After almost a decade of cuts and budgetary restraint, last week’s Government Spending Round very clearly opened the spending taps. Allocations for day-to-day public service spending are set to grow by 4.1% in real-terms in 2020–21, increasing public spending as a share of national income for only the second time since 2009.

Unlike this year (the first time), when most of the extra money has been focused on the NHS, next year sees increases for a range of areas – including prisons, the court system and further education, which analysis from places like the Institute for Government shows have clearly been struggling.