Sajid Javid has promised to publish “economic information” on any long-term trade deal Boris Johnson strikes with the EU in the second phase of Brexit negotiations - but stopped short of pledging a full Treasury impact assessment.
The chancellor previously rebuffed calls from MPs to publish a Treasury assessment of the prime minister’s withdrawal deal, which means the UK will leave the EU without knowing the economic impact.
Javid on Tuesday again refused to say he would produce any more information on the withdrawal agreement, which triggers a standstill transition period to 2021 during which talks on a long-term future relationship deal will take place.
Asked by HuffPost UK whether he would commit to publishing a Treasury economic analysis of the second deal, which could determine Britain’s trade relationship with the EU for decades, Javid said: “As we progress through parliament with the future economic deal, because it will apply a treaty, a new trade agreement, we will be publishing information, including economic information to parliament to make sure it has all the information it needs.”
Javid, who was highlighting Tory claims that Labour will spend £1.2tn in government, also said he would look to follow in the footsteps of one of his predecessors, George Osborne, in cutting taxes at every annual Budget.
Osborne, now Evening Standard editor, raised the income tax personal allowance at each of his Budgets, cutting taxes for more and more people as he did so.
Boris Johnson last week announced a similar raise in the national insurance threshold to £9,500 with an “ultimate ambition” to get to £12,500, without setting out a timescale.
But Javid said he was “confident” the government can make progress towards its tax-cutting goal “at each Budget”.
“We want to cut taxes, we’re a tax cutting party,” the chancellor told the Bolton audience.
“We want to make sure that hard working people keep more of their own cash, we’ve done that in the last nine years.
“In my first Budget we will increase the threshold to £9,500, which is a saving of just under £100 per person, for around 30 million people.
“I can’t say to you it will definitely be done in X years of the next parliament.
“But because we want to be prudent with the nation’s finances, we will do it when we can afford it.
“I’m confident that we can keep making progress towards that goal at each budget.”