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In the 2004 Spending Review, the Government set out its commitment to deliver efficiency gains in excess of £20bn a year by 2007/08, in line with the recommendations of the Gershon Report. Local Government was responsible for a substantial portion of these gains, with councils reporting a total of around £1.9bn of efficiency gains in 2005/06, with a further projected saving of £1.2bn in 2006/07, surpassing the 2007/08 targets of £3bn 12 months early.

   
Significant progress has been made in saving money whilst improving local services, but with rising public expectations and the challenging financial climate, councils are expected to continue to drive forward the cost-effective transformation of local services. Following the 2006 Pre-Budget Report, a new target of at least 3% savings, per year, has been set across central and local government in advance of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review period, releasing resources earmarked to meet the challenges ahead.

But how far can the efficiency drive go? As more savings are made, it becomes more and more difficult to identify new areas for streamlining, and concern is mounting over the feasibility of leaving services themselves untouched by the cost-cutting. To examine this issue, Public Service Events is hosting Local Government Efficiency 07, Providing Value, Protecting Services, at the Barbican, London, on April 3^rd 2007. This conference will provide a platform for central and local government stakeholders to debate current policy and regulation in the run-up to the Comprehensive Spending Review, for an expert audience of local government professionals responsible for the preparation and implementation of these plans.