Press release

Public sector ‘Spending Challenge’ launched

The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have written to public sector workers asking for their ideas on saving money.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have written to public sector workers asking for their ideas on how the government can do more for less.

As part of the Spending Review set out in this week’s Budget, the government is launching a ‘Spending Challenge’ aimed at engaging the country in thinking about public services and how they are provided.

Read the letter to public sector workers

The first phase of the challenge aims to harness the expertise of those working on the front line, including NHS workers, police officers and civil servants and a website has been set up where they can submit their ideas.

In the letter, the PM and Deputy PM said:

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 re-think things so that we get better services for less money.

All serious ideas will be considered by the Cabinet Office and Treasury and passed to departments to consider how they might be implemented. A summary of the submissions will be published later this year.

The public sector phase of the Spending Challenge will end on 9 July and the process will then be opened up to the general public.

Visit the Spending Challenge website.

Updates to this page

Published 24 June 2010