Category: Spending

How Big an “Ask” Are the Tories Efficiency Plans?

Today David Cameron has been saying all day that the Tories efficiency savings amount to asking the government to save ‘£1 in every £100 that it spends’ and this is obviously ‘do-able’.

On one level this is true, but only: Continue reading “How Big an “Ask” Are the Tories Efficiency Plans?” →

What Did You Do in the Efficiency Wars, Daddy?

The Election campaign was almost completely dominated by efficiency issues yesterday, as Labour tried to dis the Tories plans to pay for not raising NIC by even more “savings”. As a result, I ended up doing radio, TV, and several newspaper interviews. So what did I say? In short, don’t believe any government or opposition when they claim they’ll make efficiency savings as a painless way of squaring a public spending circle. Continue reading “What Did You Do in the Efficiency Wars, Daddy?” →

NHS Efficiency Target: Confusion Reigns

Confusion reigns in government over what the efficiency targets are for the NHS.

To recap: in the Budget (para 6.14) it says that by 2013-14 the health service will be making annual efficiency savings of between £15bn and £20bn – that is roughly 15% to 20% of their entire spending.

Just before a hearing of the Treasury Select Committee on Monday (29th March) I talked to Robert Chote, head of the IFS and a fellow witness to the committee. We agreed this had to be an error and the £15-£20bn must be a cumulative figure over the next four years. Continue reading “NHS Efficiency Target: Confusion Reigns” →

Budget, What Budget?

This must be the most non-Budget in British history. No significant changes to taxation, or spending, over those already announced in the Pre Budget Report last autumn. Continue reading “Budget, What Budget?” →

Is the Future Scary?

We took my 5 year-old son to see a ‘Horrid Henry’ show after Christmas. At one point in the production Horrid Henry is trying to convince his little brother Peter Perfect that he’s been to the future. “What’s the future like?” asks Peter. As Henry appears stumped for an answer, my son shouts out “scary” and gets one of the best laughs of the show. (I’m not sure whether to be proud or hide under the seat). Continue reading “Is the Future Scary?” →

Lord make me chaste, but not yet

The central message of yesterday’s PBR was that we need to put the national finances in order, but not quite yet – in fact not for quite a long time. That does not mean there will not be severe cuts in public spending – there will be. It’s just that they will be severe rather than apocalyptic. With health, education and policing protected other areas will be hit all the harder. Local government especially will probably face between 15-20% cumulative cuts over the next four years. Continue reading “Lord make me chaste, but not yet” →

Recessions Come and Go

Don’t dismantle the public domain because of this latest one…. see my article in today’s Guardian.

See also my brief comment on George Osborne’s ‘cull’ of Whitehall in todays Financial Times.

Cuts – still a phoney war with more heat than light

At last Gordon Brown has uttered the “c” word – cuts. Although everyone knows that some level of cutback in public spending is going to be necessary, all attention has focused on the “will he, won’t he” question of whether the Prime Minister would use the ‘cuts’ word. Continue reading “Cuts – still a phoney war with more heat than light” →

Transparency? Let’s start with spending

[Feature in Public Servant]

Just how transparent and open can our political parties claim to be when they have yet to come clean about their tax and spend proposals? Colin Talbot argues for some honest answers before an election

Transparency seems to be the current “in” word in British politics. And yet we could be heading for a general election in which the two main parties are going to be the most opaque about the crucial issues of “tax and spend” that they have been for decades. READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE