The Department for Education must find £670m of savings this financial year, by reducing waste and cutting quangos, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws has announced.

The cuts are part of the government's proposals to slash £6.2bn in "wasteful" public spending.

But funding for schools, Sure Start and cash for the education of 16- to 19-year-olds will not be affected, as these budgets have been ring fenced, alongside the NHS, defence and international development spending.

The government announced that £80m will be cut from educational quangos including Becta (the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency).

The government also wants to save £320m by ending the so-called "ineffective elements" of employment programmes.

This includes the Future Jobs Fund, which is part of the Young Person's Guarantee to offer all 16- to 24-year-olds work or training after six months unemployment.

Despite this, the government plans to invest £50m in further education colleges, which will go towards a £150m fund providing cash for capital projects.

Chancellor George Osborne said he was only able to ring fence part of the education budget after considerable savings were identified across the rest of government.

"Schools will have to become more efficient, like everyone else, but their savings will be reinvested into the frontline this year," he said. "We have shown those who argued that schools would suffer that it is possible to take early action to deal with our debts while improving our children's education."

Laws added: "We promise to cut with care, we are going to be a progressive government even in these hard times."

Across government departments, £600m will be cut from quangos, £1.7bn from delaying and stopping contracts and projects and £1.15bn in discretionary areas like consultancy and travel costs.

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: The commitment to protect spending on schools, Sure Start and 16 to 19 education is welcome, however this needs to be a long term commitment, not just for the next financial year.

"While the government was at great pains to insist that savings could be made by the Department for Education without effecting the quality of provision £670 million is a lot to claw back from reducing quangos and travel expenses."

Blower added that the £1.165 billion that will be cut from government grants to local authorities could impact on essential services that council's provide to schools.

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