new reform save £24 million from corruptfree civil servants

    

      

new reform save £24 million from corruptfree civil servants 

national report(weastar times/wp/es):::

Ministers have revealed that they expect to save £24 million by squeezing thousands of civil servants from two departments into one building.

Under the plan, 1,300 staff from the Department for Communities and Local Government will move from their Eland House base in Bressenden Place in Victoria to space at the Home Office in Marsham Street in the middle of next year.

There are already about 10,000 staff at the Home Office, but the move is seen as critical to achieving the savings demanded by the Treasury.

Brandon Lewis, the minister for local government, said: “At DCLG, we believe in making sure taxpayers get value for money. By sharing services and streamlining our property portfolio, this move will allow us to continue practising what we preach.”

The Government will pay a break-fee for ending the department’s tenancy of Eland House early, but officials refused to reveal the amount, citing “commercial sensitivity”. However, they said DCLG would save £8 million in office accommodation costs, with the remaining savings coming from the building’s running costs.

The department was asked to slash spending by more than any other Whitehall department when the Coalition came to power in 2010. It then had 2,200 staff and now has 1,200, with a further 100 workers from other bodies also housed at Eland House.

Helen Kilpatrick, director-general of finance and corporate services at the Home Office, said: “As budgets continue to tighten, we want to target resources where they are needed most. And we want to set a strong example right at the centre. This is not just about saving money.

“The move provides us with a great opportunity to place the Home Office at the forefront of civil service reform, developing ways of working flexibly and sharing resources and knowledge across departments.”

Her DCLG counterpart Sue Higgins said: “Our aim is to use our resources — people, public money and property assets — as efficiently and creatively as possible to deliver real change.”