Home Office
Department's key responsibilities: Policing, anti-terror operations, crime prevention, immigration, passports
Annual budget: £10.2bn
Cut required to meet 25% savings target: £2.55bn
What's been cut so far: Theresa May's department has been told to make £367m in cuts. Of this £135m is to come from police efficiency savings and £82m from "arm's-length" bodies such as National Policing Improvement Agency and the Serious Organised Crime Agency. Mrs May has also said nothing will be off limits in a review of police pay and conditions - due to report in June 2011.
Rumour mill: The Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Denis O'Connor, has said the Home Office can cut its spending on policing by 12% through a "total redesign" of working practices. The Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, predicts as many as 40,000 front-line posts could go in England and Wales over four years. The Scottish Police Federation predicts 2,800 posts could go in Scotland.
Department of JusticeDepartment's key responsibilities: Courts system, prisons, probation, elections
Annual budget: £9.7bn
Cut required to meet 25% savings target: £2.43bn
What's been cut so far: Ken Clarke's Ministry of Justice became the first Whitehall department to give its outline figure for savings demanded ahead of the autumn Spending Review, saying it planned to cut £2bn of its budget. The Public and Commercial Services Union estimates this will mean that 15,000 of 80,000 staff will have to be laid off. The department's finance director, Ann Beasley, acknowledges the situation will be "extremely challenging". In the earlier round of savings outlined by the government in May, the Ministry of Justice was told to economise to the tune of £325m. The government is also considering closing 157 magistrates' and county courts across England and Wales.
Rumour mill: There is expected to be a major reduction in prison places, meaning more community sentences.
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