The crackdown, which was requested by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has seen a new ‘Efficiency and Value for Money Committee’ set up, which will be chaired by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and will aim to ensure that the 5% efficiency target set last year is met across the government and will also examine strategies to prevent fraud and error.

The announcement stated that the £5.5bn saved from this measure will be put straight back into public services such as the NHS. As part of the plan, the annual NHS efficiency target will be doubled to 2.2% which the Chancellor stated would free up around £4.75bn to fund the NHS over the next three years.

The crackdown will also see a review of government arm’s length bodies and quangos which will be expected to save at least £800m from their budgets.