Fiscal Fallout: The challenge ahead for public spending and public services

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Michael Bichard, Ian Mulheirn and Ben Lucas debate the scale of the public finance challenge, and what this means for the future of public services.

RSA / SMF Debate

At next month’s Autumn Statement the Chancellor is likely to be told that he must find yet more savings or tax rises to meet his goal of plugging the hole in the nation’s finances within five years. With controversial cuts to welfare already pencilled in, and tax rises ruled out by the coalition, huge savings must be found from public services after 2015 in a second painful spending review. What is the scale of the challenge? And can public service reform cushion the blow?

Join us, in the run-up to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, to discuss the scale of the hole in the public finances and what this will mean for the future of public services. New analysis by the Social Market Foundation and RSA will form the basis for discussion.

Speakers will include Lord Michael Bichard, member of the Lords Select Committee on the future of public services; Ian Mulheirn, director, the Social Market Foundation; and Ben Lucas, principal, 2020 Public Services Hub at the RSA.

Chair: Jenni Russell, writer, commentator and broadcaster

Read the Report.