As the Chancellor prepares her Budget, attention is turning not just to how she could raise more tax - but how she might cut spending. Where does the government actually spend its money? Why is it so difficult to reduce that spending in practice? And what would it take to genuinely pare back the size of the state?

Helen Miller is joined by IFS colleagues Ben Zaranko and Tom Waters to unpack the realities behind public spending. They look at how the government’s budget is divided across welfare, public services, and investment; how pressures such as an ageing population, defence commitments and struggling services constrain choices; and whether efficiencies or productivity gains could ever plug the gap.

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