“It’s a big deal for this government,” says Simon Case.

“It’s the clearest indication yet of what they plan to do between now and the general election, a translation of their manifesto.

“This is where you should expect the chancellor to say, on behalf of the government: ‘This is what we’re about’.”

As the former cabinet secretary, Mr Case was the man in charge of the civil service during the last spending review, in 2021.

On Wednesday, Rachel Reeves will unveil the Labour government’s priorities for the next three years. But it’s unclear whether it will provide all that much of an answer about what it’s really about.

Unlike the Autumn budget, when the chancellor announced her plans on where to tax and borrow to fund overall levels of spending, the spending review will set out exactly how that money is divided up between the different government departments.

Since the start of the process in December those departments have been bidding for their share of the cash – setting out their proposed budgets in a negotiation which looks set to continue right up to the wire.

This review is being conducted in an usual level of detail, with every single line of spending assessed, according to the chancellor, on whether it represents value for money and meets the government’s priorities. Budget proposals have been scrutinised by so called “challenge panels” of independent experts.

It’s clear that health and defence will be winners in this process given pre-existing commitments to prioritise the NHS – with a boost of up to £30bn expected – and to increase defence spending.

On Sunday morning, the government press release trumpeted an impressive-sounding “£86bn boost” to research and development (R&D), with the Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle sent out on the morning media round to celebrate as record levels of investment.

We’re told this increased spending on the life sciences, advanced manufacturing and defence will lead to jobs and growth across the country, with every £1 in investment set to lead to a £7 economic return.

But the headline figure is misleading. It’s not £86bn in new funding. That £86bn has been calculated by adding together all R&D investment across government for the next three years, which will reach an annual figure of £22.5bn by 2029-30. The figure for this year was already set to be £20.4bn; so while it’s a definite uplift, much of that money was already allocated.

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Peter Kyle also highlighted plans for “the most we’ve ever spent per pupil in our school system”.

I understand the schools budget is to be boosted by £4.5bn. Again, this is clearly an uplift – but over a three-year period, that equates to just £1.5bn a year (compared with an existing budget of £63.7bn). It also has to cover the cost of extending free school meals, and the promised uplift in teachers’ pay.

In any process of prioritisation there are losers as well as winners.

We already know about planned cuts to the Department of Work and Pensions – but other unprotected departments like the Home Office and the Department of Communities and Local Government are braced for a real spending squeeze.

We’ve heard dire warnings about austerity 2.0, and the impact that would have on the government’s crime and policing priorities, its promises around housing and immigration, and on the budgets for cash-strapped local councils.

The chancellor wants to make it clear to the markets she’s sticking to her fiscal rules on balancing the books for day-to-day spending.

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But the decision to loosen the rules around borrowing to fund capital investment have given her greater room to manoeuvre in funding long-term infrastructure projects.

That’s why we’ve seen her travelling around the country this week to promote the £15.6bn she’s spending on regional transport projects.

The Treasury team clearly wants to focus on promoting the generosity of these kind of investments, and we’ll hear more in the coming days.

But there’s a real risk the story of this spending review will be about the departments which have lost out – and the promises which could slip as a result.

Water cremation and human composting could soon be offered as an alternative to traditional funerals.

A Law Commission consultation is proposing legal approval of new methods beyond burial, cremation, and the rarely used burial at sea.

The paper published earlier this week highlights two methods used in other countries – alkaline hydrolysis and human composting.

Alkaline hydrolysis – also known as water cremation or resomation – involves placing a person’s body into woollen shroud or other organic pouch, using water, alkaline chemicals, heat and pressure to break down the tissue.

The resulting liquid is checked and treated if necessary to enter the wastewater system, while remaining pieces of bone and teeth are dried and can be ground to a powder and scattered like ashes.

Water cremation, which mimics the process of natural decomposition when someone is buried, takes between four and 14 hours.

The method, which has been suggested as a greener alternative to traditional cremation, was used for the bodies of five dead people in 2019, as part of a study facilitated by Middlesex and Sheffield universities.

Anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died in 2021, chose resomation for his own funeral in South Africa.

Read more: What is water cremation?

Co-op Funeralcare said it hoped to offer the service in the UK in 2023 but backed out because of the current regulations.

The firm welcomed the Law Commission review, which will run until spring next year, ending in a final report and draft Bill.

New funerary methods are not currently regulated, other than by more general legislation such as environmental and planning laws.

Provisional proposals suggest a legal framework to enable new methods to be regulated in the future.

A Co-op Funeralcare spokesperson said: “At Co-op Funeralcare, we are committed to serving the needs of our member-owners and clients and offering the most sustainable and affordable services.

“In 2023, we announced our ambition to pilot resomation in the UK, and we subsequently worked closely with government to explore the regulatory requirements to introduce this service across the nation.

“However, we did not proceed with this as, at the time, we were unable to find a path through the current regulatory framework.

“We welcome the Law Commission’s review and encourage exploration into alternative methods that provide consumers with greater choice and deliver environmental benefits.”

The consultation paper also highlights human composting, where a body is placed into a sealed chamber, or vessel, with carbon-rich organic matter, such as straw and wood chips, to enable quicker decomposition.

The process takes around two to three months and resulting soil can be returned to bereaved loved ones.

Other methods involving the freezing of human remains have also been suggested, although none have them are yet viable, according to the paper.

Two men have been charged with murder after the death of a teenager in Sheffield.

Abdullah Yaser Abdullah al Yazidi, 16, died after being hit by a car.

He had only recently come to the UK from Yemen, looking “for a better future”, his loved ones previously said.

Zulkernain Ahmed, 20, and Amaan Ahmed, 26, both of Locke Drive, Sheffield, have been charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder.

They are due to appear before Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

‘Innocently walking down the street’

South Yorkshire Police said Abdullah was “innocently walking” down a street in the Darnall area of the city, just after 4.50pm on 4 June, when a car collided with him.

The force said they understood a grey Audi had driven towards three electric bikes, hitting one.

As the car continued following the collision with the electric bike, it then hit Abdullah, police said.

According to the force, the driver failed to stop at the scene.

Abdullah was taken to hospital where he later died.

The rider of the electric bike, 18, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and remains in hospital.

Two people, a man, 46, and a woman, 45, who were previously arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, remain on bail.

A ‘kind boy’

Abdullah’s relative, Saleh Alsirkal, runs a corner shop that the teenager popped into just before he was hit by the car on Wednesday.

“His dad brought him over to change his life, to get a better future for his son, but this has happened and destroyed everything,” said Mr Alsirkal.

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He said Abdullah was a “kind boy” who just wanted to look after his family, including his three sisters and was really enjoying learning English.

“Every time he had a new word to learn, he was so excited about it,” he said.

“It meant a lot to him and he learned quick. Sometimes he would stay in the shop just so he could talk to people. He tried to be friends with everyone.”

“He wanted to be the main guy for the family. He was 16 years old, but he was a clever man,” said Mr Alsirkal.