The current control system for public expenditure in the UK dates from the Plowden Report in 1961 and was developed at a time when capital expenditures were a significantly more important component of public spending. In Discussion Paper No. 259, Research Fellow Nick Bosanquet presents detailed evidence on changes in the composition of public expenditure. He proposes a new system of public expenditure control that is better suited to new patterns of public expenditure, in which social investment and transfer payments to three main client groups (the elderly, families with children and the unemployed) have become much more important. He argues that information on expenditure should be broken down according to those client groups and should cover the whole span of `public initiative', including tax expenditures and regulation as well as public expenditure, to enable a more integrated medium-term approach. The needs of each of the three major client groups are examined, and policy guidelines are proposed which seek to apply the insights provided by the new framework. Bosanquet discussed his proposals at a lunchtime meeting earlier this year, reported in Bulletin No. 24/25

The Ghost of PAR? Public Expenditure Planning Beyond Plowden Nick Bosanquet

Discussion Paper No. 259, July 1988 (HR)