Towards A Lean Public Sector

Part of a series of papers on Leaner Government

Public sector organisations in the UK are under greater pressure to deliver worldclass services than ever before. In the 2008 Pre-Budget Report, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling outlined how Government has reaped savings of £26.5bn since 2004, £5bn more than the original Gershon efficiency review target.

As Chancellor Darling explained, “We need to be more efficient and we will be more efficient. We are already exceeding the targets we set ourselves for government spending, in making ourselves more efficient and cutting back on waste.” But there is still much to do. He wants to see at least £10bn more efficiency savings by 2011 to support the tax breaks being used as fiscal stimulus in our current climate.

At the same time, incidents such as data losses by government departments have fuelled concerns among citizens. The public sector needs to rebuild that trust and not be seen to be putting cost savings ahead of key factors such as personal data security. Public sector organisations must provide value for money, be responsive to citizens, strive for continuous improvement and relentlessly ensure the safety of public data. These goals can only be realised by improving understanding of the customer, and implementing world-class processes and systems to serve them better.

Read the full paper here (PDF, 90.6KB)

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