LONDON -(Dow Jones)- U.K. Business Secretary Peter Mandelson indicated Thursday the range of future spending cuts the government may consider when the country recovers from recession.
In a speech on higher education at Nottingham University, Mandelson defended his recent announcement that he planned to cut some GBP916 million from the higher education, research and science budget over the next three years--representing some 5% of expenditure.
"Much of the rest of the public sector will receive similar constraints in the course of this year or soon after," he said, according to a text of his remarks. "I have always said that higher education would have to bear its share of public spending cuts, but not more."
The higher education spending cuts will start in the 2010 financial year, which begins in April.
That represents an exception for the Labour government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown which has said spending cuts should not take place this year because they could undermine a fragile recovery.
The opposition Conservatives have said they would start their deficit reduction efforts this year and promised their debt cutting efforts would go further than those of the government.
Copyright 2009 Dow Jones Newswires
Credit card users let upBOND REPORT: Treasurys Dip, On Stock Gain, Gilt Drop
