DWP to deliver administrative savings of 26%

In his comprehensive spending review report , published on 20 October 2010, Osborne says that the savings will be made through a number of measures including greater use of digital services for processing benefits. The DWP is also expected to reduce its corporate overheads by 40% in real terms over this parliament. This will be done through the "centralisation of support services and rationalisation of strategy and policy functions". "Data sharing with other departments will facilitate streamlined processes that reduce costs to government and save time for customers. For example the Tell Us Once project will ensure customers only have to report a birth or bereavement to one government agency," says the document. The government also makes a commitment in the report to take a "radical new approach to tackling benefit fraud and error", adding that it wants to "ensure that significant reductions in illegitimate welfare payments are realised across both the DWP and HM Revenue and Customs". Both departments published a joint strategy on 18 October 2010 outlining how they plan to reduce fraud and error.