Spending Treasury cuts ministers' access to its reserve fund

Cabinet ministers have been told they will not be able to use the Treasury reserve to fund public sector pay rises and cannot access it unless there are exceptional circumstances.

- Jessica Elgot Eleni Courea

In the run-up to the budget, James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has written to ministers setting out a decision to clamp down on departments' access to the reserve.

Any secretaries of state seeking to draw from it will need to demonstrate to the Treasury how they have exhausted all cost-cutting options before their claim is considered.

Murray told colleagues: "Departments must take responsibility for managing pressures and making choices about priorities without relying on the reserve.