Spending Review

Debate between Lord Christopher and Lord Deighton

Wednesday 26th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Deighton]

I agree with my noble friend that managing the public finances responsibly will be a continuing exercise of considerable discipline. On managing current spending, we have introduced the welfare cap on the overall budget as well as the cap on specific benefits that we saw in the previous Budget. Departmental budgets are being managed with discipline. There has also been a real focus on switching from current expenditure to capital expenditure, which should support the enhancement of the productive capacity of the economy and thus help us with tax revenues. Those components should continue to be an urgent and aggressive focus of the Government’s fiscal management.

[Lord Christopher]

Page 5 of the Printed Paper Office version of the speech says:

“We will end automatic progression pay in the Civil Service by 2015-16”.

That is a very serious breach of faith. Quite apart from anything else, how are the Government going to do it?

[Lord Deighton]

We are going to do it simply by implementing it in 2015-16. As I understand it, many of the structural changes to Civil Service pay have already been made in many departments. This is just equalising the system right across the service.