Rachel Reeves is set to announce Labour’s plans to cut government departments and the civil service, while the new government accuses Rishi Sunak of “covering up” economic problems.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer will address the House of Commons this afternoon after reviewing the government’s finances since taking office at the beginning of this month.

It has been reported that Mrs. Reeves will reveal a £20 billion “black hole” found them on the books – although the Conservative Party claims it was aware of this before taking office.

Watch a special Sky News programme about Ms Reeves’ speech from 3pm on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on the Sky News website and app or on YouTube.

Mrs Reeves will announce the date of this year’s budget, with speculation Work consider raising taxes in that fiscal case.

Her speech will take place sometime after 3pm, depending on what else happens in the House of Commons.

However, today’s announcement also sets out plans for public sector cuts, in a bid to save money for the current budget year.

According to the Treasury Department, Ms Reeves will “announce immediate measures to restore economic stability and make savings across the Department this financial year”.

Ms Reeves is expected to say: “It’s time to be honest with the public and tell them the truth.

“The previous government refused to take the tough decisions. They covered up the real state of government finances. And then they walked away. I will never do that.

“The British people voted for change and we will make that change happen. I will restore economic stability. I will never stand by and let this happen again.

“We will rebuild the foundations of our economy so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of our country better.”

The finance minister will announce a Value for Money (OVM) agency, to be paid for from existing civil service budgets, to ‘put an end to waste’.

This year, the OVM will make recommendations on how to save money for the state coffers.

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New reforms are being announced to improve ‘efficiency’ (a word usually meaning cuts) in government departments and organisations such as the Prison and Probation Service, the Met Office, the Environment Agency and HM Revenue and Customs.

There will also be “immediate action” to stop “non-essential spending” on consultants, as well as selling “surplus assets” and accelerating previously announced efficiency improvements.

Ms Reeves is also expected to say: “Before the election I said we would be left with the worst legacy since the Second World War.

“Taxes at the highest level in 70 years. Debts through the roof. An economy just coming out of recession. I knew all those things. I was honest about it during the election campaign. And about the difficult choices that came with it.

“But when I arrived at the Ministry of Finance three weeks ago, it became clear that there were things I didn’t know. Things that the party on the other side was hiding from the country.”

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The Chancellor also plans to allow the UK to hold a budget event once a year again, in a bid to restore stability to markets.

And she will recommit to the government’s fiscal rules, which include no borrowing to finance day-to-day spending and a reduction in government debt by the fifth year of the economic forecast.

Gareth Davies, shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “Rachel Reeves is trying to mislead the British public into accepting Labour’s tax rises.

“She wants to pretend that the OBR, which was set up by the Conservatives and whose forecasts have been used in every recent Conservative government budget, does not exist, to give her claims credibility. And just like in her books, this announcement is a copy and paste of what happened decades earlier.

“But her words and actions to supposedly save tax money are an insult, while secretly she plans to raise taxes at the same time.”

(c) Sky News 2024: Chancellor to announce cuts to plug ‘£20bn black hole’ in public finances