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ITV News is making its first foray into user-generated reports with a new interactive segment exploring the consequences of last week's Emergency Budget. 'The Cuts: Your Stories' will follow a panel of professionals, including GPs, teachers and care workers, over the coming year to see how the cuts in public spending affect them.

The series will air roughly once a week, news agenda permitting, during the 6.30pm ITV bulletin. Viewers are also invited to share their own experiences of government cuts with ITV News reporters, financial experts and other audience members online during the programme.

Following the success of ITV's live chat feature during the leaders' debates and the election night broadcast, the channel has set up a more permanent integrated platform to canvass public opinion on a theme that looks set to dominate domestic news over the coming term.

Deborah Turness, editor of ITV News, said: 'The Cuts: Your Stories embodies ITV News' commitment to putting people at the heart of the stories that matter. Government cuts will dominate the news agenda for a long time to come, and our panel will show their direct impact on people from all walks of life.

'The Debates brought social media out of the teenage bedroom and into the living room. So many people enjoyed the experience of watching TV whilst chatting online it became a mainstream experience. We wanted to build on that in our news programmes and use social media as a platform to offer useful information to our viewers whilst harvesting their take on living in austerity Britain.'

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