comprehensive spending review Articles

The government’s growing reputation for creative presentation of official numbers and stats continued with today’s budget. In his red book, George Osborne announced £180 million for an additional 50,000 apprenticeship places over the next four years.

Last week, the government unveiled its long-awaited welfare reform agenda. Its flagship proposal is the universal credit – a single income replacement benefit for working age adults. This rundown captures some of the main elements of interest for progressive readers.

So what kind of year will 2011 be? Will Britain get ‘back on its feet’ as the prime minister maintains, or will Ed Miliband be right in claiming that 2011 will be a year of ‘consequences for Britain’, not least for hard-working families? Whatever the truth, we are facing one of the most uncertain years in recent memory. For disabled people in particular, this year could see the beginning of the biggest assault on the welfare state in its history, leaving little to celebrate.

The coalition gave up all right to claim fairness in local communities yesterday as its finance settlement revealed the true picture of the government’s approach to localism.