§ "Spend to save" protects the ordinary taxpayer and the people in genuine need of benefits. It is certainly not about more bureaucracy or more red tape.
We remain a Government committed to deregulation, and we are committed to a more efficient civil service. We have cut overall central Government Departments' running costs by 8 per cent. in real terms since the start of this Parliament and we are going to reduce them by a further 7 per cent. by the end of the decade. Civil service numbers are already below half a million, and we expect this fall to continue.