The chancellor - whoever that may be in 2007 - will need to conjure up a way of meeting expensive government commitments at the same time as implementing a tight public spending squeeze in the years ahead. Next year's Comprehensive Spending Review could be the first big policy announcement by Gordon Brown's successor as chancellor. The tentative plans for overall spending set out in last week's Pre-Budget Report suggest that this will involve a cut in the share of the economy spent by the government, and a significant slowdown in the rate of growth in priority areas such as education and health.
Authors
Carl Emmerson
Carl, a Deputy Director, is an editor of the IFS Green Budget, is expert on the UK pension system and sits on the Social Security Advisory Committee.
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