Spending review: Osborne orders Whitehall to draw up plans for 40% cuts

Chancellor tells government departments to set out plans for further cuts by September, on top of £17bn savings announced in July budget

George Osborne has ordered government departments to plan ways to cut up to 40% from their budgets by 2019-20 in a bid to find an additional £20bn savings in public spending.

Government must “take a step back and think about the shape of the state”, finding ways to “deliver more with less”, the chancellor said.

When it comes to building a Britain that lives within its means, we need to finish the job