Member News
By Philippa Silverman - 13th August 2010
The prime minister has enlisted retail magnate Sir Philip Green to lead an external review of government spending, it has been announced.
The billionaire owner of the Topshop fashion empire, notorious for his tight control of costs, will scrutinise all government spending over the past three years.
Sir Philip, 58, will identify inefficiencies and potential savings and report back in September, ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review due to be completed in October.
In particular, he will look at whether leases and contracts entered into in 2007 were good value.
Green, who heads clothing retailer Arcadia Group, suggested that a centralised system of buying for Whitehall could benefit the public purse.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme he said: "We need to get ourselves focused on the big spending, where is the money actually being spent.
"I think in the past, occasionally having had discussions on this, there is not central procurement. So the thought process of us having an individual buyer in each one of our stores without centralising purchasing, will give you some idea hopefully of the opportunity.
"But it's about process as well, so we need to understand the process."
Sir Philip and his team will report to Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude and chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander.
He will not be paid for his time and no set target has been placed upon the savings.
Maude said the government was "extremely fortunate" to have Sir Philip on board, saying he had "immense commercial experience" and a "fantastic track record" at managing large organisations.
"Sir Philip has made clear to the government the importance of his business remit which has always been that efficient operating is different from cost cutting and removing jobs."
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