IFS Green Budget 2020: Challenges for the Spending Review and levelling up

Chancellor Rishi Sunak faces a difficult balancing act at this year’s Spending Review. Major public spending decisions will be made amidst the ongoing fallout from COVID-19, with the end of the Brexit transition period looming on the horizon, and with great pressure for austerity to be brought to a decisive end. The Spending Review is also a natural point to lay out the beginnings of a coherent ‘levelling up’ agenda. What can we expect for public services? Which areas might the government target for ‘levelling up’, and how? How might COVID-19 and Brexit complicate the picture?

At this event, IFS researchers presented the findings of two chapters of the 2020 IFS Green Budget, addressing the big questions around the 2020 Spending Review and ‘levelling up’. You can watch the video of the event below, or download the presentations on the Spending Review here and levelling up here.

This event is part of a series of events launching the 2020 IFS Green Budget, in association with Citi and with funding from the Nuffield Foundation. Find out more here.