Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (67311)	10/21/2010 2:24:50 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 218847

UK unveils $130b spending cuts By Daniel Pimlott and Chris Giles Finance Minister (Chancellor) George Osborne on Wednesday ushered in an era of public sector austerity, outlining plans for £83b ($130b) by 2014-15 in cuts to government spending in his long awaited comprehensive spending review. The chancellor said that “today is the day where Britain steps back from the brink ... It is a hard road but it leads to a better future.” Osborne said he was committed to supporting spending in healthcare, education, security and infrastructure. But he promised to cut the waste in the welfare system. “Tackling the Budget deficit is unavoidable ... To back down now and abandon our plans would be the road to economic ruin.” He has unveiled dramatic cuts to some of the key government departments. Local government will suffer cuts of nearly 30 per cent by the end of the parliament, while the home office, justice department and foreign office will see cuts of 24 per cent. Additionally, the police force will see cuts of 16 per cent. The department for business, innovation and skills will face cuts of 7.1 per cent a year, or nearly 30 per cent over 4 years. But the science budget will be protected at £4.6bn a year. Overseas development spending will reach 0.7 per cent of GDP by 2013, honoring the government’s commitment in the Budget. The department for energy will see cuts of 20 per cent, but will have money for nuclear decommissioning. Defra will also face cuts of nearly 30 per cent. The department for culture will see its administration costs cut by 41 per cent. There will be a 15 per cent reduction in spending on museums, arts and sport. But infrastructure spending will be £2bn higher, reversing cuts announced in the June emergency Budget, overseas development will rise in real terms, and social care will see extra funds. Osborne insisted that the government’s levy on banks balance sheets would raise more each year than the bankers’ bonus tax, introduced by Labour, raised last year – £3.5bn in gross terms, or about £2bn net of other lost national insurance and other revenues. He confirmed that the government was raising the state pension age to 66 from 2020, starting in the 2018, meaning an acceleration in the ongoing rise in women’s state pension age. The government will introduce additional savings of £1.8bn by 2014-15 from the cost of public sector pensions, in addition to the outstanding plans, acheived by raising contributions. Social housing will see new tenants pay rents at 80 per cent of market rates, up from 50 per cent previously, and the chancellor promised another 150,000 affordable homes over the next four years. But social care will receive a boost of £1bn by 2014/15 and a further £1bn through funding via the NHS. Osborne confirmed that about 490,000 jobs will be lost in the public sector by 2014/15. But he said that the job losses were “unavoidable when the government runs out of money.” Cuts in benefits will save an additional £7bn a year, on top of the £11bn announced in savings at the Budget. This will include freezing the maximum pension credit for four years, hitting poor pensioners. There will also be a cap on the maximum benefits paid to families. NHS spending will rise in real terms, up from £104bn to £114bn in 2014/15 – roughly matching the rise in prices expected as a result of inflation. By 2014 the government aims to save £20bn a year from efficiencies, but the money will be reinvested in healthcare. On Tuesday cuts of 8 per cent to the defense budget were laid out separately in the strategic defense review. The Ministry of Defense and the armed forces are facing cuts of 42,000 jobs by 2015. The license fee will be frozen for six years to keep the cost cuts within the BBC, and the total savings amount to 16 per cent of the BBC’s funding. There will be a real increase in money for schools for each of the next four years and cash funding per pupil will not fall. The schools Budget will increase from £35bn to £39bn over the period. Critics have argued that the government will not be able to deliver the “progressive” cuts that Osborne has promised because cutting public services inevitably hits the poor harder because they are more reliant on the public purse. (Source: The Financial Times) Photo: George Osborne, chancellor, outlines the government’s spending plans to parliament