An efficiency drive designed to save 57million is now likely to cost the Departmrnt for Transport [DIT} £81 million, a Government watchdog has found,

There was insufficient time to test a new IT system which has proved “unstable” whhen it went live,the report by the National Audit Office said.

Transport department staff told the audit office that people were being recorded as sick when they were not and the information being recorded was “garbage”

THe head of the audit office, Tim Burr said “it is disappointing to see a programme which aimed to improve efficiency and effectiveness leaving it - on current projections- some £80million worse off”.

The DIT had said that the programme would cost £55million and achieve gross savings of £112million.

However the audit office said the programme is forcast to cost £120million against the gross savings identified of “40million over its lifetime to March 2015.