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MPs have attacked Whitehall officials for inflating the savings expected from two major fire authority reforms, after it was revealed just one-third of the expected efficiencies from one project would materialise.

Richard McCarthy, director general of programmes and policy at the Department for Communities and Local Government, last week revealed savings made from merging England's current 47 fire authorities into nine regional centres were significantly below those originally predicted.

Mr McCarthy told MPs annual savings from the Fire Control project, which would be completed by 2011, and would link communications between the nine regional centres, had dropped from 28% of current costs to just 10% – a difference of around £13m.

‘We published the regional business cases a few months ago, and these showed a lesser saving than those originally predicted. It had gone down from 28% [of current annual costs] to 10%,' he said.

However, Mr McCarthy said savings were merely one benefit of the reformed system, and that improvements to the fire services' ‘national resilience' and ability to respond to major incidents were more important. Phyllis Starkey, chair of the Commons' CLG select committee, said: ‘I take that point. However, we were told that the savings were there.'