Cabinet ministers have been ordered to search for cost-cutting reforms and prepare for difficult decisions over spending, as chancellor Rachel Reeves and her team formally begin the process of compiling a pivotal review of public spending.
The chancellor has already made clear that she is planning to raise taxes and take tough decisions on welfare and spending in what will be a crucial autumn for the new Labour government. She will present her first budget and a spending review setting departmental budgets for this year and next.
