Chancellor George Osborne
unveiled his Spending Review on 20
October, setting out £81 billion in cuts
over the next four years. Key points
included:
- about 490,000 public sector jobs are
likely to be lost
- there will be average 19 per cent
four-year cut in government departmental
budgets
- local authority funding will be down
by an average 7.25 per cent for each of
the next four years
- the structural deficit is to be
eliminated by 2015
- there will be £7 billion in
additional welfare budget cuts
- police funding is to be cut by four
per cent a year
- the English schools budget is to be
protected
- there will be £2 billion extra for
social care
- the NHS budget in England is to rise
every year until 2015
- the bank levy is to be made
permanent.
The review also included a range of
measures designed to support business and
enterprise. These included:
Adult apprenticeships
Spending on new adult apprenticeships
will be increased by £250 million a year
by 2014-15.
Transport infrastructure
There will be significant investment in
local and regional transport
infrastructure including £14 billion of
funding to Network Rail to support
maintenance and investment; over £10
billion for maintenance and investment in
key road and local transport schemes;
Crossrail to go ahead; and £6 billion of
capital expenditure for the London
Underground network.
Low carbon economy
Measures will be introduced to
encourage businesses to move to a low
carbon economy, with £1 billion of funding
to capitalise a UK-wide Green Investment
Bank to fund low-carbon infrastructure and
technologies.
Broadband
The government will incentivise the
roll-out of broadband into areas where the
private sector would not otherwise reach.
Regional growth
The Regional Growth Fund has been
increased to £1.4 billion, up from the £1
billion announced in the June Budget.
Local Enterprise Partnerships will provide
strategic leadership in their areas, with
further details to come.
LINK:
The Spending Review |
