Look the other way

Cash flat ? Not a cut ?  The Office of Budget Responsibility table attached to the Budget document forecasts that "BBC spend" (listed in Public Sector Current Expenditure) will fall from £3.9bn in 2015/16, to £3.5bn in 2020/21.  My poor maths makes that a 10% cut.  The costs off loaded to Auntie for tv licences for homes where someone is over 75 is forecast at £200m in 2018/19, £445m in 2019/20 and £745m in 2020/21.

Meanwhile ears seem to have closed when George Osborne said that public sector pay rises will be held to 1% for each of the next four years. That's below the CPI inflation forecasts for the next four years, never mind the RPI. Remember, the BBC counts as public sector in George's head.

Meanwhile, in other sleights of hands, the Treasury avoids a spend on student maintenance grants, saving £2.5bn by 2020, by pinging them over to loans. And tuition fees can rise by inflation from 2016.

The non-dom thing looks trickier than George made out. He says they'll have to pay full tax if they've been resident for more than 15 out of 20 years. These are people who can afford to take three months' holiday a year...  Nonetheless, it will be a hoot to see what the Mail, Telegraph, Independent and Evening Standard make of this.