Spending Review 2010

HC 544-I, Sixth Report of Session 2010-11 - Volume I: Report, Together with Formal Minutes

Author:: House of Commons - Treasury Committee
Publisher:: TSO (The Stationery Office)

Price: £12.00

'Spending Review 2010 (HC 544-I)' provides cross-party commentary on the Government's 'Spending Review 2010 (Cm. 7942)' which will shape public policy for the coming Parliament.

Scrutiny of the Government's consolidation reform plans will be one of the Treasury Committee's key tasks over the entire course of the Parliament, and it expects to conduct regular enquiries into the Government's fiscal and expenditure planning, and the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecasts.

This Report examines some of the key spending decisions. It concludes that although ring-fencing might fulfil electoral promises, it could also lead to allocative problems across government as a whole, and reduce scrutiny of the efficiency of ring-fenced departments.

The Committee examines the allocation of the defence budget at some length and is particularly concerned by the aircraft carrier contract with British Aerospace Engineering (BAE), both in itself and, as a symptom of wider difficulties in controlling the defence budget.

The Treasury's willingness to increase its distributional analysis is welcomed. The Committee analyses the differences between the Treasury work and that done by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), and calls on the Treasury to consider whether it can adopt some of the IFS's proposals. It also recommends that the calculation underpinning the analysis should be published, to provide transparency and encourage debate.

The report notes the difference between "progressive", a technical economic term, and "fair".

Extent	56 pages	ISBN	9780215555410
Size	A4	Price	£12.00
Format	Paperback	Published	26 Nov 2010
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges