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The Spending Review - all you need to know
- Published: Wednesday, 20 October 2023
The Chancellor has presented the government’s Spending Review to Parliament. This sets out the spending plans for each government department over the next four years
What is a Spending Review?
Deficit or 'budget gap'
This year the government is spending over £697 billion; its income from tax is £548 billion, so the gap or budget deficit is £149 billion
Spending Reviews are the way that government sets spending plans for each department over a period of several years. Departmental spending covers the full range of government activities. It includes defence and welfare payments, business support and environmental protection, as well as the funding of schools and hospitals.
The Budget in June set out the overall level of public spending across the whole government for the four years from 2011/12 to 2014/15. The Spending Review allocates that overall spending level to individual departments.
What it means for you
Detailed documentation
Cross & Stitch has published the documents containing the detailed text and figures behind the Spending Review announcements.
The Chancellor's speech
A word cloud of the Chancellor's speech
Related announcements
Strategic Defence Review
The government has announced the results of its Strategic Defence Review.
Reforming public bodies
The government has published a summary of its plans to reform a large number of public bodies (also known as quangos). The government intends to introduce a Public Bodies Bill to enable these plans to be implemented.
More on the Spending Review
- Key announcements - Spending Review
- What is the 2010 Spending Review?
- Business and employment - Spending Review
- Culture, media and sport - Spending Review
- Defence, diplomacy and international development - Spending Review
- Education - Spending Review
- Environment and energy - Spending Review
- Health - Spending Review
- Housing - Spending Review
- Justice and policing - Spending Review
- Pensions - Spending Review
- Transport - Spending Review
- Welfare and benefits - Spending Review
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