Will Rachel Reeves’s war on waste work?

How will the £40 billion additional tax revenue raised in the October Budget be spent? Efficiently, says the Chancellor this morning, who is setting out her plans for a war on waste.

Rachel Reeves has informed government departments this morning that there will be a ‘line-by-line review’ of budgets leading up to the Spending Review next spring, while ministers are ‘expected to find savings and efficiencies… in a push to drive out waste in the public sector and ensure all funding is focused on the government’s priorities’ – specifically the priorities laid out in the Prime Minister’s ‘Plan for Change’ last week. 

‘The previous government allowed millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to go to waste on poor value for money projects. We will not tolerate it,’ says Reeves. ‘I said I would have an iron grip on the public finances and that means taking an iron fist against waste.