Why efficiency is back on the political agenda

摘要

Efficiency is back in the political arena and the pressure is on for more savings, says the businessman and former Whitehall chief whose name is a shorthand for the biggest public sector efficiency review ever to take place in England. Sir Peter Gershon told the The MJ: 'We're seeing efficiency come back into public debate in a way it was in 2004, because of the macro-economic environment' and the impact of an approaching election. But, he equally believes the public sector still has plenty of scope for more efficiency gains, although they will demand much greater organisational change, and he cites simplifying the 'extremely complex' delivery chain from Whitehall down to town hall as an example. In a wide-ranging interview last week with The MJ from his Mayfair offices, where he is non-executive chairman of Premier Farnell, Sir Peter talked about new pressures to bring in efficiencies and the impact of his own review. He is also speaking this week at the SOLACE conference in a panel workshop hosted by The MJ and Vertex, the business services firm where is a non-executive director. The efficiency agenda is firmly back on the political agenda. Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, claimed at his conference last month that Whitehall cuts would fund his party's spending plans. Shadow chancellor, George Osborne, last week pledged a Conservative Government would bring in a council tax freeze funded by Whitehall savings. Even ministers themselves have warned rising costs must be met by efficiency gains.