UK government borrowing jumped unexpectedly to £17.8bn last month, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves to plan budget cuts before a spending review in the summer, Phillip Inman reports.

Commenting on the figures, Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said:

Labour are already losing control of the finances.

Figures out today show borrowing is higher than forecast. So far this financial year it has been almost the highest since records began, second only to the pandemic.

The Chancellor needs to get a grip.

Just 4% of alleged domestic abusers in the police were dismissed over a 12-month period, according to new data from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales. PA Media says:

Dame Nicole Jacobs called for “structural change” to both protect victims and rebuild public confidence in policing.

Launching her criminal justice report today, the commissioner revealed a survey of forces by her office found there had been 1,294 allegations of police-perpetrated domestic abuse (PPDA) in the 12 months to the end of March 2024.

These allegations related to 899 individuals, who make up 0.4% of the police workforce which covers roles such as officers, staff and police community support officers.

All but two forces across England and Wales were able to provide information on outcomes for such allegations, according to the commissioner’s report, with most allegations ending in a ‘no case to answer’, a suspension or what is known as a learning outcome.

Just 4% ended with a worker being dismissed from their role, Jacobs said.

The government needs to spend at least £49bn repairing rundown buildings in the public sector, like schools and hospitals, the National Audit Office has said.

Here is the NAO summary of what its report says.

Having good-quality property that is properly maintained, utilised and adaptable to future needs is fundamental to delivering public services. However, the condition of government property has declined over the last decade.

The government has accumulated at least £49bn of maintenance backlog. The government will need to consider the optimal way to manage its assets alongside its long-term investment plans, in addition to the cost of ongoing maintenance, to bring property condition to a satisfactory level.

The scale of the challenge will become intractable unless the Office of Government Property (OGP) urgently addresses strategic planning gaps across government, so it and departments can understand what the full picture of maintenance requirements is across government, ahead of the next and subsequent spending review periods.

Here is the full report. And this chart from the report shows where the main problems are.

The UK government will publish an immigration white paper later this year including proposals to introduce visas aimed at high-skilled workers as part of its push to kickstart growth, Rachel Reeves has announced. Heather Stewart has the story here.

People could be banned from driving if they repeatedly fail to repay money they owe under a new government crackdown on welfare fraud, Nadeem Badshah reports.

Talking about these proposals on the ITV’s Good Morning Britian this morning, Alison McGovern, the employment minister, said that, if the government needs to recover money from benefit cheats, it can already take money back through the benefits system if the person is still on benefits or through PAYE if the person is paying tax that way. She went on:

If somebody’s not doing either of those things, then we need more powers to be able to get the money back.

So the new powers will be to get that money back through banks.

And then, finally, as a backstop power, if after all of that they still don’t want to give us the money back, like currently happens with the child maintenance service, we want to be able to apply to a court to say ‘disqualify this person for driving.

And that is a backstop power to make sure that we get this money back.

Good morning. Keir Starmer gave a speech yesterday on the government’s reaction to the Southport killings, and Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, followed that up with a long statement to MPs. There were various announcements alongside the public inquiry proposed and we cover them here.

This morning there is more. After Cooper told MPs yesterday that it was a “total disgrace” that the killer, Axel Rudakubana, could buy a knife on Amazon at the age of 17, the government is today announcing that it is going to require tougher checks for people buying knives online, which could involve a two-step verification. As the BBC reports, “online retailers will be forced to ask anyone buying a knife for two types of identification under government plans, with buyers asked to submit an identity document, such as a passport, and record a live video to prove their age.”

Starmer has written about this in an article for the Sun. He says:

It remains shockingly easy for our children to get their hands on deadly knives. The lessons of this case could not be clearer.

Time and again, as a child, the Southport murderer carried knives. Time and again, he showed clear intent to use them.

And yet tragically, he was still able to order the murder weapon off the internet without any checks or barriers. A two-click killer. This cannot continue.

The technology is there to set up age-verification checks, even for kitchen knives ordered online.

We must now use it to protect our children from future attack and I will ensure that this happens.

Amazon says that currently, when people buy a knife online, they have to supply details, including their date of birth, and their age is verified by the delivery driver when the goods are handed over.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.30am: The Home Office publishes figures on police numbers in England and Wales.

9.45am: John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, gives a speech on immigration and economic growth.

11am: The Office for Budget Responsibility will publishes figures on the impact of extending inheritance tax to cover farms.

Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.

Around 1pm: MPs have a short debate on the money resolution for the assisted dying private member’s bill. Any legislation that would involve public spending requires a money resolution, and normally these are passed as a formality. But it is possible opponents of assisted dying could force a vote. The Treasury minister James Murray will open the debate, which will only last 45 minutes at most.

Also, Rachel Reeves is in Davos, where she is doing a series of media and speaking events. She has already taken part in a Bloomberg Q&A. Graeme Wearden is there, and is covering it all on his business live blog, Davos edition.

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