LONDON (AP) -- Britain's Treasury chief is set to announce billions of pounds in spending cuts as the cash-strapped nation tries to make ends meet.

George Osborne had hoped that Britain could move past austerity programs by the time he released Wednesday's national spending review, which sets out state spending limits for 2015-2016. In his last review, in 2010, he laid out plans to cut the deficit by 2015 _ in time for the next election.

However, Britain's growth rate remains an anemic 0.3 percent, and the deficit has increased. Analysts suggest some departments could get cuts of up to 10 percent.

Economists at the Institute of Fiscal Studies now suggest Britain may need until 2020 to get past the age of austerity.