Planning and controlling public expenditure in the UK, Part 1: the treasury's public expenditure survey
The Treasury's annual survey of public expenditure is the central element in planning and controlling public expenditure. While its purpose rremains similar to that in the 1970s, the principles governing its preparation, the methodology employed and the conduct of negotiations between the Treasury and the departments have changed with successive attempts to control both the total and programme allocations more effectively. This article examines and explains the process of preparing the survey, through the main stages from the decisions about the size of total public spending in the context of the government's macroeconomic strategy to the announcement in the Autumn Statement of the planned totals and allocat