1.26 It is recommended that there is increased consolidation of existing shared service centres for central government. Central government should be leading the way in shared services with a robust shared services offer for central departments, their agencies and NDPBs that can be moved onto with minimal transaction costs.
1.27 Other parts of the public sector, including local government, the health sector and the police, should accelerate the use of shared services both between similar bodies and across services in a geographical area. Greater use should be made of the NHS shared business service, using financial incentives as necessary.
| Recommendation 1.5: Progress in central government shared services should be accelerated by consolidating existing shared back office centres to provide a robust shared services offer to central government (including agencies and NDPBs). This should be overseen by the Corporate Functions Board. The shared service centres should be managed on an arms- length basis via clear Service Level Agreements. The target is to deliver upper quartile performance for all those using the shared service and drive out cost savings of at least 25 per cent within three years. A similar drive towards greater use of shared services should be encouraged across the wider public sector. |