Millions of public sector workers are to receive a letter from the prime minister and his deputy asking for ideas on where spending cuts can be made.
David Cameron and Nick Clegg have written to the six million “frontline” state employees asking for “fair and responsible” suggestions, which they vowed would be handed to Whitehall officials for consideration.
The move came as Chancellor George Osborne announced in his Budget that public sector staff will face a two-year pay freeze and most departments will see spending cut by a quarter between now and 2014.
In their letter, Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg stated: “We want you to help us find those savings, so we can cut public spending in a way that is fair and responsible.
“You work on the frontline of public services. You know where things are working well, where the waste is, and where we can rethink things so that we get better services for less money.”
Public sector workers are being asked to visit the website www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spendingchallenge by 9 July and answer the question: “How do we rethink services to deliver more for less?”
Copyright © Press Association 2010
“Management tiers should be reduced. Number of NHS PCT boards in each borough should be reduced to below five, some areas have more than eight. NHS PCTs’ operating management costs are massive” – Name and address withheld
“Stop the rebranding of the PCTs. They were named County PCT now has become NHS County. What a waste of money. This must have cost hundreds of thousands around the country. Why can’t the PCTs nationally volume purchase ie, join a consortium and demand high discounts. In my previous
life working for a company the size of the NHS but worldwide, we were able to get some deals and the whole company benefitted. We have done this as GP practices” – Jane Willis, Devon
