Today I am launching the operational efficiency programme, the latest phase of our drive to ensure that taxpayers receive maximum value for money from the services they fund.

This builds on the Gershon efficiency programme which has delivered £20 billion of savings to date, and the ambitious programme announced at the comprehensive spending review which will deliver £30 billion of savings by 2010-11. The operational efficiency programme will seek to learn from private and public sector expertise and experience to explore whether additional operational savings could be achieved as we prepare for the next spending period. Martin Read, Martin Jay, Gerry Grimstone and Lord Carter of Coles will lead work on the first four cross-cutting work strands, looking at back office and IT; collaborative procurement; asset management and sales; and property respectively. It will also be taking forward work in a fifth area: the incentives for staff to bring forward improvements and cut waste at the local level and what more can be done to reduce bureaucratic burdens on the front line.

The programme will report at Budget 2009 and will drive our value for money programme forward into the next spending review.

Copies of the operational efficiency programme prospectus have been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses and are available from the Vote Office.