Rishi Sunak has rejected calls from Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford to extend the government’s free school meal programme, writes Adam Forrest.

The campaigning England star and supermarket bosses have called on ministers to push the scheme into the school holidays in a joint letter ahead of the Budget.

But Mr Sunak appeared to rule out any further support for meals – saying the government had “transitioned to a more normal way of doing things” after extra money put in place during the Covid crisis.

Rishi Sunak appeared to reject calls from Marcus Rashford to extend the free school meal programme during his Sunday morning media round.

In a letter to The Sunday Times, England and Manchester United footballer joined with supermarket chiefs in asking ministers to push the scheme into the school holidays.

But Mr Sunak told The Andrew Marr Show: “So we put in place some measures to help families during coronavirus, that was the right thing to do, and in common with the other things that have now come to an end, whether it was furlough or other things, that’s right that we’ve transitioned to a more normal way of doing things.

“But we have actually already acted, is what I’d say to Marcus and everyone else. We’ve put in place something called the holiday activities program, which provides not just meals but also activities for children during holiday periods for those families that need extra help.

“That is a new programme, it was announced earlier this year, it’s being rolled out across the country, and I think that can make an enormous difference to people.”

Rishi Sunak has indicated that a rise in inflation was due to factors he could not control.

He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “If you take the last inflation number, which was just over 3 per cent, which is obviously higher than we normally target, and you look at what’s causing that, the bulk of that increase is down to two things.

“One of those is the fact that as economies have reopened rather rapidly after coronavirus, that has put pressure on global supply chains, and then the other part of the increase is very much just down to energy prices.

“Both of those factors are global factors. We’re not alone in experiencing those problems, I don’t have a magic wand that can make either of those things disappear.”

Two in three voters in the UK support tax rises to pay for measures to mitigate the climate crisis, exclusive new polling for The Independent has found.

Rishi Sunak is under pressure to avoid tax hikes from Conservative MPs sceptical of the government’s net zero plans as he prepares to deliver his Budget on Wednesday, writes Adam Forrest.

But the idea of raising taxes to deal with the climate emergency has widespread support from the British public, a survey by Savanta ComRes has revealed.

Labour has called on government to bring in its so-called “Plan B” restrictions to tackle the surge in Covid cases, writes Adam Forrest.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said Boris Johnson must listen to scientific advisers asking for tougher curbs – including the mandatory wearing of masks in public places and a return to work-from-home guidance.

“We think we should follow the science – if the scientists are saying wear masks and work from home we should do that,” Ms Reeves said on The Andrew Marr Show.

MPs who drive into Westminster are avoiding tens of thousands of pounds a year in congestion charges and ultra low emission zone fees by putting them on expenses, an investigation by The Independent has found.

Clean air groups have written to parliament’s expenses watchdog asking it to stop MPs avoiding the anti-pollution charges, which are supposed to deter people from driving into central London and adding to its illegal levels of air pollution.

MPs expensed nearly £70,000 of congestion charge and ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) fees in the most recent full financial year – and have managed to rack up another £10,000 bill in the two months before this year’s summer recess, writes Jon Stone.

Attacks on women are the focus of some £435m of spending on crime prevention in this week’s Budget.

Rishi Sunak is expected to pledge millions for better CCTV and street lamps along with £80m in extra cash for the Crown Prosecution Service.

The Treasury said part of this would go to improving the response to rape and sexual assault cases.

The chancellor said everyone should feel safe at home, on the streets or going out, but acknowledged “this is sometimes not the case, especially for young women”.

The statement follows widespread shock at the murder of Sarah Everard at the hands of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens and police forces dealing with hundreds of drink and injection spiking incidents.

Funding for victims is also expected to be increased, with the Treasury saying it will be £185m an increase of 85 per cent from 2019-20.

Mr Sunak said: “From boosting investment in better CCTV and street lighting, to better home security and support for repeat victims, we are committed to make our streets and homes safe.”

Additional reporting by PA Media

Just £1.5bn of the almost £7bn Rishi Sunak has announced he plans to spend on “levelling up” transport outside London is newly promised money, the chancellor has admitted in an interview.

Pressed on the detail of this Budget scheme by Sky News’ Trevor Phillips, Mr Sunak said: “The transport money that we announced is a combination of two things.

“One, we’ve previously announced an overall envelope to improve how people get around our big cities. We want our cities, whether that’s in the west Midlands, or in Teesside or Greater Manchester, to have the same type of transport settlements that London’s always enjoyed … We’ve previously announced £4.2bn for that.

“What we’ve actually done is top that up, as you said, by £1.5bn, but then, crucially, give out the allocations for in that envelope, where are all the bits going to go.”

Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow chancellor, has reacted with incredulity to Rishi Sunak’s £500m plan for more family “hubs”.

She told Sky News: “I would just say to the chancellor, ‘Have you heard of Sure Start? Because that is what your government, over the last 11 years, have cut.’

“It’s all well and good saying, ‘We’re going to invest in these family parks’, but thousands of children’s centres and Sure Start centres that were proud features of our communities – especially some of our poorest communities – have long gone.

“I think there’s a real feeling that, if you hadn’t taken all that away, imagine what difference it could have made to the lives of young people and to their parents.”

Rishi Sunak has declined to criticise George Osborne for slashing funding for Sure Start.

The chancellor was speaking on Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday and talking up his plan to spend £500m on family support and children’s centres.

He was asked whether Mr Osborne’s prior deep cuts to Sure Start were a mistake, in light of these new plans effectively to copy the scheme.

Mr Sunak said: “I think it’s right to judge everyone by the context that they are doing their jobs in.

“One thing that my predecessors, not just George, did, was ensure that I actually had a very strong economy and strong set of public finances.

“Then, when coronavirus came, which nobody really knew about, I was able to respond in a comprehensive and generous fashion.”

Pressed further on whether the Sure Start cuts were an error, the chancellor added: “You can pick on individual things, but overall, what my predecessors did was deliver a strong economy … which we have now benefited from over the past year.”

The new hubs will provide “broader” benefits than Sure Start, he claimed.