Public expenditure crisis: no cash for decrepit schools, jails – or NHS
As pensions soak up ever larger sums, other areas of the budget face harsh cuts. Our specialist correspondents Guardian) analyse the impact on some specific areas
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/03/public-expenditure-crisis-no-cash-nhsThe Guardian has trawled government data on public expenditure to build a comprehensive picture of what taxpayers' money is spent on.
It reveals huge cuts taking place across departments as austerity measures take effect, even in supposedly protected areas such as health. Public spending in 2011-12 was £694.89bn – compared with £689.63bn in 2010-11. That may look like an increase but once inflation is taken into account, it works out as a real-terms cut of 1.58%, or £10.8bn.
