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Cabinet Office: Public Expenditure

Asked by James WildConservativeCabinet OfficeTabled Answered 17 November 2025UIN 88858

The question

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 61229 on Cabinet Office: Public Expenditure, how many lines of activity in his Department were considered as part of the zero based review.

Answered by Chris Ward

At Spending Review 2025, the government conducted the first zero-based review (ZBR) of department budgets in 18 years, with every line of spending scrutinised to ensure value for money.

To ensure consistency in approach, cross-government guidance set expectations for the level of granularity each review should consider, recommending that departments review all spending within individual programme expenditure – at a minimum reflecting any lines of spending in excess of £1m per annum.

Savings identified through this process will support delivery of the government's commitment for all departments to deliver at least 5% savings and efficiencies by 2028-29.

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