17.04.13
ERG must focus on sustainability – NAO
The Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG) has helped government departments to make significant savings, the National Audit Office (NAO) has reported.
The ERG has saved £5.5bn in 2011-12 through changes to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, restrictions on employing consultants and temporary staff, monitoring recruitment of permanent staff, central procurement of common goods and services, and a review of IT.
But the NAO calls for the ERG to have a greater focus on sustainability of savings and states it is not fully clear how the group intends to make the reforms necessary to secure £20bn of annual savings over the spending review period.
Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: “Nearly three years on from its birth, the Efficiency and Reform Group is clearly helping departments achieve substantial reductions in annual spending. This demonstrates that the ERG is providing value for money.
“As a relatively new organization, ERG has assessed the obstacles it faces and has begun to tackle them energetically. However, it needs to get going on moving beyond the role of imposing central spending controls to placing more emphasis on changes aimed at promoting sustainable savings.”
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