The Cabinet Office confirmed to the Enquirer that £72m was saved on construction projects alongside a £205m reduction in the Department for Transport’s contribution to Crossrail.

Nearly £1bn was also saved by cutting the number of consultants hired to advise Government with a moratorium on new contracts which has seen consultancy spending slashed by 85% since 2010.

Harnessing the bulk-buying power of Government saved £500m while a reduction in the size of the Civil Service has cut £1.5bn from the wage bull.

Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, said: “There’s never an excuse for wasting taxpayers’ money in the way it was in the past, but given the size of the deficit this Government inherited and the ongoing tough economic climate, we were determined to cut the fat from Whitehall.

“Because our controls on spending are working well and saving unprecedented amounts of money, I’m determined they will be a permanent feature of good governance.

“Last year, this Government beat its own prediction and saved a staggering £5.5 billion from departmental expenditure, on top of the £3.75 billion from our first year in office.

“In 2010 we set up an Efficiency and Reform Group in the Cabinet Office to beef up government’s operational centre and to ensure that Whitehall operated in a more business-like fashion.

“It’s working well, but we are determined to go even further, because when it comes to spending other people’s money we must always strive to find more efficient and better ways of providing public services.”