22 October 2009, 09/244
Council savings give value for
money
Cash savings of £682,000 were made by West
Lancashire Borough Council through increased efficiency during the
last financial year.
The council, along with local authorities all
over the country, has to try to meet tough targets for cash
efficiency savings. A total of £615,000 was shaved off revenue
spending – exceeding the 3% target set by the government – and a
further £67,000 from the capital budget.
Cllr David Westley, portfolio holder for
finance, said: “It is major achievement by West Lancs Borough
Council to amass £682,000 of savings through efficiencies. This is
actual ‘cash in hand’ – real money that has not been spent, and
which will be used to keep council tax rises to a minimum. We are
already among the top 20% of councils for giving value for money
and these savings will help ensure local people continue to get
good value from their council tax.”
The savings were achieved through a number of
efficiency measures including reductions in senior management costs
and other staff efficiencies, improvements in procurement and
savings on the retendering of contracts, closure of the cash
offices, cuts in insurance costs and through generating
additional income.
Cllr Westley added: “Though we have made these
savings, there are difficult times ahead. The global recession and
cuts in government grants mean there is less money for local
councils and so we must find ways of doing more for less. West
Lancs is officially rated as ‘excellent’ and that means we are
already extremely efficient, so it becomes even more difficult each
year to find ways of cutting costs further. This is why the
council has now launched a downsizing programme and will be
implementing further efficiencies in the coming year.
“Our aim is to make the best use of resources
to deliver the best possible services at the lowest possible cost,
and we will strive to keep council tax rises low while maintaining
front line services.”
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