Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness, has welcomed the announcement that the government has cut £5.5 billion in unnecessary Whitehall expenditure.
This includes:
- £1 billion saved on external consultancy contracts
- £390 million saved by reducing government marketing budgets
- £200 million saved by exiting unnecessary properties and not extending unnecessary leases
- Reduced government staffing costs by £1.5 billion by controlling non-essential recruitment to the civil service
The savings, which have been independently audited, are equivalent to around £500 for every working household in Britain and, as the Chairman of the Education Select Committee pointed out, the cost of around 1.6 million primary school places.
Graham said, “People all over the country will welcome these savings. The Government is right to focus on cutting wasteful spending on things like consultants and marketing while protecting the frontline services that families in Beverley and Holderness value.
“Labour left a bloated and inefficient Whitehall which saw a department spend £73 on a box of paper and gave civil servants unregulated access to taxpayer-funded credit cards.
“During tough times it is important that we cut out wasteful spending and make sure taxpayers’ hard earned cash is being spent wisely. The last government wasted more money than any previous one in history. I’m delighted that this one is bringing sensible cash management back to the public sector and protecting frontline services at the same time.”
