Welsh public services are facing the biggest financial challenge for a generation. The Efficiency and innovation good practice site is part of our contribution to supporting public services in responding to those challenges.
Our report A Picture of Public Services 2011 estimated that, in real terms, public spending would fall by around £1.6 billion between 2010-11 and 2013-14.
With that financial challenge in mind public services will need to be more efficient and will need to find innovative ways of working, so that they can achieve more with less.
'Helping Welsh public bodies to improve their use of resources within the growing constraints of the economy and environment' is one of the key objectives of the Wales Audit Office's 2009-2012 Strategy. The Assembly Government had brought together different parts of the public service through its Efficiency and Innovation Programme as outlined in its Better Outcomes for Tougher Times: The Next Phase of Public Service Improvement policy document. It has since created a Public Services Leadership Group to take over the work of the Efficiency and Innovation Programme.
The Wales Audit Office has worked with the Efficiency and Innovation Partnership. The Auditor General for Wales attended the Partnership meetings. And we had Wales Audit Office staff attending the Boards for each of the work-streams. In future, we will continue to support this work, through involvement with the Public Services Leadership Group.