What will we learn in the chancellor's spending review?

"It's a large woody for this government," says Simon Case.

"It's the clearest denotation yet of what they program to bash betwixt present and the wide election, a translation of their manifesto.

"This is wherever you should expect the chancellor to say, connected behalf of the government: 'This is what we're about'."

As the erstwhile furniture secretary, Mr Case was the antheral successful complaint of the civilian work during the past spending review, successful 2021.

On Wednesday, Rachel Reeves volition unveil the Labour government's priorities for the adjacent 3 years. But it's unclear whether it volition supply each that overmuch of an reply astir what it's truly about.

Unlike the Autumn budget, erstwhile the chancellor announced her plans connected wherever to taxation and get to money wide levels of spending, the spending reappraisal volition acceptable retired precisely however that wealth is divided up betwixt the antithetic authorities departments.

Since the commencement of the process successful December those departments person been bidding for their stock of the currency - mounting retired their projected budgets successful a dialog which looks acceptable to proceed close up to the wire.

This reappraisal is being conducted successful an accustomed level of detail, with each azygous enactment of spending assessed, according to the chancellor, connected whether it represents worth for wealth and meets the government's priorities. Budget proposals person been scrutinised by truthful called "challenge panels" of autarkic experts.

It's wide that wellness and defence volition beryllium winners successful this process fixed pre-existing commitments to prioritise the NHS - with a boost of up to £30bn expected - and to summation defence spending.

On Sunday morning, the authorities property merchandise trumpeted an impressive-sounding "£86bn boost" to probe and improvement (R&D), with the Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle sent retired connected the greeting media circular to observe arsenic grounds levels of investment.

We're told this accrued spending connected the beingness sciences, precocious manufacturing and defence volition pb to jobs and maturation crossed the country, with each £1 successful concern acceptable to pb to a £7 economical return.

But the header fig is misleading. It's not £86bn successful caller funding. That £86bn has been calculated by adding unneurotic each R&D concern crossed authorities for the adjacent 3 years, which volition scope an yearly fig of £22.5bn by 2029-30. The fig for this twelvemonth was already acceptable to beryllium £20.4bn; truthful portion it's a definite uplift, overmuch of that wealth was already allocated.

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Peter Kyle besides highlighted plans for "the astir we've ever spent per pupil successful our schoolhouse system".

I recognize the schools fund is to beryllium boosted by £4.5bn. Again, this is intelligibly an uplift - but implicit a three-year period, that equates to conscionable £1.5bn a twelvemonth (compared with an existing fund of £63.7bn). It besides has to screen the outgo of extending escaped schoolhouse meals, and the promised uplift successful teachers' pay.

In immoderate process of prioritisation determination are losers arsenic good arsenic winners.

We already cognize astir planned cuts to the Department of Work and Pensions - but different unprotected departments similar the Home Office and the Department of Communities and Local Government are braced for a existent spending squeeze.

We've heard dire warnings astir austerity 2.0, and the interaction that would person connected the government's transgression and policing priorities, its promises astir lodging and immigration, and connected the budgets for cash-strapped section councils.

The chancellor wants to marque it wide to the markets she's sticking to her fiscal rules connected balancing the books for day-to-day spending.

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But the determination to loosen the rules astir borrowing to money superior concern person fixed her greater country to manoeuvre successful backing semipermanent infrastructure projects.

That's wherefore we've seen her travelling astir the state this week to beforehand the £15.6bn she's spending connected determination transport projects.

The Treasury squad intelligibly wants to absorption connected promoting the generosity of these benignant of investments, and we'll perceive much successful the coming days.

But there's a existent hazard the communicative of this spending reappraisal volition beryllium astir the departments which person mislaid retired - and the promises which could gaffe arsenic a result.