In the UK, the Labour government of Ramsay MacDonald, and later the Conservative-dominated coalition "National Government", responded to the depression by imposing tariffs on all imports from outside the British Empire (arguably worsening the global situation), by cutting public spending, and by abandoning the Gold Standard which reduced the cost of British exports (see Great Depression in the United Kingdom for more info).
In addition to the info from Octavious the government sponsored a number of industial projects in order to keep people in work. The London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) built an additional 10 A4 class locos (like Mallard) on Government sponsorship.