Programmes must be cut to rebalance UK finances, says minister, but schools and hospitals will still get 'sustained investment'

Britain will face a decade of “constraints” in public spending, in a bid to “rebalance” UK finances, Lord Mandelson has said.

The business secretary said the country would be forced to implement “less spending in some programmes”, but he insisted there would be “sustained investment” in areas such as healthcare and defence, according to the BBC.

Mandelson also added that he believed the downturn was “coming to an end”, but that its effects were “not yet behind us”.

The government has come under fire in recent weeks from the Conservatives, who have accused ministers of hiding the true scale of cuts that are needed.

Peter Mandelson
Credit: World Economic Forum
Mandelson: "a growing need for greater efficiency across the board, and less spending in some programmes"

Speaking to journalists at Westminster on Tuesday, Mandelson said: “Of course we will rebalance public finances in the medium term. There will be spending choices and a growing need for greater efficiency across the board, and less spending in some programmes,” the BBC reported.

He refused to pinpoint exactly where these cuts would be made, but said “sustained investment in schools and hospitals” would continue.

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