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Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has eased to 6.8 percent from a peak of 11.1 percent last October. But it remains significantly above the Bank of England\u2019s two percent target.<\/p>\n
The Chancellor said there was \u201cnothing\u201d he wanted more than to bring the \u201ctax burden\u201d down for Britons.<\/p>\n
Mr Hunt added that one way to do this is by growing the economy and \u201cgood progress\u201d is being made. Another options is to \u201cspend taxpayers\u2019 money more efficiently\u201d, Mr Hunt said.<\/p>\n
He has written to secretaries of state to ask about how much time public servants are spending on \u201cunnecessary admin\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we need to do now is to restart the public service reform agenda. It\u2019s not about asking to work harder. They work very, very hard. But it\u2019s about using money more efficiently,\u201d Mr Hunt said.<\/p>\n
He was adamant the reform agenda would not involve \u201cmore cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Hunt also denied he would have made different decisions in his role as Chancellor had he known the UK economy had bounced back from the pandemic faster than expected.<\/p>\n
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revised its estimate for the UK\u2019s post-pandemic growth, saying the economy was larger in 2021 than in 2019.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he would have changed course had he known, Mr Hunt said: \u201cNo, because the decisions we took were primarily because we had to bring inflation down which peaked at over 11 percent.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cA series of incredibly difficult decisions that Rishi Sunak and I took because we knew that until you get inflation down you can\u2019t end the misery for families who see the cost of their weekly shop going up, the cost of filling up their tank of petrol. That was an absolute priority for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Don’t miss… <\/strong> The UK\u2019s economy recovered from the pandemic even faster than Germany, France and Japan.<\/p>\n Britain was believed to be the only G7 economy that was still smaller than before Covid.<\/p>\n The ONS said the economy in the final quarter of 2021 was in fact 0.6 percent larger than the final quarter of 2019 – much higher than previous figures saying it was 1.2 percent smaller.<\/p>\n Yearly growth for 2021 was revised up a significant 1.1 percentage points to 8.7 percent, while the crash caused by the 2020 lockdown was revised down by 0.6 points.<\/p>\n In its last set of data, the ONS had said in the three months to the end of June 2023, the economy was 0.2 per cent smaller than pre-pandemic levels, leading to mass criticism of the Government’s economic programme.<\/p>\n Mr Hunt had said the news \u201cshows that once again those determined to talk down the British economy have been proved wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThere are many battles still to win, most of all against inflation so we can ease cost of living pressures of families. But if we stick to the plan we can look forward to healthy growth which according to the IMF will be faster than Germany, France, and Italy in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n The revision gives No.10 and Mr Sunak a major boost, especially given that \u201cincreased economic growth\u201d is one of his five key pledges.<\/p>\n
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