Report from Court of Auditors highlights potential areas for tax savings in the country
The Baden-Württemberg State Audit Office's latest annual report has proposed a series of measures to optimise spending in key areas, including police costs at football games, housing subsidies, teacher training, school psychologists, and water police services.
In the realm of football, the report suggests improving police deployment by better risk assessment and coordination between police and event organisers. This includes using fewer but more targeted police units, improving use of video surveillance, and encouraging clubs to enhance security measures independently to lower state police involvement.
With regards to housing subsidies, the report recommends tightening eligibility criteria and more stringent income verification to prevent misuse of subsidies. Better coordination between municipalities and state authorities is advised to avoid overlapping benefits and administrative redundancies.
The report also highlights potential savings in teacher training and school psychologists by streamlining training programs, focusing on digital and in-service training rather than costly external courses. Employing more school psychologists through efficient allocation and part-time arrangements rather than full-time positions may reduce costs.
Improvements in coordination between local authorities and state water police are proposed to avoid duplicate patrols in the water police sector. Implementing risk-based deployment strategies and leveraging modern surveillance technology can maintain safety levels with fewer personnel.
The recommendations focus on efficiency improvements, stricter eligibility control, optimised personnel deployment, and enhanced use of technology to reduce expenditures without compromising service quality at these critical areas.
However, the report has identified areas for improvement in the use of school psychologists, recommending delegation of non-core tasks to free up time for core duties. The audit office also questions the density of water police stations along the Neckar, suggesting tasks in Heidelberg could be handled by colleagues in Mannheim or Heilbronn.
The report has displeased the state government regarding the issue of charging football clubs for police costs at high-risk games, with Baden-Württemberg currently not intending to implement this measure.
A land fund intended to support municipalities in purchasing land for affordable housing has seen only nine municipalities acquire land worth around 10 million euros, with no affordable housing created on any of these plots yet. This has been a point of concern for the State Audit Office.
Overall, the Baden-Württemberg State Audit Office's annual report aims to promote financial prudence and efficiency in public spending, with a focus on ensuring that resources are utilised effectively to serve the needs of the public. [Source: Baden-Württemberg State Audit Office annual report summary, 2025]
In the realms of education and general news, the report suggests streamlining teacher training programs and focusing on digital and in-service training to potentially reduce costs associated with school psychologists. The audit office also proposes delegating non-core tasks to free up time for core duties of school psychologists (Amelia).
The report's policy-and-legislation implications extend to the finance sector, proposing stricter eligibility criteria and income verification for housing subsidies to prevent misuse and reduce administrative redundancies (Benjamin).
In the business sector, the report recommends optimising police deployment at football games by using fewer but more targeted police units, encouraging clubs to enhance security measures independently to lower state police involvement, and implementing risk-based deployment strategies for water police (Charles).
