Darling puts squeeze on gov't IT spending
Kable
Published: 25 Nov 2008 10:53 GMT
The chancellor of the exchequer has placed new demands on government IT, with a £5bn increase in the efficiency-savings target.
In his pre-budget statement, Alistair Darling increased the efficiency savings planned in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, running from 2008 to 2011, from £30bn to £35bn.
"We know extra savings are achievable because independent reviewers have identified new efficiencies across public-sector operations," said Darling. "The efficiencies will come through lowering the cost of back-office operations, better procurement, examining property holdings and asset sales. By continuing to make efficiency savings, we can help fund the action needed to help families and businesses."
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Back-office operations and improving procurement are both driven by IT, and lower property costs are often supported by increasing home and remote working, thereby reducing the need for office space.
Darling also brought forward £3bn in capital expenditure from the 2010-11 financial year to 2008-09 and 2009-10, including spending on school-modernisation projects, as well as transport and house-building schemes, and energy-efficiency work. School-modernisation work typically includes costs of around 10 percent for IT work.
The measures form part of a pre-budget statement that saw Darling announce a £20bn fiscal stimulus for the economy, designed to reduce the length and severity of the developing recession. He predicted that national debt will rise sharply, to a predicted 57 percent of gross domestic product in 2013-14, against 36 percent in 2007.
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