Defra is one of four government departments that is reportedly set to agree to an average budget cut of 30 per cent proposed by chancellor George Osborne.
Transport, local government and treasury departments are also expected to sign the deal, the BBC reported, with a final agreement deadline of 25 November.
The cuts are designed “to help the public finances back into surplus”, Osborne will say in a speech later today.
Ministers are expected to cut back on “day-to-day spending” through a combination of efficiency savings and closing “low-value programmes”, the BBC said.
The chancellor has asked most departments to save between 25 per cent and 40 per cent by the end of the current parliament, although some, including health and overseas aid, have had their budgets ringfenced.
In his speech, Osborne will say cuts will not affect capital spending and investment in infrastructure such as road and rail upgrades, flood defences and broadband, the BBC reported.
He will also warn that if the government does not control spending and reduce national debt there will be a loss of confidence in the British economy.
'That's why, for the economic security of every family in Britain, the worst thing we could do now as a country is lose our nerve,” he will say.
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