UK's Hunt says public finances must be fixed before tax cuts

Hunt told Sky he wanted to remove barriers to people in Britain getting back into work rather than fill vacancies via immigration. He said he also wanted to encourage investment by businesses to boost productivity, even as he maintained his focus on repairing the shortfall in the public finances.

British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Sunday he wanted to cut taxes over the long term but he once again signalled he would not be making any big moves in his budget statement later this week.

"A Conservative government will always cut taxes when we can, but we won't run out of money. We will be responsible with the public finances," he told Sky News. Hunt - who was rushed into the British Treasury in October to stop a bond market slump caused by the unfunded tax cut plans of former Prime Minister Liz Truss - is due to announce a tax and spending plan in parliament on Wednesday.

He will also use the statement to lay out measures that he hopes will speed up Britain's slow pace of economic growth, including ways to get more people into the labour market. Hunt told Sky he wanted to remove barriers to people in Britain getting back into work rather than fill vacancies via immigration.

He said he also wanted to encourage investment by businesses to boost productivity, even as he maintained his focus on repairing the shortfall in the public finances. "What you will also see on Wednesday, is that we have a plan to tackle the biggest problems we face as a country whether it's a lack of investment, whether it's businesses not able to recruit," Hunt said.