Despite the government's rhetoric about rising public sector investment, it is not actually happening. Even now, when large sums of money are available, departments are failing to spend their allocation.
Public sector investment was weaker during Labour's first term than in any other five-year period since the Second World War. Chancellor Gordon Brown has promised to invest more, but capital spending has consistently fallen short of his targets. In last April's Budget, he announced an øbn increase in tax to finance sustained increases in public spending that he hopes will help deliver `world-class public services'. These increases are certainly substantial. In fact, in the case of the NHS, they imply the largest sustained rise in spending on record.
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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