‘I studied to be an NHS midwife but £60k debt and no jobs made me quit’

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Reuters Chancellor Rachel Reeves will outline her spending plans on Wednesday

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing more difficult choices in the Spending Review on Wednesday. She will sets the budgets for all government departments over the next few years. The review will confirm how much taxpayers’ money will be spent on the NHS, defence, police, education and other public services used by millions, as well as how much money the government plans to invest in projects like new public transport. As she makes her final preparations, people living in Cleckheaton in West Yorkshire outlined what they think her priority should be.

‘The NHS is on its knees’

Gemma Dillon/BBC Melissa Marley wants the chancellor’s top priority to be the NHS because she says it is “on its knees”

Melissa Marley, 32, has spent the last two years studying at the University of Huddersfield to become a midwife but has quit her course after amassing debt of £60,000 and said there was “no hope for jobs at the end of it”. The mother-of-three would like the chancellor to put more money into the NHS because it is “on its knees” and added “people abroad would kill for a system like that, so it needs protecting”. Originally from Wakefield, she went back into education in 2021 to provide a better life for her children. She began training as a nurse in 2022 before training as a midwife in 2023. As well as £20,000 of tuition fees, she also owes about £40,000 in her maintenance grant accrued through her studies over the past few years. She was originally going to defer due to health issues but decided to stop her course and is now hoping to become a maternity support worker. This role supports midwives, rather than being a midwife herself. Melissa said the lack of jobs in midwifery was “sad because there are so many people putting so much work in. “They are working hard, having to miss times with their family, their children and then to have nothing at the end of it is sad”.

‘A less stable world’

Gemma Dillon/BBC John Addison was concerned about the state of the armed forces

Pensioner John Addison agreed that a big part of the Spending Review had to be more funding for the NHS . He said that it was “hard work getting appointments”. Mr Addison expressed his concern about spending on defence – and how more money was needed for that. He explained that he worried about the future for his grandchildren and younger people growing up in a less stable world. He said that the Army had “been run down lately so we need to up it a bit because you never know what is around the corner with what’s going off in the world.” Earlier this month, a British defence review published recommendations which welcomed the government’s ambition to spend 3% of Gross Domestic Product by 2034 but warned “as we live in more turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster.” Several Nato allies have already committed to spending more than 5%.

School buildings ‘in a terrible state’

Gemma Dillon/BBC Bill and Pauline Wardlaw were out and about in Cleckheaton when they stopped to speak with the BBC

Bill and Pauline Wardlaw would like to see funds focused on the education system and investing in the future. Bill was particularly concerned about problems with school buildings. He said they were in “a terrible state” which meant “children are going to school in inadequate buildings and a lot of money should be spent getting them up to a decent standard”. Pauline agreed with her husband but would also money spent on ensuring infrastructure around new housing estates is in place. She said when new housing is built “they need to make sure there is provision for the people that they are going to put in those houses – like doctors, education, schools etc because it is just not there”. Ms Wardlaw was also frustrated with trying to get a GP appointment: “It’s three weeks before you can see a doctor unless you ring up at 08:00 and then you are in a queue.”

‘Support for mums is needed’

Gemma Dillon/BBC Beth Flanagan-Jones would like to see more investment that helps mums

Beth Flannagan-Jones was out with her 16 month old daughter Maeve. She wanted to see more cash targeted at activities and support groups for mothers and babies. She said toddler groups could help mums who felt “alone”. Ms Flannagan-Jones said there were “a couple of options but many of them are private and you have to pay for them”. “If you have not got a lot of money and are on a budget I think a few more council groups and mum groups are missing,” she added.

‘Green investments need oversight’

Gemma Dillon/BBC Pensioner David Lumb thinks NHS spending should always be a priority.

Pensioner David Lumb acknowledged the cuts to winter fuel allowance had been damaging to Labour party as some older people relied on the payment. He backed a more targeted approach to the benefit – which seemed to chime with the chancellor. She announced on Monday changes to the level the benefit would be paid at, meaning 75% of pensioners would now be eligible. His biggest priority was the NHS citing “the way the nation relied” on the service during the pandemic. However, Mr Lumb said he would also like to see more investment in green initiatives, but when it comes to home insulation he said it depended on “how efficiently it is done”. “Quite often the government sponsor these things and they aren’t properly monitored,” he added.

The estimated number of available jobs fell to 736,000 over the three months to May.

“Feedback from our vacancies survey suggests some firms may be holding back from recruiting new workers or replacing people when they move on,” said Ms McKeown.

The figures also showed that the unemployement rate rose from 4.5% to 4.6% – the highest in almost four years and could rise higher, according to Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK.

“It is likely that businesses will look to offset some of the rise in employment costs through a combination of reducing headcount and slowing hiring activity,” she said.

“Given this, we expect the unemployment rate to edge higher over the coming year.”

The rise in average wages slowed to 5.2% between February and April, easing from a 5.6% increase. However, it remains above the rate of inflation, which increased to 3.5% for the year to April.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the rise in National Insurance contributions by employers in last October’s Budget. The hike is forecast to raise £25bn in revenues by the end of the parliament.

Employment minister Alison McGovern claimed that there were 500,000 more people in employment since Labour won the election last July. “People all over the country are benefiting from increased training opportunities,” she said.

But Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said the rise in the unemployment rate was “disappointing but no surprise”, adding: “Businesses are still absorbing a £25bn jobs tax.”

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: “The chancellor’s pig’s ear of a jobs tax is crushing the growth potential of our high streets and small businesses.”

She added: “These figures could not be a clearer signal to the chancellor, ahead of the Spending Review, that the government must change course.”

On Wednesday, Reeves will announce the Spending Review, which will allocate funding for everyday public services such as the NHS, education and policing as well as investment in infrastructure.

The NHS and defence are expected to be among the main beneficiaries in the review, leaving other departments with squeezed budgets.

A 15-year-old boy has been taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a shooting incident at a home, police have said.

South Wales Police said they were called to the incident in Clos y Ffynnon, Pontprennau, Cardiff at about 20:00 BST on Saturday.

They said a 15-year-old boy was taken to hospital and his injuries are not life-threatening.

There have been no reports of an arrest and police said they were continuing to investigate, leading to a “visible police presence in the area”.

A healthcare firm, which provided urgent care services in NHS 111 call centres, has gone into administration with the loss of 100 jobs.

Totally, which employed 1,400 people across several sites in the UK, including Stockton-on-Tees and Newcastle, said workers had lost their jobs across the group but did not confirm how many had been affected at each site.

The company has been sold to PHL Group, another healthcare provider to the NHS – with the immediate transfer of 600 of its employees.

Tim Vance, joint administrator at EY-Parthenon, said he was pleased that hundreds of jobs and “critical frontline NHS services” had been safeguarded by the sale.

Ten young cattle have been killed in a lightning strike in the Republic of Ireland.

The one-year-old heifers died on a farm at Butlersbridge in County Cavan.

BBC News NI understands the animals were struck while sheltering under a tree during rain and lightning strikes in the region on Friday evening.

Local Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith described it as a “rare and freak incident”.