Chief operating officer for new Efficiency and Reform Group

The former boss of the Football Association looks set to kick public sector ICT costs into touch.

Ian Watmore, who was also a former permanent secretary, is to become the new chief operating officer at the head of the Efficiency and Reform Group and is charged with making the provision of government's ICT more efficient.

He will work closely with the minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, and chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, to coordinate the approach to tackling waste and improving accountability across all government departments. This will include exploiting economies of scale and reducing duplication, as well as looking for efficiencies in procurement, project management, property and HR.

Based in the Cabinet Office, the Efficiency and Reform Group is responsible for helping departments across the whole of Whitehall meet their commitments to save £6.2bn in this financial year.

Francis Maude, who co-chairs the board which oversees the Efficiency and Reform Group, said, "It is essential that we move forward as quickly as possible with driving down the cost of government so we can protect the vital public services which the people of this country rely on.

"The Efficiency and Reform Group, right at the heart of government, has a crucial role in making sure this starts to happen straight away. I believe that Ian Watmore has the right combination of high-level commercial experience both in commerce and Whitehall to get going straight away on work to deliver a whole raft of savings I know we can achieve across government."

Ian Watmore, who is on an annual salary of £142,500 per annum, said: "I am delighted to be coming back to the Civil Service at this critical time to take up this opportunity. I believe that the Efficiency and Reform Group has a key role to play in securing value for money. By looking at innovative new ways of working we can make government more efficient and effective, as well as improving the delivery of public services."

Source: www.ukauthority.com