Osborne to unveil extra £2.5bn cuts 19 March 2013 Last updated at 13:43 The government is to announce a further spending cuts in Wednesday's Budget, with the savings going to large-scale infrastructure projects designed to boost economic growth. Most Whitehall departments will have to cut 2% of their spending over the next two years, amounting to about £2.5bn. But health, defence and HM Revenue & Customs budgets will be unaffected. The cuts come on top of the 3% spending reductions announced for the next two years in last year's Autumn Statement. Chancellor George Osborne told his colleagues of the plan at Wednesday's cabinet meeting. Schools and overseas aid will also be shielded from the cuts, while local government and police budgets will be protected for the first year, However, other government departments - such as justice, environment and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - will be told to deliver 1% cuts to their day-to-day budgets in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. A No 10 spokesman said the announcement had been greeted with "unanimous agreement" around the cabinet table, with ministers saying it "was the right thing to do." The spokesman said the move had been made possible by under-spending at government departments this year, which "reflected the success that secretaries of state across the board have had, working with the Treasury, on bringing departmental resource spending down." The government has come under pressure to increase spending on capital projects, such as roads and housing, with its critics saying it is not doing enough to help economic growth. Lord Deighton, the minister charged with accelerating the delivery of major infrastructure projects, briefed cabinet on progress on Tuesday.