The cabinet must focus any new round of spending cuts on healthcare and social security benefits, says Halbe Zijlstra, leader of the VVD parliamentary party in an interview with the Financieele Dagblad.

Education, the infrastructure and public safety should be considered priorities and exempt from further reductions when the government presents its 2014 spending plans in September, Zijlstra said.

‘The cabinet must focus on specific areas,’ Zijlstra told the FD. ‘Direct spending on consumers, like care and benefits, is continually increasing and needs to be tackled,’ Zijlstra said.

The government – a coalition between the VVD and Labour party PvdA – will decide in August if more spending cuts are necessary.