A sacked former cabinet member has aimed a swipe at £10 billion plans to encourage people to walk and cycle - while schools brace themselves for devastating cuts.
Kit Malthouse, who was booted out as Education Secretary when Rishi Sunak became PM this week, called on the PM and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt not to resort to "salami slicing" of government departments.
Mr Hunt will deliver an autumn statement on November 17, in which he is expected to usher in a new era of Tory austerity as officicials try to fill a £40bn black hole left after Liz Truss left.
Mr Malthouse, who was in post for just six weeks before being replaced by Gillian Keegan on Tuesday, said that in the past the Treasury has told government departments they must slash budgets "in order to spread the pain widely".
Calling for education to be spared, he wrote in The Telegraph that the sector is "struggling" and said he was surprised that billions had been committed to transport initiatives ahead of sweeping cuts.
He said: "Headteachers across the land are gritting their teeth and sharpening their pencils to make next year’s budget work.
"So imagine my surprise when I read that a transport minister had boasted at the dispatch box that the Government plans to spend £9.9 billion on 'cycling and walking objectives'."
The cash was referenced by transport minister Lucy Frazer, with the government aiming for half of trips across England to be made on a bike or on foot by 2030.
The former minister said the past month had been "economically traumatic" and admitted there are "profound questions" about how it happened.
He said that spending cuts should reflect its priorities, adding: "Instead, the Treasury has historically conducted difficult spending reviews on a departmental basis, salami slicing in order to spread the pain widely."
But this means secretaries of state end up competing to protect their own budget, he warned.
Last week education chiefs warned that headteachers are already having to make school staff redundant to balance the books due to high bills and inflation, while subjects are being cut.
After school clubs and trips are also being slashed, they warn, while provisions for children who need extra support are also being lost.
A letter signed by trade unions as well as the National Governance Association, Confederation of School Trusts, Sixth Form Colleges Association, Association of Colleges and Parentkind last week warned: "The scale of these cuts is unprecedented, even in the context of a decade of underfunding of education.
"They will have a direct impact on the ability of schools and colleges to maintain educational standards. In some cases, they will compromise the wellbeing of children."
It continued that an average primary school in the UK will face a shortfall of £35,000 to £45,000 by September 2024, while this figure will be an alarming £200,000 to £250,000 for secondary schools.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned has previously warned that the Tory pledge to restore school budgets to 2010 levels, will not be met - with budgets set to be 3% lower in real terms by 2024.
