Business Department hit hardest by Osborne's axe

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is to bear the brunt of the government's £6bn programme of cuts with more than £800m in savings.

Business secretary Vince Cable has agreed to make spending reductions totalling £836m as part of the coalition's initial efforts to slash the deficit. It is the biggest cut of all departments compared to £683m at the Department of Transport, £780m in Communities and Local Government and £670m in Education.

BIS said spending on research, innovation, business and enterprise and student numbers in higher education will be "protected" with the savings made from "specific efficiencies". Some of the cuts focus on initiatives introduced by the previous business secretary Lord Mandelson to combat the effects of the recession including the SME Adjudicator, a scheme aimed at getting better treatment for small businesses from their banks. BIS described it as "low priority".