As we approach the general election, the political parties will set out their stalls. What will their spending promises be? What might they cut? How will they pay for it all?

We speak to Gemma Tetlow about how it all works. What is public spending? How much room is there for change? What are some of the big ticket areas of expenditure?

Mubin asks questions about what is driving changes in public spending:

To what extent are changes in spending being driven by demographics – for example our aging population, migration?

We’ve got some big commitments coming such as the NHS workforce development plan and the childcare commitments. Can you tell us a bit about those and what pressures that’s going to create?

Are tax rises inevitable or are tax cuts the answer?

What might we see in relation to infrastructure commitments? What are the parties committing to?

Is it possible to say what these different approaches mean for living standards?