Everything you’ll want to know about Spending Review 2015

Following the Summer Budget announced on 8 July, Chancellor George Osborne has announced the first step in the upcoming Spending Review 2015.

The Spending Review will be published in full on 25 November, however before then public sector departments will be asked to examine their processes, explain their expenditure and, in some cases, streamline their activities in order to meet the Government’s Budget aspirations.

This blog from Tracker looks at the upcoming Spending Review in detail to give your business a head start in preparing for the changes before they come into effect in November.

What is the Spending Review?

The Spending Review sets out how the Government will invest in public services and deliver the £20 billion further savings required to eliminate Britain’s deficit by 2019-20, as outlined in the Summer Budget.

What’s expected?

In the report A country that lives within its means: Spending Review 2015, the Chancellor unveiled the Government’s priorities for the 2015 Review.

Areas of public expenditure which will be protected, or in some cases enhanced, are health, defence, schools, international development and the Government’s commitment to invest £100bn in UK infrastructure.

It is also expected that the review will develop a programme of asset sales, with departments being asked to offload land and buildings in an effort to help the government achieve its target of identifying appropriate land for renovation and development.

However, other, non-protected departments will be asked to outline two scenarios, one with savings of 25% and another with savings of 40% from their current budgets.

How will it impact you?

If the Budget set out the Government’s destination for the next Parliament, the Spending Review is the roadmap the country will follow to get there.

For businesses across the UK, it will be crucial for you to understand which departments may grow, which budgets may tighten, and where the opportunities may lie as a result.

For example, as a result of the plans for departments to sell land and building assets, the Government will have more opportunity to develop infrastructure and house building projects on these sites. As a result, construction firms could end up benefitting from major new opportunities to construct new homes and villages to help the Government meet its target of building 150,000 houses in this parliament.

In addition, firms involved with the MOD and related industries will be glad to hear of the Chancellor’s commitment to spend 2% of UK GDP on defence, expected to reach around £45bn.

Another interesting outcome of the Spending Review will be in devolution.

In order to make savings at a national level, the Chancellor plans to devolve more decision making powers locally, meaning more projects will be developed at council level, resulting in small projects which will appeal to a wider proportion of business.

Mr Osborne said:

“We’ll invest in our priorities like the NHS and national security. Elsewhere in government, departments will have to find significant savings through efficiencies and by devolving power, so people have a greater say over the issues that affect them and their communities. We’ll deliver more with less.”

What to do next

As some departments across the UK begin to transform their processes in order to meet the demands of the Spending Review 2015, it will be important for businesses to be able to adapt with the changes in order to remain competitive.

If departments grow, it will mean more opportunities for businesses like yours. If Budgets tighten, it will be more important than ever that your firm has first sight of opportunities as soon as they become available.

That’s why Tracker is proud to give you more opportunities, intelligence and support than anyone else.

We hold Europe’s largest database of contracts information and intelligence as well as the UK’s only aggregated database of public sector spend.

It really is the most effective way of winning business in a constantly shifting economic and political landscape.

To experience the Tracker difference for yourself, try it for free.