Budget 2010: DWP Delivers Efficiency and Smarter Government Savings

The Budget has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to making £11bn of savings a year by 2012/13 from efficiency and streamlining the centre of Government. Departments are setting out their contributions to these savings.

The £11bn of savings will contribute to halving net borrowing and protecting key public services.  The savings will come following the work of the Operational Efficiency Programme and Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government.1

DWP will meet its commitment through a range of activities, including:

- £40 million of savings in its property costs including using benchmarking to identify and improve utilisation in its property costs, including its estate;

- £180m through getting better value out of our major contracts, including our IT contracts,  primarily by working more closely with our suppliers and by reducing demand;

- reducing the size of our Senior Civil Service and streamlining our support services.
DWP has also committed to making an additional £200m of savings through delivering benefits more efficiently as part of the Public Value Programme.  bringing total savings from DWP to £550m.

The Department outlined its record on making savings to date, and its priorities for the future, earlier this week in a document ‘Delivering More for Less – the Efficiency Programme of the DWP’ www.dwp.gov.uk/efficiency