Sajid Javid to announce extra £2 billion Brexit funding in spending round

Chancellor Sajid Javid will announce an additional £2 billion of Brexit funding for Government departments when he sets out public spending and investment plans on Wednesday.

Mr Javid will use the 12-month spending round to confirm that £2 billion of Brexit money provided in 2019/20 will continue into 2020/21 – to be spent on projects linked to Brexit delivery after the UK leaves the EU.

It will include funding for the Home Office to support Border Force capability and money for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to explore developing the UK’s own global navigation satellite system.

The announcement brings the total spent on planning for and delivering Brexit since the 2016 referendum to more than £8.3 billion.

Mr Javid said: “One of my first acts as Chancellor was to announce £2.1 billion additional funding to prepare to leave the EU. We’ve now provided £8.3 billion 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 Government has already announced extra money for a number of departments ahead of the spending round, including:

– £210 million of funding to help offer training opportunities to frontline NHS staff in a bid to improve standards and retain nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.

– £1.8 billion to improve patient care, with £800 million of that going to the 20 hospitals in most urgent need.

– £400 million in education for 16 to 19-year-olds next year to help give young people “a brighter future”.

– Salaries for new teachers, which are set to rise to £30,000 by 2022-23 in a bid to make their starting wages among the most competitive in the graduate labour market.

– £5 million for a new office to oversee the Government’s drive to deliver for veterans.

– £90 million injection in the UK’s diplomatic connections across the globe.

– A boost to the defence budget by more than the stated commitment to increase spending by at least 0.5% above inflation.

– A £60 million extension to the “Great” campaign, which is aimed at increasing exports.

– The 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which is to be given an extra £46 million to help boost tourism and jobs linked to the event.

– And an initial £13 million to support preparations for the UK’s G7 presidency in 2021.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell urged Mr Javid to rule out tax cuts ahead of the spending round.

He said: “I am staggered that the bankers are lobbying Javid for tax cuts and deregulation.

“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.”

The spending round will cover day-to-day department budgets for 2020/21, rather than a three-year period first mooted by the previous government, as the UK prepares to leave the EU on October 31.

A full spending review is scheduled to take place in 2020.