George Osborne has announced that he has reached agreement with seven govt departments on savings to be made in 2015.

The UK chancellor said he had found 20% of the £11.5bn he wants to cut spending by in the year from April 2015.

Justice, energy and communities are among the departments agreeing to “significant savings”, he said, adding that health, schools and foreign aid would be protected from cuts.

Mr Osborne is expected to announce the departments in question on a visit to north-west England later today , but the financial details will be held back until the annual spending review presented to parliament in June.

With a general election likely in May 2015, there’s no guarantee of course that any of this will come to fruition.

The BBC carries more on the story here