CBI report will expose Government’s ‘confusing and vague’ efficiency plans

The CBI is to criticise the Government today over its “confusing and vague” approach to achieving £21.5bn-worth of annual efficiency savings.

Following the chancellor’s pre-Budget report, the CBI instigated a study of government department Efficiency Technical Notes (ETNs issued by the Treasury. This report will be issued today and reveals that there is insufficient detail and clarity over what constitutes an efficiency gain and how gains are to be achieved.

The CBI report warns against ‘cosmetic change’ and says the 100,000 prospective job cuts will only account for £5bn of the efficiency target.

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This February’s interim report by efficiency tsar Peter Gershon suggested that HR would be one of the functions in the firing line when the cuts are made.

John Cridland, deputy director-general of the CBI, said: “Although we support what the Government is trying to do, there is little or no point in having an efficiency review if all it will result in is contentious job cuts, attempts at below-the-radar policy changes and limited plans for how things will actually work in practice.”