Home / Sources / Select Committees / Public Accounts Committee / Cabinet Office functional savings
Index live · Last sync 23 May 2026
Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Cabinet Office functional savings

Status: Closed Opened: 13 Dec 2023 Closed: 3 May 2024 18 recommendations 10 conclusions 1 report

Government established cross-cutting central functional teams, or ‘functions’, in 2013. These seek to provide expert skills across Government while increasing efficiency. In July 2023, the Cabinet Office reported that the functions had achieved £4.4bn of financial savings. A National Audit Office (NAO) report found that the Cabinet Office has not consistently reported the efficiency savings …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Seventeenth Report - Cabinet Office functional savings HC 423 1 Mar 2024 28 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

1 item
7 Conclusion Seventeenth Report - Cabinet Office fun… Deferred

Departmental reporting of efficiency savings in annual accounts remains inconsistent and unaudited

We also asked whether departments were expected to include their efficiency savings as part of their Annual Report and Accounts. The Treasury told us that while some chose to, they were not required to as standard, but that this was something it was currently looking at. For example, it explained …

Government response. The government agrees with the Committee's observation but states that fully bedding in GEF efficiency reporting will take time. HMT will consult on how best to deliver the recommendation once reporting is standardised, committing to update the Committee by April …
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
10 Jan 2024 Cat Little · Cabinet Office, Richard Hornby · Cabinet Office, Sir Alex Chisholm · Cabinet Office View ↗

Correspondence

1 letter
DateDirectionTitle
5 Feb 2024 — Correspondence from Sir Alex Chisholm, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer an…