The U.K. Treasury is poised to set out day-to-day spending and investment plans for all government departments on Wednesday, with markets and voters watching where budget cuts could fall.
In its ‘Spending Review,’ the Labour government will set out how public money will be allocated over the next three to four years, ranging from spending on public services like schools and police to welfare budgets and investments in energy, infrastructure, science and tech projects that can drive economic growth.
The review covers resource spending — the government’s day-to-day running and administration costs — as well as capital expenditure, which goes toward improving infrastructure and public services such as new roads, hospitals and military equipment.
Now, U.K. watchers are waiting to see where the axe falls when it comes to individual government department budgets, and which ones get a windfall or are constrained. The government has already committed to higher spending on defense, transport and health, but cuts are expected elsewhere.
Departments overseeing policing, affordable housing, the environment and local government reportedly faced funding squeezes, making for awkward negotiations in recent weeks between U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and various government ministers as they looked for bigger budgets from the Treasury.
