The chancellor faces a battle with ministers who favour tax rises over more cuts

Philip Hammond has told Whitehall to plan for another round of cuts before next year’s spending review, putting him on a collision course with some cabinet colleagues who want tax rises instead of austerity.

The chancellor wants ministries without protected budgets, including public health, further education, local government and transport, to work with the Treasury in the summer to identify potential areas for savings.

Some departments believe that these budgets could be cut by as much as 5 per cent. The letter calling for work to start on the savings, sent by Liz Truss, the chief secretary to the Treasury, last week, does not contain a specific target.

Spending totals have been set until the spring of 2020. Mr Hammond will allocate individual budgets, traditionally