The Spending Review and news for the REM

Updated...

With news from the Chancellor's, George Osbourne, spending review, the Farmer's Weekly state that Defra will have its budget cut by 29%. Defra states that the schemes that are of greatest benefit to the environment will be given priority, which includes an 80% increase for HLSS. More details can be found at this page on the Farmer's Weekly Interactive website. They can also be followed using Twitter, their twits can be followed at http://twitter.com/FarmersWeekly


Other sources of the Spending Review and how it may affect the REM include Saffrey Champness, Smiths Gore and LandlordZone.


Saffrey Champness states that the "HMRC has been spared large scale cuts and that £900 million will be allocated to stamping out tax evasion and fraud". It is suggested that "voluntarily providing full and frank disclosure to the Revenue will always drastically reduce penalties payable". Saffrey Champness has a timetable of events for Land Agents Tax Update, see here.


Smiths Gore has produced a four page document summarising the structure of the Spending Review (covering the period 2010/11 to 2014/15) in order to reduce the £120 million a day in debt interest. Their findings include "an average cut of 19% per government department; following the abolition of the RDAs the government will introduce a regional growth fund worth £1.4 billion between 2010-2014...which the private sector, public-private partnerships and Local Enterprise Partnerships can bid for projects...the planning process as a whole from national to local level will be reformed and will be published in the Decentralisation and Localism Bill; 150,000 affordable homes will be built by 2014/2015; Defra's cuts (as described above) may mean closer communication between the Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission and Natural England; £2 billion to be spent on flood defences; the RDPE is cut by 33%; Defra to reduce red tape but will ask farmers to bear the cost of animal welfare and disease prevention; trials of increased broadband in four areas (Cumbria, Herefordshire, Highlands and Islands and North Yorkshire); £30 billion on transport which will include some rural improvements; a green investment bank supported by £1 billion of public sector money". A fuller summary of the spending review and a list of saved and scrapped quangos is listed here.


A handy review for Landlords, from LandlordZone may be found here with either a guide in Flash (required) or in pdf (required) can be downloaded.


This blog is for information and interest only and I cannot be held responsible for the content or lack of content on the site or if the information has been removed. If anyone can find any more information, please link to reports or pages in the comments section, thank you.