Figures ignite spending 'cuts' row

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The Treasury said the lower figures, revealed for the first time in official data, were due to cash having been brought forward in a bid to stimulate the UK's economy out of recession and were not "cuts".

Budgets will fall next year in 14 of 23 departments, figures reported by The Daily Telegraph show, including a 24.6% reduction in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

It said the overall education budget would drop from £85.1 billion to £85 billion although schools spending would increase within that. The Home Office would lose 0.3% on this year's level but the Department of Health would get 1.5% more.

Shadow chancellor George Osborne said the figures "show in black and white that overall spending under Labour is being cut, as is total education spending..

He added: "Gordon Brown should now abandon his dishonest claim that he can go on increasing spending and accept that we Conservatives have been right to say that spending has to be cut to deal with this Government's debt crisis," he said.

But the Treasury rejected any suggestion of "cuts" and an education minister said Mr Osborne's claims were "absurd".

"The reductions are not cuts as spending has been brought forward from subsequent years' budgets. It is not correct to say the Government is cutting overall spending," a spokesman said.

Schools minister Vernon Coaker said it was "absurd and totally misleading" to suggest education spending was being cut, adding: "The fact is we have brought forward almost £1 billion of capital investment in schools from next year to this year to support local businesses and jobs, particularly in the construction industry, during the recession.

"It's the Conservatives who have made clear they would cut spending on schools from next year and refuse to match our guarantee of a place in education or training for all school leavers."