Human capital investment is the missing ingredient in the chancellor's growth plan

Ever since last November's budget, it's been clear that this week's spending review and the parallel unveiling of the 10-year infrastructure strategy would be the real test of this government's growth mission.

- Jim O'Neill

It will also test the fiscal rules, in terms of robustness and whether the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is really passionate about why she introduced them.

In her budget speech last November, Reeves articulated the case for much stronger public and private investment spending in the UK and explained her rule changes in this context.

So far, there has been repeated attention to the first rule, namely maintaining that current spending must be financed not by borrowing, but out of current taxes. The second rule, much less discussed, concerns borrowing to invest.

Because of the decision to reject the big ways of raising money through tax, the government is constantly being tested by its own forces, the opposition, the markets and the public about the strength of that first rule. It's been clear that there is unlikely to be any major tax policy initiatives introduced until this November's budget, nor should there be.