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Sir Lindsay Hoyle has suggested ministers should resign for pre-briefing details of the Budget, as he said it was unacceptable for the government to “try to run roughshod” over Parliament.Expressing his anger at the move, the Commons speaker hit out at the decision of the Treasury to announce a multi-billion pound funding boost for the NHS — three days before the Budget.The £5.9bn package unveiled on Sunday evening is aimed at tackling waiting lists, with the number of people waiting routine hospital treatment in England at the highest levels since records began in 2007.In response, Sir Lindsay granted an urgent question on the funding on Monday, saying the deputy speaker, Dame Eleanor Laing, was “also very upset” at the decision to trail details in advance to the media, before MPs.The Commons speaker, who has repeatedly and as recently as last week urged the government to make important announcements first in the chamber, said: “At one time ministers did the right thing if they briefed before a Budget: they walked.”Shouts of “resign” could be heard in the Commons, with the speaker saying: “Yes, absolutely, resign. It seems to me that we’ve got ourselves in our position that if you’ve not got it out five days before it’s not worth putting out.”He added: “Members are elected to this House to represent their constituents — those constituents quite rightly expect the MP to hear it first, in order to be able to listen to what the Budget is about, but also to hold them to account.“It’s not acceptable and the government shouldn’t try to run roughshod over this House — it will not happen.”In response, the health minister Edward Argar said: “I do seek to be assiduous in both my accountability to this House and adhering to its protocols.“I can assure you what you’ve said just now will be heard not just by me, but by colleagues in my department and in HM Treasury.”Later this week, the chancellor will set out £3.8bn in extra spending to get the health service “back on track” after the Covid crisis, with investment going into diagnostic services, surgical hubs and boosting bed capacity.Roughly £2.1bn of the new package will not go directly on care, however, and will instead be spent on “digitising” the NHS, as the government attempts to push the health service into an efficiency drive.The Treasury said the additional spending comes on top of the government’s plan to spend £8bn on tackling the backlog for non-emergency treatments over the next three years. More

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver his next Budget and Spending Review to the House of Commons on Wednesday 27 October 2021.Mr Sunak is expected to make a swathe of announcements as he seeks to rebalance the books after the “fiscal meteorite” that was the Covid-19 pandemic saw him shell out billions of pounds to keep the country afloat.A plan for jobs is expected to be at the centre of this Autumn Budget, Mr Sunak having already announced £500m in funding to help people back into work after the winding down of the furlough scheme on 30 September.As part of Boris Johnson’s “Build Back Better” strategy to shift the country to a “high wage, high skill, high productivity economy”, as outlined in his recent address to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Mr Sunak is also being tipped to raise the minimum wage for over-23s to £9.42 per hour, having last done so in his Spring Budget on 3 March when he lifted it to £8.91.He may end the one-year freeze on public sector pay, which last year hit 1.3 million professionals including civil servants, council staff, teachers and emergency services personnel (NHS frontline workers were exempted) in a move the government deemed necessary at the time to rein in the national deficit.Mr Sunak spoke in Manchester on 4 October of his preference for making tax cuts while stressing he is unlikely to be able to do so this time out given that the government borrowed a record £299bn at the height of the pandemic between April 2020 and April 2021.Instead, another council tax rise is thought to be likely, given that the Conservatives have raised local levies every year for the past 10 and could do so again, perhaps by as much as 5 per cent.The Treasury has already frozen income tax thresholds and announced an unpopular 1.25 per cent rise in National Insurance contributions to pay for health and social care, a move that flew in the face of the Tories’ 2019 election manifesto pledge that it would not raise taxes.Climate change is expected to be a key topic given that the Budget takes place just four days before the crucial Cop26 summit of world leaders gets underway in Glasgow.The Treasury has yet to outline its plans for how Britain can pay its way towards realising the 78 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide it has pledged to hit by 2035 and achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.But the government has already trailed the availability of £5,000 heat pump grants from next April to encourage homeowners to dump their existing gas boilers for low-carbon alternatives with a view to phasing out the fossil fuel-reliant precursor by 2035.In a bid to recoup cash, the chancellor might also lower the threshold at which students begin to repay their higher education loans.Currently, students in England and Wales pay 9 per cent of everything they earn above £27,295 per year until their loan is paid off but that could come down to as little as £23,000 in the interests of clawing back £2bn a year more quickly, at no little cost to recent graduates.Keen observers have also suggested the Treasury could significantly bolster its coffers by curtailing tax relief on pension savings for those on high salaries or by capping the amount employees can put aside for their retirement years. More

Rich countries will be three years late in putting together a long-promised $100bn climate crisis fund for poor nations, a pre-Cop26 study says.The target is seen as crucial to winning the trust of developing countries to make their own CO2 cutting commitments in Glasgow next week, but stood $20bn short in 2019.Now the study confirms the original target of $100bn by 2020 has been missed, but expresses “confidence that it would be met in 2023”.A disappointed Oxfam said: “This plan claims that rich nations will meet their target three years late.”Germany and Canada were handed responsibility for piling pressure onto the richest nations to make commitments to stump up the missing billions, in the run up to Cop26.The report says its projection that $100bn will be achieved in 2023 is “based on pledges made by developed countries as of 20 October, 2021”.The UK has pledged around £2.3bn each year until 2025, but The Independent revealed the cash will be swiped from the shrunken foreign aid budget – despite a requirement that they be “additional”.The delay until 2023 was attacked by aid groups including ActionAid International, which called the announcement “the bare minimum needed to build trust in the climate talks”.“Making good on a promise made more than a decade ago is setting a pretty low bar for a successful Cop26,” said Teresa Anderson, the organisation’s climate policy coordinator.She also warned that 71 per cent of support is in the form of loans, which is “pushing climate vulnerable communities deeper into debt and poverty”.Jan Kowalzig, senior climate policy adviser at Oxfam, pointed to “the money that poorer countries are owed for every year they fell short”.“This shortfall, which started to accumulate in 2020, will likely amount to several tens of billions of dollars,” he said.“These are achievable amounts of money – governments have spent trillions on Covid-19 fiscal recovery packages, which show their ability to act in an emergency. This is an emergency.”The report fails to set out which countries are providing how much climate finance – but Joe Biden pledged, last month, to double the US’s contribution to $11.4bn per year.The UK has declined to increase its pledge – made two years ago – as a respected thinktank suggested it is shortchanging developing countries by around £1.9bn a year.Germany and France are among leading contributors, while Australia, Canada and the US are low payers – while Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece have been criticised for confusion over their donations.The UK government admitted it was “disappointing that the goal has not been met so far”, but Cop26 president Alok Sharma said “progress” was now clear.The announcement was “a step towards rebuilding trust and gives developing countries more assurance of predictable support,” he argued.But Matthew Pennycock, Labour’s climate change spokesman, called the wait until 2023 “of the utmost concern”.“This is a matter of trust for states on the frontline of the climate crisis and every wealthy country falling short, including the UK, will need to do more to reassure them,” he said. More

Boris Johnson has said that recycling plastic “doesn’t work” as he argued that we need to reduce the amount of the material that is used. The Prime Minister was speaking to a press conference with children in Downing Street on Monday. He told them that “recycling isn’t the answer. Recycling… it doesn’t begin to address the problem.”He said “the only answer” was “we’ve all got to cut down on our use of plastic.”Follow Cop26 news live: Boris Johnson says ‘touch and go’ whether climate summit will be successMr Johnson’s press conference co-host WWF chief executive Tanya Steele responded saying: “I think we need a bit of recycling, Prime Minister.”But Boris Johnson insisted: “I don’t want to get doctrinaire, but it doesn’t work.”He named and shamed Coca-Cola as being one of the twelve corporations “producing the overwhelming bulk of the world’s plastics.”He added: “There are about 12 companies at the moment, 12 big corporations, that are producing the overwhelming bulk of the world’s plastics. “Big famous drinks companies that you may know but I won’t name. I don’t know why not, but I won’t name them. “Coca-Cola, for instance, and others, which are responsible for producing huge quantities of plastic, and we’ve got to move away from that and we’ve got to find other ways of packaging and selling our stuff.”Mr Johnson did not sound hugely hopeful that the Cop26 summit would deliver progress needed to tackle climate change, saying it was “far from clear”. He was holding a press conference with school children asking questions about the climate crisis. The Prime Minister welcomed Australia’s commitment to a 2050 net zero target. He said: “That was actually very difficult for Australia because Australia’s very heavily dependent on coal, on lots of carbon-producing industries and they’ve done a heroic thing, the Australians, in getting to that commitment.“I hope that they will be joined by lots more countries in that region for the Cop summit.” More

Boris Johnson joked that feeding people to animals could help solve the biodiversity crisis facing the planet during a climate press conference with children on Monday.The prime minister was discussing the challenges facing the natural world with conservation charity WWF UK’s chief executive Tanya Steele.“I think we need to bring nature back,” she said. “Our planet, 97 per cent of the mass of mammals on this planet is humans and our animals, our domestic animals.“Just 3 per cent is left for the wild.”The prime minister responded that it was “so sad” before adding: “We could feed some of the human beings to the animals, that would, that would be…”Ms Steele jokingly replied: “We could have a vote later and ask if there’s any candidates.“ The off-script remark came after Mr Johnson surprised environmental campaigners by claiming recycling plastic “doesn’t work”.During the press conference at No 10 he said: “Recycling isn’t the answer. Recycling… it doesn’t begin to address the problem.”Ms Steele said: “We have to reduce, we have to reuse – I do think we need to do a little bit of recycling, PM, and have some system to do so.”But Mr Johnson replied: “It doesn’t work.”Responding to those comments, the Recycling Association said the prime minister had “completely lost the plastic plot”.Chief executive Simon Ellin told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “Wow, I think is the first answer. It’s very disappointing. I think he has completely lost the plastic plot here, if I’m honest.“We need to reduce and I would completely agree with him on that but his own government has just invested in the resources and waste strategy, which is the most ground-breaking recycling legislation and plan that we’ve ever seen, with recycling right at the front of it.“So he seems to be completely conflicting with his own government’s policy.” More

The national minimum wage for adults is to go up to £9.50 in this week’s budget, the Treasury has confirmed.The rate, also know as the national living wage, is currently at £8.91 – meaning the rise represents 6.6 per cent increase.The national living wage applies to workers aged 23 and over, with a lower rate in place for younger workers. Those aged 21-22 will also see an 83p increase, up to £9.18.But 16-17 year olds will get just a 19p increase and 18-20 year olds a 27p increase. Apprentices will see a 51p increase to £4.81.The government said the increases were “broadly consistent” with previous rises, which it said had impacted around 1.5 million to 2.5 million workers.But the wage floor rise will come at the same time as the government increases national insurance contributions for low earners and cuts universal credit payments, meaning many workers will see little of the increase.Announcing the increase, chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “This is a government that is on the side of working people. This wage boost ensures we’re making work pay and keeps us on track to meet our target to end low pay by the end of this Parliament.” The government has pledged to raise the adult rate to two thirds of median earnings by the end of the parliament – around £10.40 on current estimates.Labour says it wants a minimum wage of at least £10. Keir Starmer’s leadership has resisted calls from his own members and unions to commit to gradually raising the rate to £15 an hour.Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine said the wage rise would be offset by the national insurance rise and universal credit cut.“Ahead of the budget people will be looking to the Chancellor’s announcement of a pay rise to help them, instead they will be bitterly disappointed to see almost half of any rise snatched away by the Treasury before it even reaches their bank accounts, she said. “The Conservatives carelessly breaking their promise not to increase National Insurance is hitting working people hard on their paychecks, snatching back money from people who have worked hard for their salary.“The Chancellor seems to be taking working families for granted. Instead of a fair deal, families across the country are facing a budget nightmare with a soaring rise to the cost of living paired with tax hikes left right and centre.”Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the treasury, said: “This underwhelming offer works out at £1,000 a year less than Labour’s existing plans for a minimum wage of at least £10 per hour for people working full-time. Much of it will be swallowed up by the Government’s tax rises, universal credit cuts and failure to get a grip on energy bills.“It’s clear that Labour is the only party serious about improving the prospects of working people.”TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said the government needed to “set its sights higher” than the announced policy.”We need a £10 minimum wage now, and we need ministers to cancel the cut to universal credit,” she said. “This increase won’t come into effect until next spring by which time many household budgets will have been hammered by rising bills and the universal credit cut.”Mr Sunak will deliver his autumn spending statement on Wednesday, where he will chart the economy’s course over the next six months and beyond. More

Boris Johnson has admitted he’s “very worried” about the crucial climate summit as he conceded reaching an agreement with world leaders on the emergency facing the planet could be “touch and go”.Putting into question the success of Cop26 — just six days before it kicks off in Glasgow — the prime minister acknowledged that it was “very, very far from clear that we will get the progress we need”.The downbeat comments represent a major shift gear from Mr Johnson, who has often boasted optimistically about the summit and told the UN general assembly just last month it was “easy to be green” in a call to action.His latest remarks, however, come after No 10’s hopes of securing an agreement were dealt a blow as the Russian president Vladimir Putin announced he would not attend and uncertainty continues over whether Xi Jinping will travel – despite China being the biggest greenhouse gas emitter.Hosting children at No 10 for a “press conference” on the climate, the prime minister said the UK needed to persuade as many countries as possible to “go to net zero” and ensure they are not producing too much carbon dioxide by 2050.“I think it can be done, it’s going to be very, very tough this summit and I’m very worried because it might go wrong — we might not get the agreements that we need,” he conceded on Monday.“It’s touch and go, it’s very, very difficult. But I think it can be done, if you look at what the UK has done — we’ve cut our own Co2 emissions massively. We’ve cut coal emissions massively.”With world leaders due to begin gathering on Sunday in Glasgow for the Cop26 summit, Mr Johnson said it was “perhaps the most important summit that this country has had in our lifetimes”.Appearing alongside the WWF UK chief executive Tanya Steele in Downing Street, the prime minister added: “This is the opportunity for the world to try and stop climate change getting out of control.”But he stressed it was “very, very far from clear” whether Cop26 would deliver the progress needed and while welcoming Australia’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050, he said it would be “very difficult” for the country due to its heavy dependence on coal and “lots of carbon-prodding industries”.“I hope that they will be joined by lots more countries in that region for the Cop summit,” Mr Johnson said.The prime minister’s official spokesperson later said he was setting out the “realistic situation”, adding: “We have made some progress with a number of countries, Saudi Arabia has come forward with some commitments, for example.”But the Prime Minister was simply setting out the realistic situation that bringing together countries from around the world to sign up to ambitious targets such as these that require tangible commitments is difficult and challenging and will require some intense negotiation.”Asked whether Mr Johnson’s comments were a deliberate strategy to downplay expectations ahead of the summit, they replied: “No”.The prime minister also told the children gathered in No 10 on Monday that recycling plastic “doesn’t work” and stressed the need to reduce the amount of material that is used. “Recycling isn’t the answer,” he said.“It doesn’t begin to address the problem,” he added while Ms Steele said: “We have to reduce, we have to reuse — I do think we need to do a little bit of recycling, PM, and have some system to do so.” More

Rishi Sunak admits £7bn transport pledge only £1.5bn of new moneyThe UK’s national living wage is to increase from £8.91 to £9.50 in this week’s Budget, the Treasury has confirmed, with Conservatives claiming full-time workers will earn an extra £1,000-a-year as a result. Previously known as the national minimum wage, the change will apply to workers aged 23 and over, with a lower rate in place for younger workers.Ministers have already pledged to raise the adult rate to two thirds of median earnings by the end of the Parliament – around £10.40 – with Labour saying it wants a minimum wage of at least £10. But the wage rise comes at the same time as the government increases national insurance contributions for low earners and cuts universal credit (UC) payments. “This is a good thing to be applauded,” tweeted left-wing commentator Owen Jones, “but it’s offset by a cut in UC that leaves many low-paid workers in poverty.”Elsewhere, Sajid Javid, the health secretary, admitted it is “impossible to know” whether the NHS backlog will be cleared within three years, despite the Treasury pledging £6bn to help solve the problem as part of Rishi Sunak’s autumn Budget.Follow our live coverage belowShow latest update

1635172971ICYMI: Johnson says ‘recycling doesn’t work’ and plastic use needs to be cut downBoris Johnson has insisted that recycling plastic “doesn’t work” as he told a press conference with schoolchildren in Downing Street that the answer was to cut down our use of the material.“It doesn’t begin to address the problem. You can only recycle plastic a couple of times, really. What you’ve got to do is stop the production of plastic,” Mr Johnson said.Our reporter, Holly Bancroft, has the full story below:Conrad Duncan25 October 2021 15:421635172126Small businesses body calls for increase in support after living wage riseThe Federation of Small Businesses has called on ministers to increase the small business Employment Allowance as the national living wage rises to prevent higher wage bills leading to job losses.“The Treasury must play its part to secure wage increases – the taxman will gain almost £500 for every worker whose pay increases to £9.50 an hour,” Mike Cherry, the Federation of Small Businesses’ national chair, said.“Larger-than-expected increases in the Living Wage must be matched by support for those who will struggle to afford to maintain jobs – these are the smallest employers, up and down the country, who need to see the extension of the small business Employment Allowance, which covers the first £4,000 of Employer NICs (National Insurance Contributions).“Without an increase in the EA, the combination in April of higher wage bills and higher tax bills will see many more than the forecast of 50,000 people added to unemployment queues.”Mr Cherry added: “After pre-briefed announcements to help the banks with their tax bills, and to help international companies to invest here, there needs to be a clear offer from this government to small businesses, too.”Conrad Duncan25 October 2021 15:281635171498‘Government must sets its sights higher’ on pay, TUC chief saysThe government “must set its sights higher” on the issue of pay, TUC general-secretary Frances O’Grady has said, after the Treasury announced it would be raising the national living wage to £9.50 per hour.“With Britain in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, boosting the minimum wage is vital. But the government must set its sights higher,” Ms O’Grady said.“We need a £10 minimum wage now and we need ministers to cancel the cut to Universal Credit.“This increase won’t come into effect until next spring, by which time many household budgets will have been hammered by rising bills and the Universal Credit cut.”On reports that chancellor Rishi Sunak would also end the public-sector pay freeze in the spending review this week, she added: “The pay freeze won’t be over unless the chancellor fully funds pay rises above the rising cost of living. “Otherwise, he will force departments to choose between pay cuts or service cuts.”Conrad Duncan25 October 2021 15:181635170524Our deputy political editor, Rob Merrick, has more details below on the reports that wealthy countries will not achieve the $100bn climate finance target for poorer nations until 2023:Conrad Duncan25 October 2021 15:021635169354Cop26 president says he understands ‘deep frustration’ at climate finance failuresCop26 president Alok Sharma has said it is understandable that developing countries feel “deep frustration” over the failure by wealthier countries to reach a $100bn (£72bn) a year funding target to tackle climate change.A report published on Monday found that wealthy nations would not deliver the long-promised $100bn a year in climate finance for poor countries until 2023, three years late.The pledge, which was first made in 2009, has become a key commitment for international climate action to support countries which have done the least to contribute to the crisis but are most vulnerable to its impacts.You can find Mr Sharma’s comments in full below:Conrad Duncan25 October 2021 14:421635168182Sturgeon warns world leaders of ‘entirely justified anger’ over climate progressNicola Sturgeon has warned that Cop26 needs to see “significant uplift” in the pledges to cut carbon emissions as world leaders must recognise growing levels of anger at the inaction over climate change.Speaking to an audience of students and young people in Glasgow, Ms Sturgeon called on leaders to take “credible action” to achieve net zero.Our environment correspondent, Harry Cockburn, has the full story below:Conrad Duncan25 October 2021 14:231635167142Workers will be ‘bitterly disappointed’ with impact of pay rise, Lib Dems sayWorkers will be “bitterly disappointed” when they see “almost half of any rise [in income] snatched away by the Treasury before it even reaches their bank accounts”, the Liberal Democrats have said.“Instead of a fair deal, families across the country are facing a Budget nightmare with a soaring rise to the cost of living paired with tax hikes left, right and centre,” Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine said in a statement.Earlier this year, Rishi Sunak increased National Insurance Contributions for workers by 1.25 per cent to help pay for NHS and social care reforms and also ended the £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift.Conrad Duncan25 October 2021 14:051635166043Labour dismisses government’s ‘underwhelming’ national living wage increaseLabour has dismissed what it calls the government’s “underwhelming offer” on pay, after it was announced that the national living wage is set to rise to £9.50 per hour.“Much of it will be swallowed up by the government’s tax rises, Universal Credit cuts and failure to get a grip on energy bills,” Bridget Phillipson, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said.“It’s clear that Labour is the only party serious about improving the prospects of working people.”Conrad Duncan25 October 2021 13:471635165422Our reporter, Matt Mathers, has more details below on the warnings for drivers today over the rising price of petrol in the UK:Conrad Duncan25 October 2021 13:371635164705Scottish Labour councillor moves to Tories over party’s ‘weak’ stance on indyref2A member of West Lothian Council criticised the Scottish Labour Party for being “weak on the union” as she announced she would be leaving the party to join the Scottish Conservatives.Angela Doran-Timpson claimed some Labour councillors would “even be happy” for Scotland to have a second independence referendum, so-called the indyref2, and accused the party of not being strong enough in standing up to the SNP.Ms Doran-Timpson, who represents the Broxburn, Uphall and Winchburgh area, said: “Over and over again, Labour have been weak on the union and not strong enough in standing up to the SNP. At council meetings, they have not been prepared to oppose the SNP. Some in the Labour group would even be happy to see indyref2.“I am joining the Scottish Conservatives because they are the only party strong enough to stop the SNP and the only party that stands up for Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom every time.“As a work coach, I firmly believe we must be absolutely focused on creating more jobs and helping people back into work above all else. Our top priority has to be Scotland’s recovery, not another referendum.”Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said Ms Doran-Timpson’s move “proves once more” his party is the “real alternative for working people across Scotland who want to remove the SNP”, adding: “More and more ex-Labour voters, just like Angela, have decided to vote Scottish Conservative in recent elections.”Sam Hancock25 October 2021 13:25 More