The charts below show local government expenditure in 2010 and 2015. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The percentage breakdown of

government’s

spending across nine categories in 2010 and 2015 is presented in the two pie charts below. Over the five-year period, the

expenditures

witnessed significant changes. The

overall

picture indicates that,

expenditures

in most

areas

were cut by the government in order to fund the cost of borrowing and nation’s welfare needs. In both years under analysis, the four largest categories of government

expenditures

were: Education, Healthcare, Pensions and Defence, with Education making up the largest portion of 24% and 21% in 2010 and 2015, respectively.

On the contrary

, the smallest

areas

of spending were: Transport, Culture and Leisure and Other

expenditures

. Spending on Welfare and Interest on borrowings laid in between. It is interestingly seen that, between 2010 and 2015, except for Pensions; which remained the same at 19%, the

government’s

spending on the four largest

areas

had dropped. It is

also

readily apparent that, the smallest

areas

of

government’s

spending, namely; Transport and Culture and Leisure

also

witnessed a vital decrease with the Transport budget declining by two thirds.

On the other hand

, spending on Welfare and Interest on

government’s

borrowing rose dramatically, with the latter doubling over the five-year period to 10%.