The number of management groupings has been reduced for four main reasons:
to bear down on non-value-adding transactional activity, thereby generating efficiency savings in line with Sir Peter Gershon's report on Releasing Resources to the Front Line;
to simplify the accounts’ consolidation process, thus facilitating the publication of our Annual Report and Accounts before Parliament rises for the summer recess under the Faster Closing initiative;
to reflect the removal of agency status (and, therefore, the requirement to produce separate agency accounts) for those organisations with minor asset holdings and mainly cash costs, under the Simplify and Improve initiative;
to streamline processes, deliver efficiencies and minimise the bureaucratic overhead locally.