Brown set to unveil spending boost

12 April 2012

CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown was unveiling a £90bn spending package designed to secure Labour a third term in office.

Education will get the lion's share of the extra cash, but Mr Brown has warned that there would be 'no blank cheques' and tough penalties would be imposed if investment was not matched by reform.

The Home Office, defence, transport and overseas aid are also likely to see significant increases in their budgets.

Mr Brown was presenting his package to a special Cabinet meeting this morning. It will be unveiled to MPs in the Commons this afternoon.

Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith warned that reform of public services should come before the huge extra investment planned by the Government. 'We will reform first and then we will tell you what our spending is,' he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

Prime Minister Tony Blair and Mr Brown are believed to be ready to deliver a 6% increase in the schools and university budget between 2003 and 2006 - increasing the education budget by about £12.5bn - with every secondary school in set to get an extra £50,000. That rise would see the UK spending around 5.6% of its national income on education - compared to the current 5%, and an EU average of about 5.5%.

Mr Blair has promised that the package would deliver the 'boldest reform programme for 50 years' of the education system, ranging from the under-fives to universities.

In an attempt to ensure that all Whitehall departments use their allocations effectively Mr Brown, who spent the weekend at The Treasury fine-tuning the details of the review, is ready to introduce independent spending watchdogs for each.

Writing today in The Sun newspaper, Mr Brown stressed: 'The extra money announced today will be matched by reform. There will be no blank cheques. Instead, we're demanding new targets, stronger scrutiny of standards and tough penalties for poor performance.'

Read Peter Kellner's view of Brown's big gamble

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