The head of the National Audit Office has said Whitehall Ministers are carrying out dramatic cuts to public spending without grasping the impact they are having on the ground.
Sir Amyas Morse, who leads the National Audit Office, said that Whitehall officials have inflicted deep public spending cuts without fully understanding their effect on public services.
"If you're going to do radical surgery it would be nice if you knew where the heart was," he said. "You're slightly more likely not to stick a knife in it by mistake."
In response to Morse's statement, Amelia Womack, Deputy leader of the Green Party said:
"The cuts we've seen over the course of this parliament have hit the poorest hardest whilst failing to radically cut the deficit.
"What's worrying is that every other party is standing at these elections pledging to further cut away at our strained public services. The warning signs are clear: thousands of people using foodbanks, incomes barely rising and our public services strained. We need investment, not further cuts, to build a caring, compassionate economy fit for the 21st century."