The round of cuts is a quick start to plans to save £670,000 on departmental spending in the next two years.

Mr Johnson's upbeat version involves extracting £7.5 billion from the bankers, endorsing some cutbacks and reducing departmental spending by £27 billion less than the government.

Isn't it also a fact that Labour projections would lead to cuts in departmental spending?

There has been a reallocation from departmental spending to old age welfare.

This is a regular return of departmental spending which gives the Treasury early warning of the possibility that a department may overshoot its cash limit.

Although salaries make up the bulk of departmental spending in other agencies, Mr. Bloomberg emphasized that it was especially true in the Police Department.

Total departmental spending 2009-10 (17.5 KB)

He regarded being chief secretary, with its need to cut departmental spending throughout Government, as having been the toughest of the jobs 'in terms of sheer workload'.

By 2016-17, departmental spending as a share of the economy will be back to its level in 1998, meaning the Coalition will effectively erase all of Labour's spending increases.

Even Cabinet members, when asked, are unable to say how much total departmental spending is being cut in an average year.