Credit: iStock - Altaf Shah.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has had the biggest hit to its budget following Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to increase defence spending by £15bn.
The Prime Minister announced on 30 June that the Defence Investment Plan to boost the armed forces would be paid for by cutting other government departments’ capital budgets by 1%, raising around £1bn per year over the next four years. In addition, DESNZ is having to make savings of £2bn over the next four years, increasing from £100m in the current financial year to £600m in 2027/28 and £700m in 2028/29, before dipping back to £600m in 2029/30.
Departments with the largest capital spending budgets will ‘contribute more’, Sir Keir said: ‘Some projects, such as roads and energy, which are important but not immediately vital, will no longer go ahead as planned.’
