Earlier this week I put down a Question asking the government how they assess value for money in public spending.

 I was prompted to ask the question when I heard the Prime Minister say that there was more to life than money.  He said it in the context of the extra value we get from sport, the arts, volunteering, social capital and so I wondered how government avoids  losing sight of  non financial considerations. 

There were many views.  Just getting more for less was one.  Another was having targets, but another was abolishing targets.  Cutting overseas aid before we cut services here was another.  Somebody else was of the view that you get better value for money when you spend your money yourself rather than the government because you have the skill to spend it better. 

But perhaps the most interesting revelation was that for the last 20 years in the Treasury there has been a hundred page document called the Green Book which sets out all the factors that have to be considered when assessing value for money.  Could it be a best seller?