Budget 2004 Summary Leaflet | High quality public services

			Budget 2004 Summary Prudence for a purpose: A Britain of stability and strength


Homepage Key Budget measures include Maintaining a stable economy High quality public services	Productivity and enterprise in a flexible economy Employment opportunity for all Building a fairer society Protecting the environment	Household income Where taxpayers' money is spent Further information Visit HM Treasury Site

The Government is committed to providing new investment in Britain's public services. Spending on public services will be £61 billion higher by 2005-06 compared with 2002-03. Over 75 per cent of this increase will go on the Government's priorities of health, education, transport, housing and the fight against crime.

To reflect the high priority the Government attaches to education, the Budget announces that education spending will grow by 4.4 per cent a year, on average, from 2004-05 to 2007-08. UK education spending will be £8.5 billion higher in 2007-08 than in 2005-06. This will ensure that recent progress in raising educational standards and achievement is sustained and that new challenges can be addressed over the coming years.

chart indicating health and education spending

The Government will set out spending plans for other public services up to 2007-08 in the 2004 Spending Review this summer. The growth rate of public spending will be lower in the 2004 Spending Review than in the previous Spending Review. The Government is determined to secure value for money for the taxpayer and to match extra resources with reforms across the public services to deliver better results. The Budget sets out plans to achieve efficiency gains across the public sector of 2.5 per cent a year, including through a freeze in administration costs, and reductions in staff levels in several major departments. This will release resources for front line services.