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Government budget cuts and regeneration: summary
Published: 2010-05-26 07:32:54
In outlining cuts totalling £6.243 billion for the year 2010/11, Treasury chief secretary David Laws also announced a series of policy changes. Several of these have implications for regeneration and housing programmes.
•England's regional development agencies will have to save £270 million in the current financial year through "ending lower value spending".
•Departments across Whitehall will have to save more than £1.5 billion in the current financial year through "delaying and stopping contracts and projects".
- £1.5 billion of savings will be found in "discretionary areas" such as consultancy and travel costs. A new efficiency group will oversee an "immediate freeze" on unnecessary spending on consultancy,” said Laws.
- Ring-fences around over £1.7 billion of grants to local authorities in 2010/11 will be removed. "This will give local authorities much greater flexibility to deliver on their priorities," said Laws.
- Department of Communities and Local Government will be required to make savings of £780 million.
Among other changes, the chief secretary announced:
• The allocation of an additional £170 million to fund investment in social rented housing in 2010/11, to help deliver 4,000 social housing starts.
• The formation of a new Efficiency Group will help to improve spending effectiveness. "This Group will assist departments in renegotiating contracts, and it will oversee an immediate freeze on unnecessary spending on consultancy, advertising and new ICT spend over £1 million," said Laws.
"This action is designed to send a shock-wave through government departments, to focus ministers and civil servants on whether spending in these areas is really a priority in the difficult times we are now facing."
Also see: SocInvest's response to the announcements.