Whitehall departments cut staff business travel costs by £148m in 2010/11 against the previous year, the National Audit Office has reported.

Parliament’s spending watchdog said this was equivalent to a 28% reduction on 2009/10, well ahead of the 19% overall cut in spending that most departments must make between this year and 2014/15.

It said this resulted in part from restrictions on discretionary spending of all kinds, including travel and subsistence, imposed by the Government in 2010/11 in an effort to save £6.2bn overall.

The savings predate the award last autumn of the Government’s domestic travel contract to Redfern Travel, a move designed to save money by consolidating the numerous travel management contracts previously let by each department.

Auditors said spending moratoria and efficiency initiatives, including cuts to travel and other “avoidable” costs, contributed around half the total savings. But they questioned how well placed departments were to make the further savings required by 2014/15 because of “gaps in their understanding of costs and risks, making it more difficult to identify how to deliver activities and services at a permanently lower cost”.

The report signalled that further cuts will need to be as “departments will need to change business practices to prevent spending patterns reverting to their previous form”.

NAO head Amyas Morse said: “Most departments will need to cut their spending by much more over the next four years. This will not be possible without their recognising that short-term measures are not enough and that fundamental changes are needed.

“Departments will achieve long-term value for money only if they identify and implement new ways of delivering their objectives, with a permanently lower cost base.”

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