David Bell promises that front-line inspection services will not suffer

The English education watchdog has confirmed that to find savings of 20% it would be closing a number of regional offices.

Staff numbers in the watchdog's central London headquarters would also be cut by 30% over the next two years.

The chief inspector of schools, David Bell, said the shake-up would ensure a "fit-for-the-future inspectorate".

"I deeply regret that as part of this programme it will be necessary to close some of our offices, but these changes are essential for Ofsted to continue to deliver high quality good value services for the taxpayer," said Mr Bell.

Office closures

When the threat of job cuts was raised during the summer, there were warnings from unions that this would endanger the government's efforts to raise education standards.

But Mr Bell promised that the re-organisation would protect Ofsted's front-line inspection services.

The announcement from Ofsted confirms that, in order to cut costs by a fifth by 2008, it would re-organise into three regions - centred on Bristol, Nottingham and Manchester - and would close eight other offices.

These closures, in Leeds, Birmingham, Woking, Harlow, and London, and HMI support centres in Pudsey, Preston and Manchester, are set to take place between September 2005 and March 2006.

"Whilst I appreciate some parents may be worried about losing local Ofsted representation, the reality is that our home-based inspection workforce will remain a strong presence on the ground and in local areas," said Mr Bell.

Ofsted says that half of its staff, including all inspection staff, are currently working from home - a proportion that will increase with the proposed re-structuring.

The announcement comes as the Queen's Speech is expected to pave the way for a new inspection regime, which will allow for more targeted, light-touch inspections, which will be carried out at short-notice.

Ofsted had been asked to make cuts under as a result of the Chancellor's Comprehensive Spending Review.

Liberal Democerat education spokesman Phil Willis said: "Finally, the government is admitting that endless inspections don't improve standards.