The launch of the Public Bodies Review Programme will set out how
departments should assess their public bodies.
The Cabinet Office has published guidance which will inform
departments how to review their public bodies over the next five
years.
The Public Bodies Review Programme delivers on commitments made
in the Declaration on Government Reform to increase the
effectiveness and efficiency of public bodies and will look to
identify a minimum of 5% savings for each organisation.
Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government
Efficiency said:
Taxpayer’s money should be spent efficiently and on worthwhile
areas.
It’s right then that we should always look at public
organisations and whether they are delivering for the British
people.
Departments will be asked to review their public bodies to:
- Assess whether a function should be delivered by the State,
or whether an alternative is more fitting.
- Ensure public bodies have a ‘laserlike’ focus on delivering
their objectives, and are not making decisions which fall under
the remit of Ministers.
- Reduce the burden on the taxpayer as the increased pressures
of the pandemic on the public purse come to an end.
- Spend taxpayer money with greater care and ensure
performance, expenditure and other data is shared openly.
Arm’s length bodies now spend over £220 billion a year and employ
over 300,000 people. It is expected that reviews will deliver
average savings of at least 5%, or one in every twenty pounds
spent, across the public bodies under review.
These reviews build on action already taken by the Government.
The National Audit Office recently reported that since 2010 the
Government has reduced the number of ALBs by a third between 2010
and 2015, saving around £3 billion annually in administrative
costs. The number of ALBs identified in the Cabinet Office has
fallen again from 463 to 295 between 2016 and 2019.
