Spending Review - What It Means To You

The Spending Review was the single most radical shake up in recent years in politics. but all the theatrics and bleating from within the walls of parliament aside, what does all these big budget cuts mean for us young people? in this blog we will pick some of the key sectors that we at Evolution NOW think will effect you.

And even show you the silver lining...

The Proposed Cuts will take place over the next 10 years and total to the amount of £81 Billion.


Communities and local government - Current Budget: £28.5 Billion - Cut: £6 Billion

Local councils are being urged By Eric Pickles to merge services and streamline buying of goods. Provisionally this means less digging up of roads and local improvements - but this could mean when the winter has passed this year, given last years deep freeze, we could be stuck with severely damaged roads and walkways but no money to repair them.

Culture, Media and Sport - Current Budget: £1.4 Billion - Cut: £0.2 Billion

These cuts are mainly going do be administrative promises the Secretary of State for culture, Jeremy Hunt. How will this effect London 2012 games? not at all as this budget will be maintained to ensure a successful delivery.

Education -Current Budget: £58.4 Billion - Cut: £1.2 Billion

Michael Gove's budget maybe going down but he is considered a winner for protecting the budget for schools which will help disadvantaged children. But ultimately, will cutting back on education hurt the economy in the long run as tuition fees are set to rise?

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Current Budget: £2.9 Billion - Cut: £0.7 Billion

Considered one of the biggest losers in all the cuts, Caroline Spelman is forced to re-prioritise spending, focusing on British farming and food production. Could these cuts spell the end of British made products such as those advertised by Morrisons?

Energy and Climate Change - Current Budget: £2.9 Billion - Rise: £0.8 Billion

Chris Huhne Is one of the few who see a rise in his spending over the next four years. This is to ensure as a country we stay on course to cut greenhouse gasses and raise our usage of renewable energy sources. With renewable energy, this will eventually mean lower energy bills for us all.

Health - Current Budget: £103.8 Billion - Rise: £10.6 Billion

Andrew Lansley Benefited hugely from the Tory pledge to raise the NHS budget. The Secretary of State for health will see a rise of £2 Billion per year leading up to 2014/15, whilst a £200 Million cancer drugs fund will be set up. No matter how severe cuts elsewhere are, the NHS is still at the forefront of the coalitions thoughts and this is great news.

Transport - Current Budget: £12.8 Billion - Cuts: £0.8 Billion

Phil Hammond Maintains that bus travel for the elderly will remain free. That's the only good news here as in 2012 - train fares are set to rise 3% above the rate of inflation to pay for the improvements and help ease overcrowding, which will become commonplace as the Olympics comes to town.

This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg as fares will already become even more expensive, a single fare on a bus set to rise to a whopping £2.20. All these new fares - are they fair?

Other Good Spending Notes:

- Council tax is also set to be frozen for two years

- BBC TV License is set to be frozen for SIX years

-Free Museum entry protected

So when you're broke in less than two years time, you can always hire one of Boris' bikes and go to a museum...

By Lem Leon

Project Manager