The recent consultation to changes in the Minimum Revenue Provision regime in England has now closed and has prompted criticism of some of the more extreme approaches taken by local authorities in...
High inflation is set to push the cost of servicing government debt to twice the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast in October, the fiscal watchdog said in its outlook accompanying the...
The Northern Irish government is set to increase focus on healthcare spending in the 2022-23 draft budget, impacting on other departmental funding, including local government.
Local government fared better than many expected in Wednesday’s Budget and Spending Review – but a closer look reveals the sector is still likely to face funding pressures.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a new set of fiscal rules in his second Budget, in a bid to reduce the public debt after the huge level of borrowing undertaken in response to Covid-19.
The joint Spending Review and Autumn Budget pledged real-terms funding increases for each central government department. PF rounds-up where that money is heading.
The government’s “arbitrary” fiscal rules are not fit for purpose and should be replaced by a more flexible framework, according to a leading research institute.
Departmental spending reductions implied by the Budget are more severe than first thought, and could see funding 8% lower than pre-Covid plans in some areas, according to the Institute for Fiscal...
The government’s newly published methodology to allocate money from its Levelling Up Fund favours wealthier rural councils over poorer urban areas, according to critics.
Some deprived areas risk missing out on ‘levelling up’ money because of eligibility criteria, raising questions over the methodology, which put ministers’ seats in priority positions for funding.
Rishi Sunak's plans rely on an optimistic vision of the future and implausible spending targets, say Institute for Fiscal Studies research economists Ben Zaranko and Isabel Stockton.
Despite some significant gaps, the 2021 Budget provides a good balance between growth and resilience – and crucially allows leeway for further fiscal intervention later this year, says Jeffrey Matsu.
Rishi Sunak has once again announced billions of pounds of spending as the government attempts to tackle the economic crisis caused by Covid-19, but has drawn criticism for failing to adequately...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced planned tax measures – phased in over the next four years – which will see the UK’s tax burden rise to the highest level since the late 1960s.
Covid-19 has reversed the normal fiscal cycle between elections, bringing a spending splurge at the beginning of this Parliament – Dan Corry wonders whether announcements on future tax rises in the...
A new Treasury campus in Darlington, the location of eight ‘freeports’ and details of how local authorities can bid for a £4.8bn infrastructure fund are among a series of Budget measures aimed at ‘...
The 2021 Budget will see the launch of the UK’s first green bond, more post-Covid-19 support and a new anti-fraud agency– PF rounds up what announcements the chancellor has in store.
A rise in corporation tax and extensions to the Universal Credit uplift and furlough scheme are among potential government Budget moves being reported in the national press. PF rounds up the rumours.
