On Tuesday, Reeves said she wanted to find “efficiency savings within government spending of 5%” as part of the review.
It is understood that departments will be asked to reach this figure over the three-year review period, and will be able to reallocate money saved within their budgets.
The Treasury has told departments that they will be expected to prioritise spending on policies that contribute towards the “plan for change” set out by the prime minister in a speech last week.
This set “milestones” to deliver before the next election in areas such as building more homes, clearing hospital backlogs and ensuring children are ready for school.
The Treasury says the chancellor will “work with departments to prioritise spending that supports the milestones to deliver the plan”, indicating that some areas not deemed a priority will be downgraded.
However, the government has already committed to increased funding for some areas, including defence, where it will spell out a timeframe to hike spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring.
Reeves said that although overall departmental spending would be going up, it was important to crack down on “wasteful spending” within public services.
“It’s through finding those efficiency savings that we’ll have the money to spend on the priorities of the British people,” she added.
Speaking to BBC 5 Live ‘s Matt Chorley, she said the situation was very different to the austerity set out under the 2010 Conservative government.
“The difference here is we are not asking for cuts because we’ve set real term increases to government spending, George Osborne cut government spending.”
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