff]

Throughout the Budget debate, all those on the Government Front Bench will have heard the concerns of Labour MPs who represent rural constituencies, as I have, about the proposed changes to agricultural property relief. Many of us feel that those changes are not properly calibrated. Will the Minister commit to keeping those changes under close review as they are rolled out, and will he take immediate action if we begin to see farms disappear?

[James Murray]

The changes that we have set out to agricultural property relief are a fair way forward. They represent generous relief for people, while raising money for the public finances. In this Budget, the Chancellor announced that any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will be transferable between spouses and civil partners.

Following the Budget last week, we are going further. Despite the challenges that we faced, with the OBR recognising the deep scars to the economy caused by the previous Government, we refused to repeat the mistakes of the past. We rejected uncontrolled borrowing and refused to slash investment. We chose to keep cutting NHS waiting lists, to cut the cost of living and to cut debt and borrowing.

The Chancellor delivered a Budget last week that made fair choices on tax, protected investment in our public services and made our economy more secure. As a result of our choices, people will see more money in their pockets, thanks to the increase in the living wage; they will see rail fares and prescription charges frozen; they will see £150 off their energy bills; and they will see action across the country as we tackle the scourge of illicit businesses blighting our high streets. In short, this was a Budget that we were elected to deliver—