The Budget of England

The total government spending in England for 2012 has been budgeted at 703.4 billion pounds.  Like the United States, the government sets its budget before any funds are raised or spent.  Traditionally, the “mini budget” is presented to the House of Commons on a Wednesday in March the year prior to its execution.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the person primarily responsible for the creation of, adherence to, and execution of the Bank of England’s Budget.  The Chancellor currently is George Osbourne, and his role is similar to that of the Secretary of the Treasury in the United States.

Also like the United States, England’s Budget is the primary presentation of its Fiscal policy.  Government spending has increased significantly since the 2007-08 recession in part to attempt to boost income, investments, and overall growth of the economy.  The government has also taken on the task of funding universal healthcare.  The accounting for this government benefit, surprisingly, is taking in less than 20% of the government budget.  Defense spending (extremely un-like the United States) accounts for less than 7% of the federal budget.

I find it interesting that many of the main spending categories are used by the Bank of England seem fairly balanced to “job public” me.  I’m sure that portions of this presentation are cleverly compiled before publication to avoid political backlash that may be associated with it.

Word Count: 230

Works Cited:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancellor_of_the_Exchequer

http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/

http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/us_budget_pie_chart