TfL and efficiency?

In TfL’s annual report, Boris Johnson and Peter Hendy trumpet efficiency savings of £5bn. Can we infer that over the years, they have been overspending by £5bn? In view of the high-cost traffic controls they cherish, from congestion charging to pedestrian countdown, the overspend is presumably higher. No doubt they do useful work, but they don’t stint on six-figure salaries: Hendy is on £348,000, and 217 managers are on £100,000+. (Nor do they stint on benefits, which include BUPA.) From the report: “We are ahead of the game in delivering one of the largest efficiency programmes anywhere in the UK public sector, with more than £5bn saved. Work on multiple schemes, for which no funding is available, has been stopped; senior salaries have been frozen for two consecutive years; and the Chief Officers and I have waived our performance awards. In addition, back-office costs are being cut by 25%, overall staff numbers by 8%, and spending on consultants and temporary workers. We have moved staff to cheaper offices [have you seen the magnificent Palestra building!], and have radically reduced marketing and communications costs.”