Chancellor George Osborne yesterday announced the government’s spending review and budgetary plans for 2015/16. Here are the main points:
Overall Spending
- Government spending to total £745bn
- £11.5bn of further cuts required under the government’s austerity plans
Public Sector Pay
- 1% cap on public sector pay rises
- Automatic progression pay to be ended in civil service, schools, hospitals, prisons and the police
Welfare
- New cap on elements of welfare spending including housing benefit, tax credits, and disability living allowance
- Pensioners living in certain warmer EU countries to lose winter fuel allowance
- Work and pensions resource budget cut by 9.5%
Local Government
- 10% cut in resource budget
- £3bn capital spending on building new houses
- £200m extra for “troubled families initiative”
- Council tax bills in England frozen until 16
Culture, Media and Sport
- 7% cut in resource budget
- 5% cut to budgets for museums and arts organisations
Defence
- Resource budget frozen at £24bn
- Civilian positions to be cut, but no reduction in armed forces personnel
Police and Justice
- Police budget cut be “less than 6%”
- 6% cut to Home Office resource budget
- 10% cut to Justice resource budget
- Prison costs reduced by £180m
- Court costs reduced by £200m
Intelligece and Counter Terrorism
- 3.4% increase in combined budget for intelligence agencies
Transport
- 9% cut in resource budget
- Increase in capital spending to £9.5bn
Business, Skills and Universities
- 6% cut to resource budget/li>
- Student maintenance grants frozen
- More money for apprenticeships
- 9% increase to capital spending
- Science budget frozen at £4.6bn
- £2bn growth fund for local enterprise partnerships
Education
- Resource budget to rise to £53bn
- Budget for schools in England protected
- Money for 180 new free schools
Health
- NHS budget in England to rise by 0.01% to £110bn
- Rise in capital spending to £4.7bn
- £3bn for social care in joint plan between NHS and councils
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- 10% budget cut in departmental spending
Energy
- 8% cut in resource budget
- Guarantees for new nuclear plants
- Tax incentives for shale gas drilling
Foreign Office
- 8% cut in Foreign Office resource budget
- International development budget rises by £809m to £11.1bn
Infrastructure
- £50bn investment in new projects
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales
- 2% cut in grants to devolved administrations
- Additional capital investment powers to devolved administrations
- 10% cut to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Offices
Cabinet Office
- 10% cut in resource budgets
