PBR 2007: The state looks for more for its money. By Alan Shipman

With less new funding available for key public services, the Chancellor will step up the quest for public sector efficiency gain.

Under the previous Chancellorship, skill at delivering more real cash for priority public services was not generally matched by skill at converting the extra funds into improved front-line services. Brown did much to highlight the continued productivity gap between the UK and the chart-topping US, in both public and private sectors.

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