The Treasury and Social Policy: The Contest for Control of Welfare Strategy (Transforming Government)

What is the power of the Treasury in controlling the policies and development of a welfare state? Drawing on in-depth interviews with officials in the British Treasury and spending departments, this book traces the developing role of the Treasury in setting social policy, especially under Gordon Brown's chancellorship. It reveals the tense relationships within Whitehall as the Treasury tries to set the Government's strategy but is resisted by spending ministers and officials.