When is the Spring Statement and what could Reeves announce?
Chancellor Rachel Reeves to make speech - with Brits eager to see if tax rises and changes to student loans are contained
Rachel Reeves is likely to make changes to the student loans system in her Spring Statement next week, after telling LBC that it is “broken”.
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The chancellor will deliver an update to her spending plans on Monday, March 2, when the Office for Budget Responsibility will publish new forecasts for the economy and public finances.
The Spring Forecast will not assess the government’s performance against the fiscal mandate and will instead “provide an interim update on the economy and public finances,” the government states.
Having told reporters on Wednesday that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should repay the taxpayer if he is found to have misused public funds, she has now turned her attention to the Spring Statement, which follows on from the Autumn Budget.
On the student loan system, she said last week: “I think it’s absolutely broken.
“The previous government lost control of inflation and because they lost control of inflation, payments went through the roof.”
When is the Spring Statement 2026?
The Spring Statement will be held shortly after midday on Monday, March 2, although it is not entirely known when Ms Reeves will begin in the Commons.
The Treasury will publish the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast soon after the statement is finished, with the office mistakenly releasing it before the Autumn Budget.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch will then respond after Ms Reeves has finished.
What might the Spring Statement contain?
Ms Reeves has said she will not be making any major announcements within the Spring Statement, although changes to taxes and spending might be seen - with benefits being altered at last year’s equivalent briefing, only for Labour to u-turn on this policy.
The Treasury could announce a change to the student loan system within the Spring Statement, with a move to increase the threshold for loan repayments or cut the interest rates.
Ms Reeves will want to restore public confidence in the economy on the back of her Autumn Budget, with the UK’s GDP having grown by just 0.1% in the final quarter of 2025.
Inflation is easing in the UK but the Consumer Confidence Index dropped three points to minus 19 in February to a level last seen in November.
The Office for National Statistics said the rate of unemployment lifted to 5.2% in the three months to December, up from 5.1% in the three months to November.