Treasury targets IT for government efficiency drive

Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown is targeting public sector IT as part of a Whitehall-wide efficiency drive to slash billions off government spending.

The 'Efficiency Review' was put out to consultation this week and will be overseen by Peter Gershon, head of the Office of Government Commerce, who has already been responsible for implementing tough new checks on new IT projects.

The aim of the review is to make savings on the projected £320bn government will spend on public services by 2005/2006, which can then be used to release "substantial" new resources by 2007.

"This review will represent a radical and fundamental challenge to the way the government does its business. Clearly, even a small proportional efficiency saving would generate major opportunities for re-investment in high priority frontline services," the consultation document said.

IT has been singled out as one of the major areas that savings can be made. The document says that the payment of over £100bn of benefits and billions in tax revenues have the potential for "complete transformation through ICT".

"We want to explore the opportunities to simplify access for the public and achieve major efficiencies by accelerating the use of modern technology," it said.

The "self-sufficiency" of public bodies in trying to provide all internal functions themselves and individually negotiated contracts are a barrier to these efficiencies and the review said it will look at ways that sharing of services, including IT, can be developed. This will fit in with the government's 'Common Systems Strategy' which is already looking at ways of standardising public sector IT.