Spending cuts

Britons dramatically overestimate the amount of teenage pregnancy, crime and benefit fraud in the UK. A new report by Ipsos Mori checks the perceptions against the truth.

There are mixed reactions to George Osborne’s spending review; charities and unions attack curbs on welfare but business groups praise the chancellor’s commitment to infrastructure spending.

Chancellor George Osborne is to draw up the battle lines for the next general election as he sets out his final spending plans before the country goes to the polls in 2015.

Chancellor George Osborne tells MPs Britain will have to endure another £11.5bn of cuts, with further pain for public sector workers. But infrastructure spending will receive a boost.

Ed Miliband commits to sticking with coalition spending plans and rules out more borrowing to reverse public spending cuts.

The International Monetary Fund lowers its growth forecast for the UK and says Chancellor George Osborne should consider changing his austerity policies.

Criminals will be made contribute to the cost of the justice system under a new system announced by the Justice Secretary.

Iain Duncan Smith admits that controversial welfare reforms due to come in next week will not be enough to cut Britain’s benefit bill

Hundreds of thousands of disabled people will be worse off as a result of six different benefit cuts, according to Scope.

When Iain Duncan Smith came to Easterhouse in Glasgow more than a decade ago, he pledged to change the system to help some of Britain’s poorest. But the change has not been what residents hoped for.

Chancellor George Osborne faces his biggest test: how to revive a zombie economy – watch Channel 4 News and visit channel4.com/news for all the analysis of budget 2013 – Wednesday 20 March.

Five disabled people are challenging a plan to change the way their care is funded by the government, arguing it undermines the state’s duty to promote independent living for the disabled.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is among 43 bishops condemning government plans to change the benefits system, saying it will have a “deeply disproportionate” effect on children.