Independent Reviews of Reported CSR07 Value for Money Savings : Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Session 2009-2010

"Independent Review of Reported CSR07 Value for Money Savings ("HC 86")" contains two independent reviews that are part of a series of reports the NAO will be producing into savings reported by departments. This is part of the targets set by the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. Review of the Department for Transport (DfT). The DfT reported savings of GBP 892 million, of which the NAO found that: 43 per cent fairly represent realised cash savings; 22 per cent may represent realised cash savings but with some uncertainty; and, 35 per cent may be overstated. Review of the Home Office. At the Home Office, the NAO sampled GBP 338 million of GBP 544 million reported savings and found: 59 per cent of these fairly represent realised cash savings; 24 per cent may represent realised cash savings but with some uncertainty; and, the NAO has significant concerns over 17 per cent. Overall, the Government has set a target to generate annually cash-releasing savings of GBP 35 billion by 2010-11. The savings programme is based on the principle that the planned savings have already been removed from departments' budgets. Departments therefore have to deliver savings to release enough cash to meet their spending plans or reduce activity compared with the planned level. The NAO is satisfied that, in many cases, both departments are achieving long term savings. The main reasons for the NAO's concerns with the DfT's reported savings are because 80 per cent of these savings relate to support for the rail industry. The NAO considers the benchmarks against which these savings were measured should have been revised in the light of the most recent information, which would reduce the savings reported in 2008-09. The main reasons for the NAO's concerns with around 17 per cent of savings reported by the Home Office were that reported gains were one-off cash savings which will not permanently reduce the Department's expenditure, or were not new annual savings as the procurement actions had been taken in prior years.