How spending plans change

The numbers in 2010’s Spending Review don’t match the numbers of today. Here’s why.

Nick Timothy: Detailed analysis? Strategic planning? Not a bit of it. Let me tell you how a Spending Review really works

They ought to be an important opportunity for the Government to quicken the pace and improve the quality of reform.

What Osborne means when he talks about 30 per cent cuts

Thanks to the divide between capital and resource expenditure, they may not be as harsh as they sound.

Whatever happened to all the gurus?

Last Parliament, the Government seemed to be guided by academics and their books. This Parliament, less so.

Peter Riddell: ‘Better value and better services’ is a fine message but the hard work of the spending review lies ahead

Now Ministers must decide their priorities, and the Treasury must decide the financial constraints. Willing the end is insufficient without getting the detail right.

Will the Government cut the Civil Service down to 380,000 staff?

It’s almost there, but with a little help from re-categorisations.

Securing the Majority 5) Welcome, new Downing Street team. Now get a grip on appointments.

Number 10, Matthew Hancock, the Whips, Ministers themselves: all must ensure that Sir Humphrey’s grip is loosened.

Julian McCrae: Four tests for establishing whether the new Government means to keep its manifesto promises

The appointment of ministers following the election in May 2015 will be a critical indication of whether the necessary political drive is still there.

Heresy of the week: The Cabinet should be bigger not smaller 

Reducing the number of ministers does little in itself to shrink the state – in fact, it may be counter-productive.

Five reasons why Labour can’t be trusted with Whitehall

Maude’s work in delivering serious savings has been crucial and radical – Labour can’t be relied on to continue or preserve that legacy.

Tom Gash: Let’s check the Prime Minister’s power to reshape Whitehall

They should have to show that changes to the civil service’s departmental structures serve the public interest rather than party political or personnel management goals.

The NHS privatisation that Parliament should be discussing

Public spending on health has risen by 344 per cent over the past 30 years. Is it time to look for money from elsewhere?

Fixing Whitehall: The growing consensus about what should happen next

All of the three main parties have frustrations with government. Nick Herbert’s GovernUp is there to help.

How the departments have fared in this Austerity Parliament

Total departmental spending has declined by about 13 per cent. But in some departments it’s been cut by much more.

The Conservative Party should have its own civil service

Individual politicians come and go, but political parties – if they are to democratically control the functions of government – need an institutional memory.