More spending cuts on the way if coalition is to meet savings targets

Green Politics

If the coalition is to meet its spending targets it will have to make further cuts to departmental budgets.

Public sector job losses could be significantly more than one million, according to a report published yesterday by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Due to the government’s failure to hit its savings targets, job losses in the public sector could be 300,000 higher by the end of 2017/18 than predicted, according to the IFS’s annual analysis of the government’s spending plans.

Within the IFS’s report, however, was also contained the prediction that, if the government continues to ring-fence the NHS budget, overseas aid and schools, spending cuts will need to be significantly more severe if the coalition is to meet the targets of its fiscal consolidation plan.

As things stand, just to keep his current savings plan on track, George Osborne will need to make much larger cuts to departmental budgets than he originally intended.

As we can see from the graphs below, the bar on the left represents what the government intends to cut while the bar on the right represents what the government will need to cut unless it reconsiders its policy of ring-fencing select budgets or increases government revenue through tax rises.

As the report phrases it:

“If such further cuts to departmental spending are not possible without a decline in the quality or quantity of public services that is unacceptable to politicians or to voters, then higher borrowing, further tax increases or social security spending cuts – perhaps after the next general election – must be on the cards.”

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132 Responses to “More spending cuts on the way if coalition is to meet savings targets”

  1. Newsbot9

    Yes, this case is indeed the tip of the iceberg of your stereotyping. Gotta justify your genocide somehow.

  2. Newsbot9

    I have part-owned a company with employees, thanks.

    And no, I am not about to throw away my freelancing to bail your indolent backside out.

  3. Absolutely_Passionate

    So being responsible for other peoples livelihoods was too much of a burden, so you decided to go it alone?

  4. Gill

    Wow! Now maybe you could kindly answer the question I actually asked? How would you suggest someone budgets £56.25. ESA is for disabled and sick people so washing cars was the wrong answer!

  5. Absolutely_Passionate

    No Gill, it was your question that was wrong.
    You didn’t mention disability or ESA, did you?

    So if you really want some suggestions, you’ll need to give us the facts, what is your level of disability, what qualifications do you have etc. etc.

Comments are closed.