Agenda item

The Committee considered a report which provided an update on the development of the 2014/15 Efficiency Programme and the key strands of work and projects which were being undertaken to realise the £20 million efficiency target by 2015/16.  The Director of Finance and Resources reported that, to date, the Efficiency Programme had delivered savings of £16 million across the Council since 2006.  The Committee, at its meeting on 15th April, 2011, had agreed an indicative efficiency target of £2 million per year for three years up to and including 2015/16 to ensure that a total of £20 million of efficiencies were realised by that date.

            At its meeting on 23rd August, the Committee was advised that the level of uncontrolled cost increases faced by the Council in 2014/15 was around £3.6 million and, therefore, while the target efficiency savings remained a key component in determining the district rate increase, the ability of the Council to maintain its investment plan commitment of setting a district rate at or below the rate of inflation would be affected by other matters, not least the stability of the rate base.

            The Director of Finance and Resources outlined the financial pressures which would contribute to making a realisation of cash savings from the Efficiency Programme more difficult in 2014/15 and future years and indicated that the aforementioned pressures meant that the bulk of the efficiency savings would have to come from the wider business transformation/value-for-money projects which were complex and might require collaboration with other local authorities and public bodies and would have longer lead-in times.  He highlighted the key strands of work and projects through which the efficiencies would be made, which would include a security review, energy and utilities, advertising on assets, overtime and agency working, a corporate approach to budgetary challenge and the development of a rolling programme of transformation/value-for-money projects.

            The Director of Finance and Resources reported that, in order to support the development of the future programme and to verify support in the delivery of complex transformation projects, it was proposed that the Council join the Improvement and Efficiencies South East organisation (iESE), which was a social enterprise owned by local authorities in the South East of England.  It was a “not for profit” organisastion and had been established by those councils to provide services and support to public sector bodies across the United Kingdom using local government expertise, especially in the area of efficiency and transformation.  If the Committee was minded to join iESE, it would involve the Council becoming a £1 shareholder in the company limited by guarantee with an Elected Member, proposed to be the Chairman of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, becoming a director of the iESE. 

            After discussion, the Committee:

·         noted the information which had been provided and the work which had been undertaken to achieve the £2 million efficiency target for 2014/15 and that further updates on the efficiency programme would be provided as part of the rate setting process; and

·         approved the Council becoming a joint owner of iESE, with a £1 shareholding of the Company limited by guarantee and that the Chairman of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee be nominated as a Director.