What is austerity and where could 'eye-watering' cuts fall now?

Billions of pounds worthy of cuts to nationalist spending are expected to beryllium announced by the Conservative authorities connected 17 November successful what volition beryllium seen arsenic a caller play of austerity.

In 2010, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat conjugation authorities embarked connected a programme of heavy spending cuts and taxation increases.

It was aimed astatine reducing the country's monolithic shortage - wherever it was spending overmuch much wealth than it was raising successful taxes - aft it bailed retired banks during the 2008 fiscal crisis.

As a result, galore departments inactive person little spending powerfulness present than they had earlier 2010.

The government's priorities meant that health, pensions and, until recently, overseas assistance had much money, portion spending connected defence, acquisition and nationalist bid fell.

Government spending arsenic a full is beneath the level it was successful 2009-10 arsenic a proportionality of the size of the economy.

So, is determination country for further cuts?

By Nick Triggle, wellness correspondent

An ageing colonisation and rising request mean wellness is 1 of the biggest recipients of authorities spending. In England, the yearly fund is astir £168bn oregon much than 40p successful each £1 the authorities spends.

It was 1 of the fewer areas to flight cuts during the austerity years. Before 2010, the NHS fund roseate by astir 4% a twelvemonth erstwhile ostentation is taken into account. Under austerity, rises were constricted to 1.6%.

Performance deteriorated arsenic savings were made, with waiting times increasing - a occupation worsened by Covid.

Nearly fractional of the NHS fund goes connected salaries - but determination are important unit shortages, with 1 successful 10 posts vacant.

NHS bureaucracy could beryllium a target, but probe by the King's Fund suggests determination is not overmuch near to trim.

Some judge the solution whitethorn prevarication successful rethinking what the NHS is for - questioning whether, for example, truthful overmuch should beryllium spent connected treating earnestly sick patients who are adjacent to death.

Rationing attraction though is politically precise difficult.

By Alison Holt, societal affairs editor

Councils, which money the bulk of enactment for radical successful their ain homes and successful attraction homes, were peculiarly hard-hit during austerity.

According to the King's Fund deliberation tank, real presumption spending connected attraction per caput of the big colonisation fell from £593 a twelvemonth successful 2010-11 to £585 successful 2020/21.

An ageing colonisation and much radical surviving with analyzable wellness issues mean request for enactment is increasing.

However, debased wage and zero-hours contracts marque it hard to enlistee staff. Add successful post-pandemic burn-out and the cost-of-living situation and you person a assemblage connected its knees. More than fractional a cardinal radical are waiting for assembly attraction services and determination are 165,000 vacancies for attraction staff - some caller records.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has antecedently campaigned for further attraction funding, truthful immoderate determination to chopped wealth present is apt to beryllium greeted with choler and dismay.

One enactment whitethorn beryllium to hold existing plans to present an £86,000 headdress successful England connected people's beingness attraction costs. The authorities has allocated £5.4bn to present this reform, which is owed to commencement successful October 2023.

By Kate McGough, acquisition reporter

After a decennary of spending cuts successful schools, ministers had promised to reconstruct per pupil backing levels to what they were successful 2010 by the extremity of the existent Parliament.

But the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) deliberation vessel said recently that spending per pupil successful England is inactive expected to beryllium 3% little than 2010 levels by 2024-25.

During the austerity years, teachers' wage was taxable to freezes and caps. In effect to the cost-of-living crisis, the authorities has promised a 5% wage emergence for experienced teachers. But, adjacent factoring this in, the IFS estimates that the worth of their wage - aft adjusting for rising prices - will person fallen by 14% betwixt 2010 and 2023.

The 5% emergence volition besides beryllium funded from existing schoolhouse budgets, which 1 national has said are already "at breaking point".

Staff shortages mean that schools are spending much connected proviso teachers. And they are besides having to header with higher vigor costs, with authorities assistance lone assured until April 2023.

Parents and pupils volition consciousness the knock-on interaction of the pressures schools are facing, with schoolhouse trips and euphony lessons among the things heads are considering axing successful bid to debar cutting staff.

By James Landale, diplomatic correspondent

The UK spends astir £48bn a twelvemonth connected defence. That is astir 2% of the size of the economy, which meets the people of defence spending required by the Nato subject alliance.

Ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss promised to summation defence spending to 2.5% by 2026 and 3% by 2030. We bash not cognize whether Rishi Sunak volition perpetrate to this.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said other wealth is needed to summation the size of the army, put successful artillery batteries, physics warfare and anti-drone capabilities, arsenic good arsenic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Any cuts would mean little wealth for those areas. Even if defence spending does increase, the wealth volition spell little acold due to the fact that the lb is presently anemic and truthful overmuch subject kit is priced successful dollars.

There is besides Ukraine. Whatever the effect of the existent war, the UK volition astir apt person to usage its defence fund successful the aboriginal to assistance springiness Ukraine the subject enactment it needs to deter aboriginal threats from Russia.

By Michael Buchanan, societal affairs correspondent

The payment fund has seen immense changes and large cuts since 2010.

It is inactive important - astir £88bn for working-age benefits. That is astir doubly what the state spends connected defence, but fractional of wellness spending.

Much of that measure is spent addressing long-standing problems - topping up low-paid workers, helping families header with soaring lodging costs, oregon supporting radical who are sick oregon disabled.

Working property benefits are present 7.5% little - aft adjusting for rising prices - than successful 2009. They person failed to support gait with prices successful 9 of the past 12 years.

Welfare changes and cuts person been the biggest contributory origin to the detonation successful nutrient banks implicit the past decade, according to the Trussell Trust.

One country of payment spending that has grown massively successful caller years is fraud. More than £5.5bn, oregon 13% of full spending connected cosmopolitan credit, was paid fraudulently past year.

Cutting that is already a authorities focus, and the Treasury is understood to beryllium looking astatine making further inroads. But realising those savings cannot beryllium guaranteed.

By Mark Easton, location editor

The large wealth successful this assemblage goes connected lodging payment - much than £20bn a twelvemonth - which subsidises rents for some backstage and societal lodging tenants connected debased incomes.

The authorities is already looking to chopped the lodging payment bill, by changing entitlement criteria and capping increases successful societal rents.

The erstwhile would deed immoderate of the poorest households and the second would deed the income of lodging associations and councils.

It warns this volition mean little wealth for maintenance, repairs and caller homes. Some fearfulness it would besides undermine concern successful vigor ratio and information measures.

There are besides large superior programmes, £11.5bn implicit 5 years for desperately needed affordable lodging successful England, and £1.4bn a twelvemonth for societal lodging decarbonisation, a cardinal portion of the government's Net Zero strategy.

However, it is apt the chancellor volition beryllium looking for contiguous savings from regular expenditure, and it is hard to spot galore opportunities that volition not interaction connected the astir susceptible households oregon connected the housebuilding programme.

By Dominic Casciani, location and ineligible correspondent

In 2010, the Conservative-led authorities slashed spending crossed the transgression justness system.

That year, constabulary spot successful England and Wales was a grounds 143,000. By 2019, 20,000 officers had been chopped and numbers were little than for 30 years.

There are plans to enlistee 20,000 caller officers and - to day - astir 15,300 person been appointed.

Extra officers should mean much criminals successful court.

But since 2010, the authorities has closed 244 courts - 171 of which dealt with crime. A headdress connected the fig of judges moving near courtrooms locked. And the backlog worsened erstwhile Covid closed courts completely.

There is present a grounds of astir 61,000 outstanding cases - with victims, witnesses and defendants waiting 2 years oregon much for trials to begin. Many lawyers discontinue transgression enactment due to the fact that of debased wage for publically funded defence work.

The challenges successful prisons person besides worsened, with the fig of offenders awaiting proceedings astatine a 14-year high. They are incapable to restart their lives, oregon statesman rehabilitation aft sentencing

Judges could beryllium forced by instrumentality to merchandise immoderate suspects into the community, if proceedings waiting times bash not rapidly improve.

About 16% of situation officers are quitting annually and sickness rates are astatine a precocious - the main crushed being intelligence sick health.

By Justin Rowlatt, clime exertion

There are a fewer imaginable savings that could beryllium made by reducing the already comparatively paltry subsidies the authorities offers for home insulation and different vigor ratio measures.

The dilemma the authorities faces is that galore of these schemes volition really trim vigor costs successful the future. Cutting them would besides adhd to the hazard of the authorities failing to conscionable its legally-binding clime targets.

One casual accidental to prevention wealth is launching a nationalist accusation run to promote america each to prevention energy. The EU has a people of cutting state depletion by 15% and energy usage by 10%.

If a UK run achieved that it could trim the authorities backing needed for the vigor terms cap.

This portion volition beryllium updated erstwhile determination are details of the spending cuts.