Cash for schools and health could be used to fund defence

Hundreds of millions of pounds from the education and health budgets could be used to protect the Armed Forces from Treasury spending cuts, it has emerged.

The schools and NHS budgets have so far been protected from the cuts. But now Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, is understood to be in talks with the Treasury to transfer cash from those budgets to the Ministry of Defence.

Reports say at least £120 million could come from education and at least £200 million from health.

Meanwhile, the Treasury is understood to be looking for cuts worth £11.5 billion from other departments whose budgets have not been protected.

The figure emerged in a confidential document being drawn up as part of the government's spending review, which will allocate departmental budgets for 2015-16.

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