BOLTON West MP Ruth Kelly says Government plans to increase spending on public services are "completely sustainable".
The comments by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury came in the wake of reports that Chancellor Gordon Brown has a £7 billion "black hole" in his finances.
Economists claim he will be able to keep spending on schools, hospitals and other public services only if he raises taxes or increases Government borrowing.
But Ms Kelly said: "We have no plans to change our spending commitments. They are completely affordable. We are in a strong position.
"When we came to office in the late 1990s we took a series of extremely tough economic decisions. We paid off huge quantities of debt."
Asked if Government borrowing would rise she said: "I am not going to predict what our new forecast is going to be in our pre-Budget report but we have built in cautious assumptions. We are certain we can finance our public spending plans."
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