Ministers aren’t just getting ready for March’s Budget: they’re also trying to work out a ‘budget setting process’ for 2015/16. The content of that slimmed-down departmental spending review formed the discussion at today’s Cabinet meeting, with George Osborne and Danny Alexander leading.
It’s not clear when this spending review will be announced, other than that it will take place in the first half of 2013. But the discussion centred around that old chestnut, the ‘difficult decisions’. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said:
‘They set out that there was going to be a budget setting process for 15/16 in the first half of this year that the treasury will set out more on that process in due course. One of the things they were underlining ahead of that was the importance of departments continuing to and stepping up their engagement with the Treasury and the Efficiency and Reform Group.’
The efficiency and reform group could recommend further savings to be made in terms of a department’s operations, such as sharing services with another ministry.
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