Ministers offer bleeding stump savings to head off £15bn austerity drive: Rachel Reeves is warned cuts mean end of free school meals for infants as Cabinet infighting rages ahead of Spring Statement

Ministers have been accused of offering bleeding stump cuts to services in a bid to head off Rachel Reeves bid to balance the books.

Cabinet tensions are threatening to catch fire just days before the Chancellors crucial Spring Statement - where she is expected to lay out £15billion of spending curbs.

There are claims that Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has proposed a menu of politically impossible reductions in her department. They include ending universal free school meals for infants, charging pupils for period products, and scrapping junior ISAs for children in care.

But the apparent briefing from the Treasury has drawn a furious response with allies of Ms Phillipson flatly denying that she has backed the ideas.

Sources described the suggestion as baffling insisting they were only included in a zero based exercise for the Spending Review, which is due to be finalised on June.

The government is facing a make-or-break week with Ms Reeves admitting hard decisions in her fiscal event as the economy stalls - although she denied it would amount to austerity.

Touring broadcast studios yesterday, the Chancellor was forced to deny fuelling the problems with higher taxes and gloomy comments.

Cabinet tensions are threatening to catch fire just days before Chancellor Rachel Reeves (centre) crucial Spring Statement - with claims Bridget Phillipson (right) has been trying to game the system 

She also rejected warnings from a think-tank that living standards are set to fall over this Parliament - potentially smashing another of Keir Starmers pledges.

Ms Reeves confirmed that the Civil Service will be asked to find more than £2billion in cuts to admin budgets, saying that likely means 10,000 jobs going.

However, unions have warned the figure could be more like 50,000. And the Treasury is still thought to need far bigger savings to offset tumbling growth forecasts. 

The hole in the public finances could be as much as £15billion, even after proposals were unveiled to cut £5billion off benefits. 

That will have to come from lower spending as Ms Reeves has ruled out tax rises at this stage. Although budgets are still expected to rise in real terms overall in the coming years, unprotected departments will be exposed to cuts. 

A Treasury source told The Times that Ms Phillipson had been trying to dodge cuts to her department by proposing unpalatable options.

The source said: We were anticipating there would be some game-playing. But the spending review remains vital to getting a grip on the public finances.

The source claimed at least three other government departments were engaging in a so-called bleeding stumps strategy. That is a Westminster phrase for the tactic of floating ridiculous options to avoid cuts.

Ms Phillipson was reported to have accepted the schools budget could be reduced by £500million from around £64billion currently.

The Turing Scheme, which pays UK education providers to support students seeking to study abroad, has also been offered up to the Treasury.

Other spending identified in the bottom 20 per cent for value for money included free meals for the youngest pupils.

Presently, the programme is universal, meaning all children in reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are eligible.

However, government sources said Phillipson had suggested making it means-tested, as free school meals for older children already are.

Other suggestions included ending the provision of period products free of charge, stopping the junior Isa for children in care, and ending the subsidy that provides some parents with wraparound childcare.

A Department for Education (DfE) source said: Its simply not the case that the DfE has not co-operated in this way. 

Politicians have been working together closely to fix the foundations after inheriting a gigantic black hole in the public finances. 

A spokesman for the department added: This government has made significant additional investment in education.

Borrowing figures on Friday showed £132billion was racked up in the year to February - £20.4billion more than the Treasurys OBR forecast as recently as October

We will continue to support teachers and education leaders to use funding as efficiently as possible, while continuing to deliver better life chances for children and young people across the country. 

The Mail on Sunday revealed that anger about briefing against senior women ministers was raised at last weeks Cabinet meeting.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson are said to have been singled out for attacks.

A Labour source said: Keir was read out of a list of women who were being briefed against and he was very clear he wasnt going to tolerate it any more. 

He said it was unacceptable and if it continued, there would be consequences.