Public Expenditure

Abstract

Important aspects of housing activity are financed by the public purse (including grants to housing associations, Housing Benefit for public and private tenants, and mortgage payments for owners receiving income support, for example). The intention of this chapter is to provide an understanding of the broader context in which decisions about the level of expenditure on housing (and other public services) are made. It will:

• examine the UK’s system of controlling public spending;

• assess the system’s strengths and weaknesses;

• explain the way local government spending is organised.