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Coronavirus: Autumn Budget to be scrapped this year

BusinessCoronavirus: Autumn Budget to be scrapped this year

Rishi SunakImage copyright
PA Media

The Treasury has scrapped plans for an Autumn Budget this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“As we heard this week, now is not the right time to outline long-term plans – people want to see us focused on the here and now,” the Treasury said.

“So we are confirming today that there will be no Budget this autumn.”

There will however be a spending review to set out the overall shape of government spending, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg reported.

Typically, the government outlines the state of the country’s finances in the Budget and, crucially, proposes tax changes.

But any such decisions will now be put on hold until next year. Instead, the government will reveal how much each department is allowed to spend.

A Treasury source told the BBC: “No-one wanted to be in this situation but we need to respond to it.”

“The chancellor has shown he has been creative in the past and we hope that people will trust us to continue in that vein.”

The source said that “giving people reassurance and businesses the help they need” was “uppermost” in the chancellor’s mind.

Another source said that “jobs, jobs, jobs”, have always been the chancellor’s priority.

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