The Prime Minister announced on 7 December 2009 the publication of an action plan entitled Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government that sets out the priorities for the government to improve public services outcome, while reducing public expenditures.

The 'Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government' programme was launched in a major speech by the Prime Minister to the Institute for Government, explaining how government would tackle the challenges and opportunities of the next decade, when the public will expect more accountability and openness and an active participation in the decisions that affect their daily lives. He added that the rise of the digital age has given people unprecedented freedom and control over their lives, and they expect the same personalised, round-the-clock services from the public sector.

The proposals build on the Government's track record in delivering efficiencies, promising savings of £35 billion (approx. €39 billion) a year by 2011 on top of the £26.5 billion (approx. €29 billion) a year already delivered through the Gershon Efficiency Review.

The plans of the 'Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government' programme include:

• Streamlining the Senior Civil Service to save £100 million (approx. €111 million) a year and putting in place radical reforms to senior pay across the wider public sector.
• Merging or abolishing arm's-length bodies, integrating back office functions and selling off government assets.
• Reducing spending on consultancy by 50 % and marketing and communications by 25 %.
• Investing £30 million (approx. €33 million) over three years to get a further one million people online; and increasing the number of services available via the internet, including some benefits claims.
• Empowering citizens by the increasing use of online service delivery and by reducing face to face contact will result in over £600 million (approx. €670 million) new savings.
• Making the 'Tell Us Once' service nationally available.
• Radically opening up data and public information, releasing thousands of public data sets - including Ordnance Survey mapping data, real-time railway timetables, data underpinning NHS Choices, and more detailed departmental spending data -and making them free for reuse.
• Harnessing the power of comparative data to improve standards, publishing public services performance data online by 2011, starting in 2010 with more detailed data on crime patterns, costs of hospital procedures and parts of the national pupil database.
• Reviewing anti-fraud work across government to ensure that data analysis techniques become embedded in standard processes.
• Reducing the bureaucratic procedure on frontline services and improving flexibility.
• Giving people guarantees over the standard of core public services and at the same time encouraging greater personal responsibility.

Further information:

• Official Press Release -Cabinet Office- Website
• Related ePractice Library Item - UK: Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government

Note: Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO.