New public spending category PDEL is a welcome and could have big impact | Heather Stewart
Summary
The UK Treasury plans to create a Preventative Departmental Expenditure Limit (PDEL) to identify and protect spending on policies intended to prevent problems before they become more costly. Supporters say this could make it easier to account for savings that arise years later or in other government departments, though the proposal’s impact will depend on how it is used in the spending review.Key Facts
- PDEL stands for Preventative Departmental Expenditure Limit.
- The Treasury plans to include PDEL alongside existing categories for day-to-day departmental spending (RDEL) and investment (CDEL).
- The article says the Treasury is considering ringfencing budgets for preventive policies ahead of next year’s spending review.
- Demos estimated in a 2023 paper that preventive programmes could have avoided £22bn in government costs.
- Demos argues that spending reviews tend to reward departments for addressing immediate crises rather than preventing future problems.
- Preventive programmes may produce savings years later and across departments, including welfare, health and criminal justice.
- The article cites IFS studies reporting that Labour’s Sure Start centres improved children’s educational performance, increased their later wages and reduced hospitalisations.
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