Later this month chancellor Gordon Brown will announce the outcome of his third Spending Review.

We look at the likely costs of the government's promised improvements to public services and its target to end child poverty within a generation.

This note traces the trends in public spending and taxation in the UK during the twentieth century.

Following the 2002 Budget, this Briefing Note examines some of the Chancellor's changes to business taxation. A number of Budget measures, including the research and development tax credit for large companies and the exemption of capital gains on the sale of subsidiaries, are welcome and should improve the efficiency of the UK's tax system. All of these measures were subject to extensive prior consultation. A number of other measures were not foreshadowed in the Pre-Budget Report. Three of these are examined here - the new 0% rate of corporation tax, the changes to North Sea taxation and the new anti-avoidance measures for stamp duty.

This year's Budget was Gordon Brown's first step since the General Election to delivering on Labour's pledge of

Gordon Brown's sixth budget,and his first of the new parliament, combines rises in the overall tax burden that fall mainly on the better-off with a substantial increase in generosity of support for families with children - both working and non-working.

In recent months the government's rhetoric on its aspiration for a world class national health service has begun to touch on the possibility of increases in taxation to fund the improvements deemed necessary.

The Green Budget 2002 looks at the options open to the Chancellor in his March Budget.

When this pre-budget report is remembered, it will be as the point at which the government turned its face towards higher spending.

Election 2001: Labour's proposals