WIREDGOV

PCS echoed concerns expressed by the Committee of Public Accounts today, over Cabinet Office claims that £1.4 billion will be saved each year through government organisations sharing corporate services such as finance and human resources.

The committee's report: Improving corporate functions using shared services, highlights concerns shared by the union that the figure of £1.4 billion of savings is flimsy. The report also highlights that the government lack accurate information on what corporate services cost and how they perform in addition to central benchmarks and timelines for achieving the savings.

Pointing to the report the union expressed concerns that shared services across the civil service were being set up and encouraged to meet arbitrary estimates to cut costs, without taking into account the impact on the quality of service provided.

Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "We echo many of the concerns expressed by the select committee on shared services and find it alarming that the savings estimated appear to flimsy at best. Our experience of shared services is that the emphasis is on cutting costs and not improving quality, which in turn impacts on the smooth running of organisations such as the Prison Service. The report rightly recognises the impact that setting up shared services has on staff morale in terms of job cuts and where changes to work lead to reduced customer contact. In approaching shared services, the government need to put the emphasis on the quality of service delivery rather than crude cost cutting based on arbitrary figures."