Treasury must find £14bn more cuts to hit deficit target, says thinktank

A further £14bn of spending cuts are needed to meet George Osborne's deficit target, according to a new analysis of Treasury figures that reveals the daunting scale of the shortfall caused by weaker-than-expected economic growth.

The cuts would need to come on top of £10bn of extra cuts already promised by the chancellor and amounts to the equivalent of 70,000 teachers, 10,000 police officers and 30,000 defence staff.

The shock estimate has been produced by the IPPR thinktank, to show the spending challenges facing all three parties, and the range of political decisions and trade-offs still to be made by party leaders, including the possibility of raising taxes.

If the chancellor sticks with his current "plan A", including protecting the NHS and international development budgets, the IPPR estimates the education department would face £3.7bn cuts, defence would need £1.7bn, local government £1.6bn and the Home Office £500m.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/sep/19/treasury-cuts-deficit-target-thinktank