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Cabinet discussing spending cuts Cabinet discussing spending cuts
(about 1 hour later)
Chancellor Alistair Darling has begun holding one-to-one meetings with cabinet members to look at possible spending cuts, the BBC has learned.Chancellor Alistair Darling has begun holding one-to-one meetings with cabinet members to look at possible spending cuts, the BBC has learned.
PM Gordon Brown admitted this week cuts are needed in "unnecessary" spending.PM Gordon Brown admitted this week cuts are needed in "unnecessary" spending.
Ministers are being asked which programmes they believe could be sacrificed and which should be spared.Ministers are being asked which programmes they believe could be sacrificed and which should be spared.
The Tories have accused Mr Brown of keeping the truth about spending cuts from the public and MPs after he spent months denying they were needed. Tory leader David Cameron said it was "extraordinary" the process had only just begun and said the government had lost control of the UK's finances.
Official borrowing figures out on Friday show public sector net borrowing reached £16.1bn in August.
Spending prioritiesSpending priorities
The Tories have accused Mr Brown of keeping the truth about spending cuts from the public and MPs after he spent months denying they were needed.
Mr Darling is understood to have persuaded Mr Brown to admit publicly that cuts will be needed, something he did for the first time in a speech to the TUC on Tuesday, although he said Labour would not "support cuts in the vital front-line services".Mr Darling is understood to have persuaded Mr Brown to admit publicly that cuts will be needed, something he did for the first time in a speech to the TUC on Tuesday, although he said Labour would not "support cuts in the vital front-line services".
And the chancellor is now expected to include more detail than previously expected about where the axe might fall in his autumn Pre-Budget Report, in an attempt to put pressure on the Conservatives to spell out their planned cuts, the BBC's Political Editor Nick Robinson says. And the chancellor is now expected to include more detail than previously expected about where the axe might fall in his autumn Pre-Budget Report, in an attempt to put pressure on the Conservatives to spell out their planned cuts, the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says.
ANALYSIS Nick Robinson, BBC political editor Consideration is being given to the idea that the cabinet as a whole should agree where the spending axe should fall so that, as a previous chancellor once graphically put it, all get to dip their hands in the blood class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/">Read Nick Robinson's blog class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8258999.stm">Q&A: Spending cuts class="" href="/2/hi/business/8262434.stm">Public sector borrowing soaring class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=7021&edition=2">Send us your comments
I am hearing from a series of senior ministers in the cabinet that they believe the ID cards programme should now go.
They insist it would not actually save a lot of money, that's because much of the money, they say, is already being spent on giving us biometric passports.
And they say the additional cost of giving people ID cards may be as little as £40m - those figures are disputed depending on whether you are in favour of ID cards or not.
But what is interesting is that senior ministers say, for symbolic value alone, they believe the ID card programme should be scrapped.
The Home Office insists no such talks have taken place but that they are looking for value for money savings on the programme. Read Nick's blog Cameron 'trusted more' over cuts Q&A: Spending cuts Public sector borrowing soaring Send us your comments
The Comprehensive Spending Review, which sets departmental budgets for the following four years, has been delayed until after an election.The Comprehensive Spending Review, which sets departmental budgets for the following four years, has been delayed until after an election.
But Treasury officials spent the summer examining ways to make savings now, particularly in areas where quangos and government departments have overlapping responsibilities.But Treasury officials spent the summer examining ways to make savings now, particularly in areas where quangos and government departments have overlapping responsibilities.
They are believed to have identified about £4bn of potential savings so far, by improving the use of space in hospitals and police working methods.They are believed to have identified about £4bn of potential savings so far, by improving the use of space in hospitals and police working methods.
The BBC understands Mr Darling has now begun holding one-to-one meetings with cabinet colleagues to establish their spending priorities and to identify possible savings in their departments, although it is not thought they will be talking in terms of percentage cuts to budgets.The BBC understands Mr Darling has now begun holding one-to-one meetings with cabinet colleagues to establish their spending priorities and to identify possible savings in their departments, although it is not thought they will be talking in terms of percentage cuts to budgets.
Nick Robinson says some ministers favour scrapping the controversial ID cards scheme but the Home Office has said there have been no discussions about this.Nick Robinson says some ministers favour scrapping the controversial ID cards scheme but the Home Office has said there have been no discussions about this.
Trident renewal
The Ministry of Defence has also ruled out cancelling the replacement for the Trident nuclear weapons system, although there have been suggestions it could be scaled back from four submarines to three, he adds.The Ministry of Defence has also ruled out cancelling the replacement for the Trident nuclear weapons system, although there have been suggestions it could be scaled back from four submarines to three, he adds.
Tax rises
The campaign group Greenpeace has said in a report scrapping Trident would save £34bn - the government estimates that replacing the submarines and warheads would cost £15bn - £20bn.The campaign group Greenpeace has said in a report scrapping Trident would save £34bn - the government estimates that replacing the submarines and warheads would cost £15bn - £20bn.
Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable has suggested tax rises will be needed to help address the £175bn budget deficit expected by the end of this financial year. Our government seems to have been entirely asleep on the job David CameronConservative leader class="" href="/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8261875.stm">Cameron 'trusted more' over cuts class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8262518.stm">Cable hints at need for tax rises
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the "pain" of the economic crisis had been absorbed by government borrowing, which could not be sustained for many years. Official borrowing figures out on Friday show public sector net borrowing reached £16.1bn in August taking net borrowing to £65.3bn for the five months of the financial year so far.
FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/default.stm">More from Today programme Conservative leader David Cameron said: "They have completely lost control of the nation's finances and the news today that finally the chancellor is calling in ministers to look at spending reductions is extraordinary - what has this government been doing for the last year?
A future government would have to find between £80bn and £100bn over the next Parliament, he said. "Families have been sitting around the kitchen table looking at their budget, businesses have been sitting around the boardroom tables working out how to trim their costs and live within their means and yet our government seems to have been entirely asleep on the job."
He accepted the ten proposals he had spelled out as possible areas for cuts - including freezing civil service pay, scrapping ID cards and axing the Trident nuclear programme - were not sufficient. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable has said "eventually" a "combination of spending and tax measures" would be needed to help address the £175bn budget deficit - which is expected by the end of this financial year.
"This doesn't add up to the full scale of cuts that are required and I fully acknowledge that," he said. Asked about the meetings Mr Darling and Cabinet ministers, the prime minister's official spokesman said: "The chancellor has meetings with colleagues on a regular basis. We don't go into specifics on these meetings. Public spending is always a matter for the chancellor and something he'll return to at the time of the Pre-Budget Report."
"It is eventually going to be a combination of spending and tax measures." He added that the borrowing figures were "broadly in line" with what the government had expected.
Shadow chancellor George Osborne has claimed that leaked Treasury documents show Mr Brown "misled" Parliament on the scale of planned spending cuts - something denied by Downing Street.
The papers suggest the government is preparing 9.3% cuts in departmental budgets over the four years from 2010, Mr Osborne said. Mr Brown has repeatedly accused the Conservatives of planning 10% cuts.
Meanwhile, a poll for BBC Two's Newsnight suggests more people think Tory leader David Cameron would make the right cuts in public spending than Gordon Brown.
Of the 1,050 adults canvassed for the programme, 39% said they trusted the Conservatives to make the right choices when it came to spending decisions.
This compared with 24% for Labour and 17% for the Liberal Democrats.
Do you work in the public sector? Where should budget cuts be made? Send us your comments using the form below.Do you work in the public sector? Where should budget cuts be made? Send us your comments using the form below.
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