New spending category aims to protect preventative programmes across government
A new public spending category, the Preventative Departmental Expenditure Limit (PDEL), is intended to protect funding for policies that prevent problems before they become more costly. The article argues that this could change how spending decisions are made, particularly ahead of next year’s expectedly difficult spending review.
Preventive programmes can require money now while their savings emerge years later and across several departments, giving individual departments little incentive to fund them. A 2023 Demos paper estimated that £22bn in government costs could have been avoided through prevention. PDEL would sit alongside day-to-day departmental spending (RDEL) and investment spending (CDEL), with research on Sure Start cited as evidence that preventive services can produce lasting benefits.
In short
- PDEL could protect funding for preventive policies.
- Their benefits may appear years later across departments.
- Demos estimated prevention could avert £22bn in costs.
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The case for
A dedicated preventative spending category could help departments fund programmes whose benefits take years to emerge and may accrue elsewhere in government. By making this spending more visible and harder to squeeze in annual reviews, PDEL could support early action that reduces later costs and improves people’s lives; evidence such as Sure Start suggests these benefits can endure.
The case against
A separate category does not guarantee that programmes are effective or that projected savings will materialise, especially when benefits are difficult to measure and may fall outside the department paying upfront. Ring-fencing funds could also reduce flexibility in a difficult spending review, so decisions should depend on robust evidence and comparisons with other priorities rather than a programme’s preventative label.
Explained simply
Government departments have separate budgets for running services and for investment, which can make it difficult to fund early action. Preventative programmes often need money upfront, while any savings may take years to appear and may benefit a different department.
The proposed Preventative Departmental Expenditure Limit would create a distinct category for this kind of spending, alongside budgets for day-to-day services and investment. It is intended to help decision-makers weigh the longer-term effects of prevention, with Sure Start often cited as an example of a service linked to lasting benefits.
The issue matters because spending choices are made within limited budgets, and prevention can be harder to justify when its benefits are spread across government or take time to emerge. A 2023 Demos paper estimated that £22bn in government costs might have been avoided through prevention.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “New public spending category PDEL is a welcome and could have big impact | Heather Stewart”.