Baroness Hanham calls on councils to be innovative in order to make savings
Councils need to be听innovative in how they manage their assets and services, said Local 바카라 사이트 Minister Baroness Hanham.
Speaking about the implications of the Spending Review at the Local 바카라 사이트 Group Conference, Baroness Hanham said:
바카라 사이트淭he productivity challenge facing councils is how to manage the impact of reduced funding by identifying those areas where savings could be made while protecting vital frontline services.바카라 사이트�
Local authorities own over 拢128 billion worth of buildings and land across the country. Baroness Hanham said they needed to consider innovation when thinking about how they manage their assets and co-locate services.听
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Some councils have already started to put this into action by creating a one stop shop for local services, putting health services, job centres, and police into 1 area or building. Kent County Council estimate that countywide approaches to jointly managing local authority assets and other public sector assets could deliver around 拢40 million per year potential revenue savings.
Local 바카라 사이트 Minister Baroness Hanham said:
바카라 사이트淐ouncils must take the lead at the local level. They have the freedoms and flexibility to deliver their services in a streamlined and efficient way. By working with local authorities and public bodies, they can maintain vital front line services whilst making savings.
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바카라 사이트淏y working with other local authorities and public bodies, co-location of services means that local residents have just one point of call for advice and help. My department is working with local areas by setting up the 바카라 사이트楥apital and Asset Pathfinders바카라 사이트� that听will help encourage more authorities to better manage their capital and assets by removing national barriers and听unlock potential savings through cross agency collaboration.바카라 사이트�
Other ways councils are finding savings:
- smarter procurement, increased collaboration and economies of scale, for example 16 London boroughs have saved more than 拢10 million buying ICT hardware collaboratively through an e-Auction
- streamlining and merging operations, for example Kensington听and Chelsea, Hammersmith听and Fulham, and Westminster councils plan to merge back office services, and are exploring options to move to a single senior management team and chief executive
The Local 바카라 사이트 Group set up the to help councils challenge barriers that stand in the way of improvement and find new ways of working in response to the Spending Review.