FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: On Mandate CONTACT: matt@britainneedsus.co.uk EMBARGO: None

Open Letter to the Chancellor

Britain's Households Paid £3,319/Month in Tax in 2024/25 — The Evidence of What Was Promised, What Happened, and the Twelve Questions That Require Answers

Submitted on behalf of [X,XXX] registered citizens auditors by Britain Needs Us — Britain's Independent People's Audit. Submitted simultaneously to HM Treasury, the Public Accounts Committee, and all 650 Members of Parliament.

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Dear Chancellor of the Exchequer,

The average UK household paid £39,828 in tax in 2024/25 — £3,319 every single month. This is the highest tax burden in 78 years. At the same time, the government missed its own deficit target by £78 billion, the national debt stands at £2.8 trillion with no published repayment plan, and housing received £32 per household per month while debt interest consumed £308.

Britain Needs Us is a non-partisan citizen transparency initiative. We are not a political party. We do not campaign for any party or candidate. We are applying the same standard of accountability that any company shareholder is legally entitled to apply to a board of directors.

“In 2024/25 every household in Britain contributed £3,319 per month to the public finances. £308 went to debt interest alone. £32 went to housing. There is no plan to repay the debt. There is no explanation for the £78bn deficit overrun. We are asking twelve questions. We expect answers.”
— Matt Andrews, Founder, Britain Needs Us

The Evidence at a Glance

Line Item 2023/24 2024/25 Change Per HH/Month
Per Household Tax (year) £38,283 £39,828 +£1,545 £3,319/month
Net Deficit −£74bn −£152bn +£78bn over £19/month overrun
Debt Interest £103bn £106bn +£3bn £308/month
NHS Spend £177bn £197bn +£20bn £574/month
Defence £48bn £54bn +£6bn £157/month
Housing £10bn £11bn +£1bn £32/month
Tax Burden % GDP 38.9% 39.4% 78yr high

Five Promises. Five Results.

What was pledged. What happened. The evidence.

NHS: 40 New Hospitals by 2030

Promise: 40 hospitals Reality: 1 built

£75.7bn extra over a decade. £8.3bn on agency staff alone. £13.8bn maintenance backlog.

Housing: 300,000 Homes/Year

Promise: 300,000/year Reality: 156,000 built

88% of the housing budget paid to private landlords. Not building.

Deficit: On Track by 2024/25

Promise: −£75bn deficit Reality: −£152bn

£78bn overrun. No minister named as accountable.

Levelling Up: Close Regional Gaps

Promise: Level up all regions Reality: Programme defunded

£4.8bn promised. £2.1bn spent. Gap widened in 7 of 12 metrics.

Brexit: £350m/week to NHS

Promise: £350m/week Reality: net cost £1.92bn/week (OBR)

For every £1 saved, £14 lost annually.

The Twelve Questions

Each question is backed by published government data. Not one has been answered.

1

Why was the deficit target missed by £78bn with no public explanation?

The 2024/25 deficit target was −£75bn. The actual outturn was approximately −£122bn. Which minister is accountable? What corrective measures are in place? When will Parliament receive a full written explanation?

Your household's share of the overrun: £1,638. No explanation published.

£19
Your household's share of the £78bn deficit overrun — every month
HM Treasury Unanswered Q1 2026
2

Why does debt interest cost more per household than housing, transport and culture combined?

The debt stands at £2.8 trillion — £102,000 per household. There is no published debt reduction plan. When will the government publish a legally-binding strategy with annual milestones?

Debt interest alone: £308/month per household. Every month. Every year. No end date.

£308
Debt interest alone — every household, every month, every year
HM Treasury Unanswered Q1 2026
3

Why were only 156,000 homes built against target when every household pays £32/month for housing?

£30.5bn housing budget. £26.8bn (88%) paid to private landlords as benefit — building zero homes. Build cost: £160,000/home = 190,625 possible. Built: 12,198. Break-even: 17.5 years. 1.3 million families waiting. Has Treasury modelled this? Why does 88p in every housing pound go to landlords?

£32
per household, per month
DLUHC Unanswered Q1 2026
4

Why has £8bn been committed to Ukraine until 2030/31 with no public vote?

£16bn+ to Ukraine since 2022 — £575/household total. £3bn/year pledged to 2030/31 (£108/household/year). Committed via Treasury Reserve, ratified retrospectively. No manifesto commitment. No parliamentary vote before announcement at NATO summit. What is the statutory basis? Does the government believe £108/household/year for a foreign military commitment requires public consent?

£100
per household, per year
MOD / FCDO Unanswered Q1 2026
5

Why does the government not present tax in per-household, per-month terms?

The Budget is presented in aggregate billions inaccessible to most citizens. Will the government commit to a per-household, per-month breakdown in all future Budget documents?

£39,828
per household per year — never broken down for citizens
HM Treasury / HMRC Unanswered Q1 2026
6

Why has the NHS waiting list grown from 7.2m to 7.8m despite £574/month per household?

DHSC budget rose £75.7bn in a decade. 40 hospitals pledged by 2030 — 1 genuinely built. Programme launched without a funding plan. £900m capital transferred to salaries. NHS spent £8.3bn on agency staff — more than the entire 5-year Affordable Homes Programme. Maintenance backlog: £13.8bn. Where did the extra £75.7bn go?

£574
You pay £574/month. 7.8 million people are waiting. 40 hospitals promised. 1 built.
DHSC / NHS England Unanswered Q1 2026
7

Why is productivity falling while tax reaches its highest level in 78 years?

The tax burden is at its highest in 78 years. Public sector productivity has fallen 4.6% since 2019. Will the government publish an annual productivity-per-pound report for every major department?

£1,742
per household per year (OBR estimate) lost to falling public sector output
OBR / HM Treasury Unanswered Q1 2026
8

How were stealth tax rises of £25bn introduced without a Parliamentary vote?

Freezing income tax thresholds has raised approximately £25bn in extra revenue as wages rose into higher bands. This was never called a tax rise. No parliamentary debate was held. Will the government subject future threshold freezes to the same parliamentary process as explicit rate changes?

£874
per household per year — no vote, no debate, no Budget line
HMRC / HM Treasury Unanswered Q1 2026
9

Why does mental health receive only 8% of the NHS budget when 1 in 4 citizens are affected?

1 in 4 adults experience a mental health condition annually. Mental health receives approximately 8% of NHS funding while debt interest receives £308 per household per month. When will mental health funding reach a proportion commensurate with its burden of disease?

£46
per household, per month
DHSC / NHS England Unanswered Q1 2026
10

Why is there no mechanism for citizens to hold government to account on spending?

Citizens vote every five years but have no formal mechanism to participate in how £3,319 of their monthly income is spent. Will the government commit to quarterly citizen-facing financial accounts — in plain English, per household — as a permanent standard?

£0
mechanisms for citizens. Zero. None published.
Cabinet Office Unanswered Q1 2026
11

Why are millions paying twice for healthcare — NHS tax and private insurance — with no recognition?

7.6 million UK adults hold private medical insurance. Each pays full National Insurance and additionally pays £44–£4,500+/year in private premiums. Private insurers absorbed 163,680 NHS procedures in Q2 2025 alone — demand the NHS did not have to meet. Zero tax relief. Pension savers receive double relief. Is it the government's position that citizens who voluntarily remove themselves from NHS demand should pay full NHS tax with zero recognition?

£44
average per household per month absorbed by private insurers — £0 recognised by HMRC
HMRC / DHSC Unanswered Q1 2026
12

Where is the formal audit of the £350m/week Brexit promise vs actual economic outcome?

The £350m/week NHS claim was ruled ‘a clear misuse of official statistics’ before the vote. No Brexit dividend reached the NHS. OBR (March 2025) forecasts Brexit reduces long-run UK productivity by 4% — £100bn/year, £1.92bn/week. The net saving: £136m/week. For every £1 saved, £14 lost annually. Exports to EU: 18% below 2019. Net migration rose. What formal assessment of Brexit promises vs outturns has been published for citizens?

£67
per household per week in lost productivity (OBR estimate)
OBR / HM Treasury Unanswered Q1 2026

The Ministers Who Must Answer

Each named. Each accountable. Each question directed.

Rachel Reeves

Chancellor of the Exchequer

“The deficit overran by £78bn. Debt interest costs £308/household/month. Where is the plan?”

Wes Streeting

Secretary of State for Health

“40 hospitals promised. 1 built. 7.8m waiting. £8.3bn on agency staff. Where did the money go?”

Angela Rayner

Deputy PM / Housing

“88% of the housing budget goes to landlords. 156,000 homes built vs 300,000 target.”

John Healey

Secretary of State for Defence

“£54bn budget. £16bn committed to Ukraine without public vote. What was cut to fund it?”

Bridget Phillipson

Secretary of State for Education

“School buildings crumbling. Teacher vacancies rising. Per-pupil funding falling in real terms.”

Liz Kendall

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

“Universal Credit: £87bn. Child poverty rising. In-work poverty at record levels.”

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This open letter is an independent citizen petition. It does not constitute regulated third-party campaigning under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA). Britain Needs Us is not registered with the Electoral Commission as a campaigning organisation and does not seek to influence elections or referendums. All data is sourced from publicly available government publications.

Data Integrity Statement

All figures sourced from UK government published data: HM Treasury PESA July 2025, ONS Public Sector Finances, OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook, House of Commons Library, HMRC Annual Accounts 2024/25, NHS England, NAO, and IFS analysis. Per-household figures use ONS household count of 28.6 million (2024). Where figures are OBR or IFS estimates they are marked accordingly. Britain Needs Us does not manufacture statistics. Every figure is cited and verifiable. Last verified: March 2026.

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