22 September 2006
The Treasury insisted this week that it has always intended to conduct a cross-government policy review to identify the major challenges facing the UK over the next ten years.
A spokesman for the department, responding to the news that Tony Blair was planning to convene ministerial review groups to determine policy for the next decade in four key areas, said it was already working on these issues in the run-up to next year's Comprehensive Spending Review.
The prime minister wants to set up committees involving ministers at all levels to look at: the future of public services; economic competitiveness; security; and foreign policy. They would report their conclusions by the end of the year.
But the Treasury spokesman said Gordon Brown had launched a programme of work examining the major policy challenges facing the UK in his Budget in March.
He added that a paper setting out the Treasury's latest thinking is set to be published in the next few weeks.
He said: 'This will be used to have a cross-Whitehall debate that will underpin the discussions for the spending review. The CSR will then put us on a footing to address these issues for the long term.'
The CSR process outlined in existing plans would remain the same, the spokesman added.
But Blair's plans, made public last weekend, have been interpreted as an attempt to set the direction of government policy before his anticipated departure next year.
He is expected to use his speech to the Labour Party's annual conference next week to flesh out his thinking on the four areas.
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