Cuts, cuts, cuts

RDA's spend around £1.5bn per year. Administration accounts for about 7% of this. The Homes and Communities Agency is budgeted to spend £6bn this financial year. Administration accounts for less than 2%. It should be clear that efficiency savings in the delivery (e.g. through abolishing these quangos) will only make a small difference to the overall expenditure. The new government is going to have to cut programme expenditure. So the crucial question is: what should it cut?