A Spending Review or occasionally Comprehensive Spending Review is a governmental process in the United Kingdom carried out by HM Treasury to set firm and fixed three-year departmental expenditure limits and, through public service agreements, define the key improvements that the public can expect from these resources. Spending Reviews typically focus upon one or several aspects of public spending while Comprehensive Spending Reviews focus upon each government department's spending requirements from a zero base (i.e. without reference to past plans or, initially, current expenditure). Most developed countries, e.g. Canada, New Zealand, Italy, and France, have similar review processes.
