Ministers ‘mission-washing’ spending plans in effort to avoid cuts

Departments making stretched links between programmes and government missions' amid fears of budget cuts

Ministers are trying to mission-wash" every item of spending in their departments, according to officials, before a spending review at which Rachel Reeves has demanded they justify every pound they receive.

Sources have told the Guardian that secretaries of state and their officials are looking for ways to link their spending to one of Labour's main priorities - growth, net zero, crime, education, immigration and the NHS - in order to avoid sharp budget cuts this summer.