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Tuesday June 22nd 2010, One Wimpole Street - Central London, 09:00 - 16:00

Central Government Efficiency: More With Less

Overview

In the current economic climate, with severe strain on public finances and resources, the need for efficiency in the public sector is a foregone conclusion. Central government is the primary area where efficiencies need to be made, as it represents by far the largest element of public expenditure. In 2010, central government will spend £488.5 billion out of a total public sector expenditure of £661.4 billion.

In order to drive efficiency in central government and the wider public sector, the former Government published its Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) in April 2009. It set out how the public sector could deliver £35 billion in efficiency savings by 2011,it focused on central and local government, the NHS and the education sector. However, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, only £8.5 billion of efficiency savings have actually been found so far. This leaves a further £26.5 billion of savings to be found by 2010-2011.

The Programme set out key ways to achieve savings in Whitehall, firstly, through improved back office operations and IT, on which central government spends £18 billion per annum. It intended to do this through introducing shared services and standardised IT projects. In addition, savings would be made through collaborative procurement, asset management and sales; property management; and local incentives and improvements.

According to the 2009 Pre-Budget Report, total central government expenditure is set to fall by £35.7 billion by 2013-14. This is in addition to the efficiency targets already set in the OEP, and the £12 billion of savings identified in ‘Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government’. Given that the new government has committed to protect certain elements of the health, education and overseas aid budgets, this means that efficiencies and reductions are likely to fall most heavily on the areas of defence, higher education, transport and housing.

The new government has also committed to cutting the cost of central government, and has pledged to reduce Whitehall costs by a third by the end of the next Parliament.

As we approach this period of unprecedented constraint on public finances, there has never been a better opportunity to discuss and debate how best we can create an efficient and cost-effective public sector that will continue to deliver high quality public services on the front line.

Agenda

08:30	Registration and Coffee
09:10	Chair’s Welcome Address Anthony Travers, Director Greater London Group, LSE (CONFIRMED)
09:20	Collaborative Procurement and Structured Cost Reduction Findings from recent NAO report on collaborative procurement Wider NAO thinking on how to take a structured approach to cost reduction Keith Davis, Director, Efficiency Centre, National Audit Office (CONFIRMED)
09:40	Performance Through Engagement: How to Deliver More for Less How to engage your people to deliver significantly better performance - Harnessing the talents of every single person within your organisation The importance of leadership in: Giving employees the know-how Trusting employees to make a difference Unlocking employees potential An overview of architecture of change that will deliver long-term sustainable benefits John Coulston, Managing Practitioner, UNIPART (CONFIRMED)
10:10	Using Procurement to Drive Departmental Transformation Key components of a successful procurement transformation with a focus on: People Processes Relationships Key results achieved Key learning points to share John Collington, Director, Commercial Group, Home Office (CONFIRMED)
10:30	Using ICT Improvements to Deliver Efficiency in Central Government Bob Crooks, Green ICT Programme Leader, Defra (CONFIRMED)
10:50	Creating a Lean Central Government that Delivers on the Frontline Coalition government plans to reduce the cost of Whitehall by a third by 2015 Successfully delivering reductions in Whitehall costs whilst continuing to improve frontline services Consolidating or abolishing certain quangos to deliver efficiencies The importance of efficiency savings over the next CSR to reduce the budget deficit Dr. Andrew Lilico, Chief Economist, Policy Exchange (CONFIRMED)
11:10	Questions and Answers Session
11:20	Coffee and Networking
11:50	How to Deliver Green Computing Within Your Existing Budgets Meeting carbon emissions targets Increasing compute access Saving money upfront on hardware costs Case studies Rebecca Gibson, Director, NEU (CONFIRMED)
12.10	Case Study: NHS Shared Business Services Creating an integrated shared services structure for NHS organisations A joint venture between the Department of Health and Steria Providing finance, IT and payroll services to 100 NHS Trusts Enabling NHS bodies to focus on business improvement activities and strategic decision-making Delivering 20% – 30% savings on like for like services Providing Family Health Services Chris Ashburn, Financial and Commercial Director, NHS Shared Business Services(CONFIRMED)
12:30	Questions and Answers Session
13:00	Lunch and Networking
14:00	Getting the Most from the Government Estate Implementing the Asset management recommendations of the OEP Managing the Government’s assets more effectively; realising £16 billion in savings by 2013/14 Identifying government assets for part or full sale: The Tote Student Loans Portfolio High Speed 1 URENCO Relocating public sector staff from London and South East to other regions of the UK Developing new ways to measure the efficiency of the Government Estate Lord Carter of Coles, Lead OEP Advisor for Property, HM Treasury (CONFIRMED)
14:30	Questions and Answers Session
14:40	Local Government Efficiency: The Role of Central Government Recasting the relationship between central and local government to deliver efficiencies Giving local communities the flexibility to set priorities and guide resources Reducing centrally imposed burdens through inspection and assessment Building on the Total Place pilots Making central government a more strategic partner by aligning and pooling resources with councils Lord Bichard of Nailsworth, Lead Advisor for OEP Local Incentives and Empowerment, HM Treasury (CONFIRMED)
15:20	Coffee and Networking
15:35	Questions and Answers Session
16:00	Chair's Summary and Close

*programme subjecto to change without notice

Sponsors

NComputing

Unipart Expert Practices

Exhibitors

Atkins

intelligentcontract.com

Danwood

Audience

Delegates attending this conference will be from central government, education, social care and business sectors specifically, directors of property, heads of facilities, commissioning directors, heads of procurement, heads of estate, research and development managers, heads of innovation and development, head of IT &, heads of business development, social care directors, communication & marketing directors, technical directors and project directors.

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