Communications Manager at the Adam Smith Institute, Kate Andrews, was quoted in a BBC News article on where spending cuts should be implemented and whether the Chancellor can achieve his projected spending goals:

If the government is going to achieve its projected spending goals by 2020, then it's going to have to reform the big-ticket items: welfare, pensions, and the NHS.

It's not realistic to expect that policing and other unprotected areas will be cut by 50%; if the arithmetic is going to add up, the meaty parts of the budget are going to have to be cut too.

Local government cuts should fall precisely where the community and local council feel they can best handle a decrease in spending.

Westminster is not in an effective position to decide the level of services needed in local communities throughout the UK.

The solution is to devolve taxation and spending powers to local communities, where funding for public services and benefits can be better, and more efficiently, allocated.

Kate Andrews, communications manager and research associate, Adam Smith Institute

Read the full article here.