Urgent Press Release Revision: Impact Executives Comment on Comprehensive Spending Review

LONDON, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Impact Executives would like to announce that on Monday 18th October 2010 a press release was issued which contained an incorrect announcement. Please disregard the content of this release.

Please forward any enquiries regarding this to: Stephanie Campbell on 020 7314 2012

The press release which was supposed to be issued is the Comprehensive Spending Review, details listed below:

George Osborne will unveil his 83bn pounds Sterling programme of cuts and revenue raising measures over the next four years tomorrow in a comprehensive spending review. Osborne is cracking down hard on "welfare and waste" in order to carve out more money for healthcare, schools and key infrastructure projects, and to fuel economic growth. 35 business leaders, signatories to a letter pledging support of these reforms, are confident that private sector would generate new jobs for public sector staff who've lost theirs.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/17/george-osborne-cuts-spending-review    

The government is keen to draw attention to green lit projects such as 16bn pounds Crossrail link, 230m pounds to help 2m rural homes with faster broadband speeds by 2015 amongst others. Local authorities can now also spend government grants in ways that they see fit for their local residents, leading one official to remark that this is the "most radical decentralisation in recent times". Though still braced for cutbacks, the promise of abolishing 4,700 Whitehall performance targets for councils should allow more focus on frontline services. Oxford University is also pushing forward with the biggest building programme worth 1bn pounds in its 800 year history which will provide major boost to local business and employment.

However there are still some serious tough times ahead. The NHS will shrink by "a fifth" as even a ring-fenced health budget cannot protect it from rising cost pressures. The government has announced a huge cull of quangos - 192 axed, 118 merged with the future of other bodies still hanging in balance - and though improving accountability and cutting costs is definitely the need of the hour, will the cost of closing the quangos over-shadow the benefits if not executed efficiently?

Then there's the government's handling of how these cuts will be implemented as it will inevitably create a lot of confusion and anxiousness. "People are much more likely to accept tough messages if they are given the right information at the right time and feel that their views have at least been heard and taken into account before decisions are made." CIPD's latest findings show that the government has to tread softly as must also the trade unions. Many private sector employees are increasingly sensitive to further strike action in the face of pay freezes, job cuts or job losses and cuts to pension entitlement.

http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/10/striking-public-workers-may-lose-public-sympathy.htm    

Head of Impact Executives' Public Sector Practice, Premila Puri, says,

"What the government needs are experts to show how transformation can be effected with minimal damage, maximum impact embedding experiences from their private sector incarnation and by understanding the nuances of public sector workings. Transforming cultures and mindsets at the front line where real change will involve and transform as a systemic change, rather than structural reform alone. Our Interim Managers are experts at leading transformational change and post CSR the public sector will need these experts delivering the Right solution, Right now and at the Right cost.

About Impact Executives

Impact Executives is a leading interim management provider to organisations of every size in the UK and globally.

Originally formed as a specialist practice within PA Consulting Group, over the past 20 years Impact Executives has helped more than 2000 companies. These include more than two-thirds of the FTSE 250 - find the very best executive interim management talent.

With offices covering the UK, continental Europe, Asia Pacific and Australia, Impact Executives is part of the global services consultancy Harvey Nash Group plc, giving clients and interim managers the confidence that we have the resources, expertise and focus to deliver results - fast.

Note to editors:

Impact Executives would like to announce that on Monday 18th October a press releases was issued which contained an incorrect announcement. Please disregard the content of this release.

Please do not publish this until the press release is re-issued at a later date. If you have published this press release we kindly request that it is removed.

Please forward any enquiries regarding this to: Stephanie Campbell on 020 7314 2012

SOURCE Impact Executives