The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, says that he has identified £6.2bn of expenditure savings, adding that most of the savings would go towards cutting the budget deficit.

He is expected to tell MPs that savings would be made by freeing recruitment across the civil service, scrapping several quangos and cutting back on travel costs for ministers and civil servants.

Speaking on the Today programme Mr Osborne said that £500m would be ploughed back into apprenticeships, further education and social housing at the request of the Liberal Democrats.

The Chancellor said that he was 'determined we do show the world we can live within our means' but agreed that the forthcoming spending review will present the government with "difficult decisions".

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