Here's a quick break down of the real terms spending cuts and spending increases that the various government departments face. The reason that the overall figure (2 percent) is so low, despite apparently swingeing cuts to some departments, is that some of the biggest spending items (health, welfare and debt interest payments) have been spared the chancellor's axe. The figures in the right hand column represent the percentage rise or fall in spending between now and 2014-15.
Incidentally, my real terms percentages are slightly different from the Treasury's because – for the sake of simplicity – I have assumed 2 percent a year inflation, rather than using the Treasury's GDP deflators. Obviously, exactly how big the cuts will turn out to be in real terms does depend on the rate of inflation over the next five years.
