The big Spending Review winners and losers among departments and ministers

New figures published as part of the government’s Spending Review lay bare stark divides in the fate of different departments’ day-to-day budgets in the coming years, with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office looking like the biggest cash loser in years to come.

Cabinet member David Lammy’s FCDO looks set to see real-terms funding  – meaning the cash’s value after inflation is taken into account – slashed by an average of 6.9% a year for its day-to-day functions between 2025-26 and 2028-29.

His so-called ‘resource’ budget, which does not include capital spending, will slide from £8.4 billion this year to be worth only £7.1 billion at today’s prices by the end of the parliament.

The second biggest loser in day-to-day spending appears to be the Department for Transport, with new Secretary of State Heidi Alexander bracing for a 5% average cut in real-terms spending in the years to come. Her budget will fall in real terms by around £800m by 2028-29 compared to this year.

However, One source said much of the reduction reflected rail subsidies returning to more typical levels after a jump in support during the pandemic, and noted higher levels of capital spending – as well as HS2 funding not included in these figures..

The third biggest hit is to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs budget, set to slip 2.7% on average a year. Steve Reed’s budget will be worth £100 million less in real terms between this year and 2029.

By contrast, average day-to-day spending budgets across all departments will rise by 1.2% over the same period, from £517.1 billion to £567.7 billion.

The biggest winner in percentage terms appears to be Peter Kyle’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, though as it is one of the smallest departments the sums are far smaller than some other departments. It will rise from around £600m to around £700m, with average real-terms annual growth between now and 2028-29 of 7.4%.

The Department for Health and Social Care will see the next largest at 2.8% a year on average, up £30 billion to £232 billion over the three years.

The Cabinet Office and Ministry of Justice are next highest.

Strikingly, education and defence will see lower-than-average boosts at 0.7%, when the government had launched a significant publicity blitz of boosting aspects of both funding pots in recent days and weeks.

Read more of our 2025 Spending Review news and analysis:

• SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
• SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
• DONATE: If you value our work, please chip in a few pounds a week and become one of our supporters, helping sustain and expand our coverage.
• PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or projects, email [email protected].
• ADVERTISE: If your organisation would like to advertise or run sponsored pieces on LabourList‘s daily newsletter or website, contact our exclusive ad partners Total Politics at [email protected].