Efficiency

Lies, damned lies and efficiency savings

9 August 2012 | Colin Talbot

There is no evidence to back up the government’s claim that it has exceeded targets for efficiency savings. The examples put forward are merely spending cuts that are likely to have a detrimental effect on the quality of public services Read more

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Cost-cutting and cash control

10 May 2012 | Mike Turley

An analysis of government data shows that billions of pounds could be saved if changes were made to financial management, fraud detection and cash flow Read more

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NHS management: in the line of fire

26 January 2012 | Catherine Foot

Hospital boards are finding it difficult to cut costs and maintain standards of health care. They should consider devolving operational decisions to different business units or ‘service lines’ Read more

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Managing the consultants

24 November 2011 | Alan Leaman

The Cabinet Office’s new framework for buying in consultancy services is a significant step forward for taxpayers and the consulting industry alike – but there is still more to do. Read more

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Health and efficiency: from PCT to CCG

15 September 2011 | Judith Smith

Research from the Nuffield Trust suggests that the new NHS clinical commissioning groups will have to perform much better than primary care trusts in determining their spending priorities and achieving cost savings Read more

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Mutuals: where’s the proof?

18 August 2011 | Paul O'Brien

Ministers are keen to promote mutuals as the way forward for the public sector, but there is little evidence to suggest that these will help to improve the quality and efficiency of services Read more...

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‘Staggering’ savings? I don’t think so

2 August 2011 | Colin Talbot

There is nothing ‘staggering’ about Francis Maude’s announcement  of £3.75bn savings other than the audacity of making such inflated  claims Read more

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Services on the line

22 July 2011 | Emma Watkins

We need to transform our public services so that the public can continue to receive high-quality services but at a reduced cost for the taxpayer. We think that part of the answer lies in harnessing the potential of information technology. Read more...

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NHS savings: time for realism

19 July 2011 | Malcolm Prowle

The government’s efficiency target for the NHS is simply wishful thinking. When will ministers realise that you can’t change public services just by issuing orders from London? Read more

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Job cuts: the collateral damage, by Andrew Jepp

21 March 2011 | Andrew Jepp

The latest wave of labour market figures released by the Office for National Statistics painted a worrying picture of UK unemployment, revealing a decline of 45,000 jobs in the last quarter of 2010. Overall, 111,000 ‘general government’ jobs were lost in 2010, 1.9% of the total. Perhaps even more concerning is that 66,000 of these were in local government. Read more...

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