UK slashes public spending – answers
questions
- How long has the government been in power? 2 weeks
- How big is the budget deficit? 11% of GDP
- What will happen to public spending? there will be deep cuts
- Which three services receive less money from government than is being paid in debt interest? Defence, Transport and the Police
- What might happen if action is not taken? the government will be spending more on debt interest than on education
- Which verb is used to describe the cuts in government spending? to slash (‘slashed’)
- Which departments will take the biggest cuts? education, local government and transport
- What, according to the minister, ‘are over’? ‘the days of public sector plenty’
- How does he describe the times ahead? as ‘tough’
- How are the cuts seen by the markets? as crucial, to preserve the UK’s triple A credit rating
- Which idiom is used by the economist to describe the first step taken by the Chancellor? a drop in the ocean
- How big is the total budget deficit? $224 billion