To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what efficiency savings his Department was required to make as part of its Spending Review 2004 (SR04) targets; what efficiency projects have been undertaken in the Department in pursuit of those targets; on what date each was initiated; and how much each was predicted to contribute to the SR04 target. (162320)

The Department is jointly committed with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to the efficiency target set originally for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).

The DfES target is 2.5 per cent. a year over the spending review 2004 period. This means being able to demonstrate cumulative gains against our baseline of £1.45 billion in 2005-06, £2.9 billion in 2006-07 and £4.35 billion in 2007-08.

Details of the specific initiatives which contribute to our Gershon efficiency target are set out in our Efficiency Technical Note, which is available on the Department’s website.