In 2009-10, public expenditure rose to 48 per cent of GDP whilst income fell to 37 per cent, resulting in the largest deficit in Britain's peacetime history. This Spending Review sets out how the Coalition Government will carry out its deficit reduction plan. Particular focus has been given to reducing welfare costs and wasteful spending. This has enabled the Coalition Government to prioritise the NHS, schools, early years' provision and the capital investments designed to support long term economic growth. Departmental budgets other than health and overseas aid will be cut by an average of 19 per cent over four years. Key areas of Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) in addition to Departmental Expenditure Limits (DELs) for each government department and for the devolved administrations are covered. The Review sets out departmental spending plans for the four years until 2014-15 and further savings and reforms to welfare, environmental levies and public service pensions. The Review protects high value transport maintenance and investment, maintains the science budget, invests in apprenticeships and the low carbon economy and allows universities to increase fees from the 2012-13 academic year. Fundamental reforms will simplify the welfare system and make net savings of �7 billion a year. Social housing will be reformed and social care will receive an additional �2 billion by 2014-15. Public service reform underpins the Review: decentralisation of power; cutting burdens and regulations on front-line staff; improving transparency, efficiency and accountability of local services. Local government will have greater freedom but must work within reduced allocations. Public sector pensions will be reformed in line with Lord Hutton's recommendations. Central government administration costs will be cut by 34 per cent by 2014-15. Government departments will produce business plans later in 2010 detailing reform plans and priorities.

The police service in England and Wales is facing major challenges in its financing, political oversight and reorganisation of its structures. Current economic conditions have created a wholly new environment whereby cost saving is permitting hitherto unthinkable changes in the style and means of delivery of policing services. In the context of these proposed changes Lord Stevens, formerly Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service was asked to chair an Independent Commission looking into the future of policing. The Commission has a wide ranging remit and the papers in this book offer up-to-date analysis of contemporary problems from the novel perspective of developing a reform agenda to assist the Commission. Bringing together contributions from both key academic thinkers and police professionals, this book discusses new policing paradigms, lays out a case for an evidence-based practice approach and draws attention to developing areas such as terrorism, public order and hate crime. Policing is too important to be left to politicians, as the health of a democracy may be judged by the relationship between the police and the public. The aim of this book is to question and present analyses of problems offer new ideas and propose realistically achievable solutions without being so timid as to preserve the status quo. It will be of interest to both academics and students in the fields of criminology and policing studies, as well as professionals in the policing service, NGOs and local authority organisations.

The Spending Review 2010 published as Cm. 7942 (ISBN 9780101794220)

This report is in five main sections: overall spending issues; efficiency and value for money; the new performance management framework; child poverty; and individual spending settlements. The planned rate of growth of public spending is set to be considerably slower than the rate of growth of recent years. This could lead to cost pressures on departmental spending as there will be a greater proportional growth in the Annual Managed Expenditure. There will also be cost pressures from public sector wage settlements, population growth and needs in particular sectors. The efficiency programmes are highly ambitious but the Committee recommends that savings should only be recorded if it could be shown that service standards have been maintained. There is a welcome for the decision not to impose explicit targets for reduction in Civil Service numbers. On child poverty the Committee note a possible tension between the target to halve child poverty by 2010-11 and that of eliminating child poverty by 2020. There is a concern that the Government has drawn back from a whole-hearted commitment to meet the 2010 target. They want the Government to either initiate a debate on the trade-off between the two targets or rededicate itself to the 2010-11 target, making it clear that the resources are available within the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Enthusiasts look forward to a time when tiny machines reassemble matter and process information but is their vision realistic? 'Soft Machines' explains why the nanoworld is so different to the macro-world that we are all familar with and shows how it has more in common with biology than conventional engineering.