What Chancellor Rachel Reeves' spending cuts mean for Scotland and which projects will be axed
The Chancellor has announced there is a £22 billion black hole in the public finances and accused the Tories of covering up the scale of the problems.
Rachel Reeves told MPs “immediate action” was needed and confirmed a series of previously announced measures would be axed.
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Hide AdMs Reeves also appeared to lay the groundwork for future tax rises, saying a UK Budget on October 30 would involve “difficult decisions” across spending, welfare and tax.


While there is no specific impact on infrastructure projects in Scotland from the announcements, the decisions set the scene for funding cuts in the future.
And to save money, the UK government will now means test Winter Fuel Payments, which will have a direct impact on all eligible Scots. The Treasury estimates the decision could save around £1.5bn.
Making a statement to Parliament, Ms Reeves said: “Before the election, I said that we would face the worst inheritance since the Second World War. Taxes at a 70-year high, debt through the roof, an economy only just coming out of recession.
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Hide Ad“I knew all of these things. I was honest about them during the campaign.”


But Ms Reeves said there were things the Tories had “covered up from the country”.
There are immediate savings of £800 million this year and £1.4bn next year from scrapping the Rwanda migration partnership and ending retrospection of the Illegal Migration Act.
The Investment Opportunity Fund is also cancelled, saving £70m, while a further £185m will be saved next year by scrapping Rishi Sunak’s flagship education programme; the Advanced British Standard.
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Hide AdIn a blow to transport, there will also £785m of savings next year from stopping “unaffordable” road and railway schemes.
Adult social care charging reforms delayed by the Tories will also not be taken forward, saving more than £1bn by the end of next year.
Boris Johnson’s legacy is also under threat, with his New Hospital Programme, which promised to build 40 new hospitals, now facing a review.
Ms Reeves she would accept in full the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies, saying this was the “right decision for the people who work in, and most importantly, the people who use our public services”.
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Hide AdResponding, shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt told his opposite number to “stop trash-talking” the economy and suggested her complaints about a £22bn black hole in the public finances were “spurious”.
He said: "This is a cock and bull story. She has known all along the state of this spurious economic black hole. Her funding gap is pure politics."
Earlier, shadow transport secretary Helen Whately challenged Labour’s assertions that it would reveal new information about the public purse, claiming Ms Reeves “would have known about the state of the public finances” while serving in opposition because of the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Ms Whately said: “Actually while Labour is going out there and trying to tell everybody that it is all so difficult for them, this is just them setting a narrative for tax rises that they want to bring in later on.”
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