Laura says frankly that borrowing is up and growth is down - but adds that employment is also going up. She asks the chancellor if she thinks she has got everything right?

"The world has changed," the chancellor says, which is having an impact on growth.

Next year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecast shows the UK will be the second strongest economy in the G7, she adds.

Reeves says: "Do I need to go further and faster on delivering growth? Absolutely."

She gives examples like investing in construction skills to get building faster.

Reeves also stresses that the government "can't just carry on" like the previous government on spending.

That's why much of the the budget last year went into funding breakfast clubs, cutting NHS waiting lists, an increased pay for the armed forces, nurses and teachers, she says.

"We use higher taxes on the wealthy and business to pay for this," the chancellor says.

Reeves is defending the government's decision to cut Civil Service administrative spending by 15%.

She says this is the right thing to do, adding that she wants to put money into important things for voters and not things that are "not necessary".

Why weren't you straight with people in the election in July? Laura asks, referring to a rise in some taxes.

Reeves says that the Labour kept its promises in the budget. This meant she had to make difficult choices.

She also says that NHS waiting lists have been improved by using money money raised from taxes on the wealthy for five months in a row.

The Labour government plans to cut Civil Service running costs by 15%, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirms to Laura Kuenssberg.

The BBC earlier reported that the the government will tell the Civil Service to find savings of £2bn from its administrative costs.

Reeves again says she wants people getting back into work, and says the government needs to help people do this.

They must "give all the support possible" to ensure people get back to work, she adds.

Reeves wants to give more people the "dignity and pride" that comes with being back in a job.

Laura puts it to Reeves that politics is about how it makes people feel, and asks whether her governments change of mind on some policies will have an effect on how the public feel towards Labour.

The chancellor answers by admitting that there were lots of difficult decisions to take - but promised to bring back government stability.

She says that "never again will a government play fast and loose with public finances".

Reeves says there are currently 1,000 people per day on Personal Independence Payments (Pip).

Laura pushes back, saying viewers are getting in touch quoting what Prime Minister Keir Starmer has previously said - that the "broadest shoulders should hold heaviest brunt". Is it really pensioners, the sick or disabled people that should carry that burden, Laura asks.

Reeves says she increased taxes on the wealthiest.

Laura now pushes Reeves on the upcoming cuts to welfare.

Reeves says the welfare system is "in bad need of reform", and they are not "willing to write off a generation of young people". She says one in eight young people are not enrolled in university, training or working.

They want to get people back into work, and are putting £1bn of targeted personalised support to "get people back into work", Reeves says.

We're hearing now from Chancellor Rachel Reeves. She's defending the government's record on the economy, as Laura challenges that the cuts the chancellor is suggesting don't look like that of a Labour government.

Reeves says that the last parliament was "the worst" for living standards, with people "paying more and getting less in return".

She says people on national wage will be getting an increase of £1,400 from April, and there will also be free breakfast clubs at primary schools.

We're starting out as we always do with comments from the panel. Laura asks Sacha Lord, night-time economy adviser, what the biggest problem is with the economy.

He responds saying the hospitality sector is "hurtling toward a double cliff edge" due to the increase in employers' national insurance contributions and the increase in business rates.

Lord says that an average pub would have to sell an extra 60,000 pints to make up for the business rate increase.

"To say (Labour) is the party of business and growth - I doubt it," he says.

It's that time of the week again: Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg has just started.

Sit down, settle in, and we will bring you the key lines in a moment.

We're just minutes away from Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, where she will be questioning Chancellor Rachel Reeves, shadow chancellor Mel Stride and deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper.

Our team of writers in London will bring you regular text updates. You can also follow along with the programme by clicking Watch Live at the top of this page shortly. Stick with us.

Government sources have stressed that front-line services wouldn't be impacted by administrative cost cuts, with the focus on slashing spending in areas like human resources, policy advice, communications and office management.

But unions who represent rank-and-file civil servant staff are adamant that the changes will impact public services and result in a significant numbers of job cuts.

FDA Union head Dave Penman said the union welcomed a move away from "crude headcount targets" but that the distinction between the back office and front line is "artificial".

"Elected governments are free to decide the size of the civil service they want, but cuts of this scale and speed will inevitably have an impact on what the civil service will be able to deliver for ministers and the country," he said, but the idea that these cuts "can be delivered by cutting HR and comms teams is for the birds".

Prospect Union general secretary Mike Clancy also warned the cuts would be public-facing, and issued a warning that "a cheaper civil service is not the same as a better civil service".

Image source, EPA

Whitehall sources have told the BBC that the government will direct the Civil Service to make savings of more than £2bn a year from its administrative costs by the end of the decade - another topic that may well come up during today's show.

The changes are part of the government's ongoing spending review, the BBC understands.

Civil Service departments will be instructed to reduce running costs by 10% by 2028-29 and then 15% the following year, an efficiency target that would save £2.2bn annually.

Front-line services directly serving the public are not in the firing line - it will be the spending on sectors such as human resources, policy advice, communications and office management that are to be slashed.

A Cabinet Office source said by cutting administrative costs "we can target resources at front-line services - with more teachers in classrooms, extra hospital appointments and police back on the beat".

• You can read more about the plan to cut Civil Service administrative costs

Ahead of the show, we can bring you some comments from Rachel Reeves who spoke in a new BBC documentary, The Making of a Chancellor.

Addressing the scrutiny she receives, Reeves says she understands it is "part of the job" but admits that "personal criticism" can be difficult to handle.

"I recognise that with the privilege of doing a job like the one I'm doing today also comes a great deal of scrutiny," she says. "I absolutely believe that every policy that I announce...is properly scrutinised. That's part of the job".

But, she adds: "One of the things I think that I find hard, even with the thicker skin I guess I must have developed over these last 14 or so years, is some of the personal criticism because that's not the sort of politics that I do."

• You can listen to the The Making of a Chancellor on BBC Sounds here

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

Image source, Getty Images

To some, Reeves' willingness to change course raises the question as to what kind of Labour politician she is.

The cuts to welfare are at the heart of this. At Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir declared that welfare reform was a "moral issue", while the veteran left-wing MP Diane Abbott argued there was "nothing moral about cutting the benefits of millions of people".

Reeves sat out much of Labour's doomed period with Jeremy Corbyn as leader. She was always serious, watchful, with an eye on her party's and her own future.

When she became shadow chancellor she put enormous efforts into schmoozing the city, even if she did once confess she'd instruct her team to sweep up any left over pastries at the end of their business breakfasts.

Reeves sees herself as a pragmatic politician, not an ideologue, whether that means increasing taxes in her first budget to fund public services or conversely cutting benefits in this week's statement.

• Read more of Laura Kuenssberg's interview with Rachel Reeves here

Michael Race
Business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The chancellor will give an update on her plans for the UK economy and an economic forecast when she makes her Spring Statement on Wednesday, 26 March.

Rachel Reeves has previously ruled out further tax rises but faces difficult choices because of the performance of the UK economy and world events.

Reeves has committed to one major economic event each year – the Budget. This is to give families and businesses "stability and certainty on tax and spending changes".

As a result, government sources have been keen to stress that the Spring Statement is not a major financial event.

However, with the government under pressure over its finances, Reeves is expected to announce spending cuts.

Reeves may confirm, for example, details of how international aid funding will be reallocated to defence, following the decision to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income by 2027.

• Read more about what to expect in the Spring Statement

Alongside Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Laura Kuenssberg will be joined by shadow chancellor Mel Stride and treasury spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper, who will be speaking from the the party's spring conference in Harrogate.

On the panel, we have Anela Anwar, chief executive of anti-poverty charity Z2K, Sacha Lord, night-time economy adviser, and Robert Buckland, former cabinet minister.

Tinshui Yeung
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

This week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is in the hot seat ahead of Wednesday’s Spring Statement.

Reeves, who has staked her reputation on delivering economic growth, will have some tough questions to answer as figures suggest the UK economy isn’t in great shape.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has cut its 2025 growth forecast from 1.7% to 1.4% while government borrowing was higher than expected in February.

Who’s to blame? While some point to global factors, notably Donald Trump’s trade war, others blame Reeves for gambling on business tax rises.

We'll bring you all the key lines as she defends her policies - you can also Watch Live from 09:00 by clicking the button at the top of this page.