Efficiency drive to intensify, says Treasury chief secretary

27 Oct 05
Further demanding targets for efficiency savings beyond the Gershon programme will be at the heart of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, the Cabinet minister masterminding it has told Public Finance.

28 October 2005

Further demanding targets for efficiency savings beyond the Gershon programme will be at the heart of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, the Cabinet minister masterminding it has told Public Finance.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Des Browne, giving his first major interview since taking up the post, vowed that there would be no let-up in the drive to cut government costs in the next spending round.

He told PF that improving efficiency in public spending was 'exceedingly important' to the government. The 'challenge of the tighter fiscal environment' reinforced the need for such an approach.

'Efficiency is now going to be an integral part of our spending regime and that is specifically why we will embark upon a stream of work for the CSR that is designed to identify where those efficiencies can be achieved,' Browne said.

A root-and-branch review of departmental spending, examining the scope for further savings and reassessing existing spending priorities on a 'zero-sum' basis, will shortly be launched and its conclusions published next summer.

This will be one of the key strands of the work programme in the run-up to the 2007 CSR and will shape its outcome, which will cover the financial years from 2008 to 2011.

The various ongoing reviews relating to public spending, such as the Turner commission on pensions and the Lyons local government inquiry, will also be fed into it.

But Browne sought to calm fears that the 2007 CSR could leave the public sector short of cash, saying the general election had given the government 'a clear mandate to sustain a significant level of investment in public services'.

See the full interview in next week's issue

 

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