Rachel Reeves has demanded government departments provide her with real-time public spending updates ahead of the spring statement next week. The Chancellor, who is hoping to save billions of pounds, asked officials to give her instant and accessible data on how much they are spending and what it will achieve.
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said on Thursday that his department is investing in new software and AI to help kick-start the monitoring scheme.
He said: “The public rightly look at government irrespective of party and ask, ‘Why am I paying all of this tax and not seeing basic public services work?’ This is an important part of the answer to that challenge.”
The private sector already has similar schemes which monitor spending live.
Former Boris Johnson adviser Dominic Cumings had proposed a unit within No10 that would track departments’ underperformance and waste in real time before he was ousted.
The Chancellor is set to deliver her statement next Wednesday, against the backdrop of a faltering economy and tighter headroom when it comes to the fiscal rules she set herself in October.
Cuts to welfare that aim to save some £5 billion in 2029/30 were unveiled this week.
Ms Reeves will be responding to new forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, after the Bank of England reduced its forecasts for growth this year.
The growth figures, combined with higher-than-expected borrowing, are expected to put pressure on Ms Reeves to increase taxes or cut spending in order to meet the financial rules she set at the budget.
She is not expected to change taxes at next week’s spring statement, it is understood.
