How will the governments decisions affect spending in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
These countries have devolved adminstrations, each of which will decide its own spending priorities in areas such as health, education and policing, based on an overall allocation made to them from the Westminster government under the Barnett Formula. In theory they have the freedom to protect education, say, by cutting other departmental budgets harder, but the overall sum will reflect the CSR settlement, and similar “tough choices” about cuts will have to be made.
