Government prepares to tighten belt as it agrees spending plan

THE Government yesterday took a step closer to putting in place its toughest Budget in a decade.

The Cabinet signed off on a blueprint for next year’s spending Estimates and agreed to publish the details on November 14 next. The spending plans for all departments will be the final hurdle before Budget day on December 4.

The Budget preparations come as the Government’s finances worsen by the day. Details published this week showed that up to 1bn had been lost in the month of October alone and some experts were yesterday predicting a deficit of anything up to 2bn by the end of the year.