Ministers complain to prime minister over spending cuts

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Several cabinet ministers have written to the Treasury to complain about dramatic cuts which would see spending slashed in some government departments.

The Chancellor is expected to raise taxes in the Budget at the end of this month.

But spending cuts will also be required if to plug what Whitehall sources have suggested is a £40bn funding gap without further borrowing.

The Chancellor was due to submit a final outline of her planned measures to the official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility on Wednesday.

There has been considerable Cabinet disquiet about the spending cuts required to meet the Treasury’s proposed spending limits.

Filling the gap in funding public services could lead to the largest tax rising Budget in a generation when Chancellor Rachel Reeves makes her statement on 30 October.

Reeves has decided to commit to a new borrowing rule that means day-to-day spending must be covered by tax revenues.

As the government insists it will stick to manifesto promises not to raise taxes on working people, the focus is now on the extension of National Insurance to employer pensions contributions and increases in some form of capital gains tax.

There is also speculation that amid falling petrol prices, there is a possibility of higher fuel taxes.