Health spending, and the performance of the NHS, will feature prominently in the upcoming general election campaign. Many different factors matter for NHS performance and for the wider health of the population, but one important factor is the level of spending on health services. In this IFS...

The last 25 years have seen two periods of public expenditure restraint in the UK (the 1990s and the 2010s) and one period of increased spending (between 2000 and 2010). Over that whole time, the Treasury has been responsible for controlling government spending, setting fiscal rules and the...

Hospitals, schools, councils and other parts of the public sector are a major employer in Scotland. The public sector paybill is also a substantial part of government spending. Recent years have seen larger-than-expected increases in both public sector employment and pay, the latter driven by...

The justice system is an important part of how the government upholds the law and maintains public order, making it a significant area of responsibility. In England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is responsible for funding and overseeing most functions of the justice system, including...

The challenging fiscal situation facing the next government means that both Labour and the Conservatives are looking for ways to improve public services without large increases in spending. Improving the productivity of public services is often proposed as a way to achieve this. This follows the...