Speeches by Glen.

“So it is possible that you could address it.”

“I recognise that. I think everyone would say that. It was a pretty difficult situation before the Budget. I am thinking more fundamentally about the Treasury’s forecasting function, when it has to live within the OBR’s determinations. Is there a danger that the dynamic of decision making means that the reference point …”

“Of course. Can I ask one last question on fuel duty? You have postponed the removal of the freeze until September. We have had 15 years of freezes. You will talk about, as you did yesterday, what you inherited and that deferred choice, but it was not in any Finance Bill. In the context—obviously, Governments respond to…”

“I do not dispute that. Having worked, as you know, under four Chancellors, I recognise the difference between the theory of where we would like to be and the political reality of where we are. I would put it to you that what we are seeing at the moment might necessitate an action that might not be desirable—as it was n…”

“It was different then.”

“£106 billion.”

“Essentially, you are saying that the analysis and commentaries are quite superficial, and do not take account of the real, relative values across different jurisdictions.”

“I was not going to say that.”

“Chancellor, what I am trying to get at is this. We have about 5.5 million small businesses that say the combination of the national insurance increases, the doubling—broadly—of the rate of inflation, the increases in the national living wage, and the uncertainty over the effect of the Employment Rights Act, given that …”

“Thank you very much. Ms Mehta, the gilt yields that we see in the UK are the highest in the G7. Please could you explain to us why that is?”

“Over the last three or four months, perhaps as a function of what happened in the run-up to the last fiscal event and what happened with the OBR, there has been speculation, and you and your predecessor were very clear about the optimism bias, shall we say, in manifestos at general elections. Mr Hughes and Sir Robert C…”

“You will know that in the previous panel we heard evidence from the OBR on the presumptions about where spending will be towards the end of the period. For the unprotected Departments, I think it is a 4.4% cut. The IFS states that, for next year’s spending review, there is an assumption that day-to-day departmental bud…”

“Mental health?”

“Yes, but we are trying to understand that; we are trying to get to a better understanding of what is driving that. You have had a bit of a discussion about a number of factors. What answer would you give, the official answer from the OBR, as to why more young people are now unemployed?”

“I want to home in on this. You have acknowledged that youth unemployment is disproportionate to other levels of unemployment.”

“What, you don’t get the same productivity from a younger part of the workforce but you are obliged to pay them the same amount as everyone else?”

“It’s hardly likely to be positive, is it?”

“Given that the Chancellor has pencilled in 0.3% real-terms growth in public spending in 2029-30, and assuming that health spending is at its historical average, the special educational needs and disabilities spend is as per the proposals, and defence is at 3%, that will leave a 2.5% real-terms cut in unprotected Depart…”

“5. Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Office for Budget Responsibility's growth projections for 2026 on future departmental spending levels.”

“Given that it was promised at the start of June last year, when will the Chancellor sign off on the defence investment plan?”