Today's Cornwall Council Children, Education & Families ("CEF") Overview & Scrutiny Committee had a full agenda so it's thanks to the officers and councillors that we got through it so well without stinting on the discussions.
There is understandable concern that whilst the grant reductions to date, in the CEF arena, have been absorbed without too much difficulty - although it would be wrong to assume that there has not been a reduction in services or some lost jobs - the future range and number of cuts will not be known until after the Government's autumn spending review which takes place on 20 October.
As the Cornwall Council Cabinet develop their proposals to manage the funding cuts, whilst continuing on the overall journey of achieving value for money, there is a critical role for the Scrutiny Committees, whose memberships is over 50% of the councillors, to understand, challenge and, where appropriate, recommend alternative options in the implementation of the funding reductions. A strong scrutiny function can then inform the deliberations of the Full Council when it meets in November to decide on the emergency budget.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Cornwall Council: Good Progress
It was good to hear at yesterday's Cornwall Council Cabinet meeting of the very real progress being made in moving Cornwall Council towards being a top class council. This will benefit everyone in Cornwall, as quality services are delivered at lowest possible cost.
The details are that Cornwall Council has achieved the second best performance standards of all those councils who moved to unitary status in 2009. There was already clear evidence that performance standards across the Council have been improving however it is particularly gratifying to have independent confirmation of the progress made since the Conservatives, working alongside the Independents, took control of Cornwall Council in 2009.
The independent report was prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers who provide a benchmarking service to a number of Councils to allow performance to be compared.
This positive performance result sits alongside continued effective management of the Cornwall Council budget which is on track to deliver well over £50m of savings in the current financial year. These savings comprise the initial Cornwall Council target of £40m savings in 2010/2011 (which were needed to keep the council tax increase low) plus the subsequent additional savings required from the reduction in Government grants. Whilst the latest forecast is of a small overspend this primarily arises from the effect of the Government grants reduction and there is every expectation that the budget will be back in line before the financial year comes to a close.
Further savings arising from the rationalisation of Cornwall Council’s office property will be achieved by the adoption of modern working practices. This will reduce the number of offices which the Council needs to occupy. There will be some short-term costs, especially regarding refurbishments of offices in Dolceath Avenue, Camborne, and New County Hall, Truro to allow more staff to be based in these locations however overall the changes will achieve significant long-term savings.
Much remains to be done. The current performance improvements, whilst welcome, are not any reason to reduce the efforts to make further substantial improvements.
The details are that Cornwall Council has achieved the second best performance standards of all those councils who moved to unitary status in 2009. There was already clear evidence that performance standards across the Council have been improving however it is particularly gratifying to have independent confirmation of the progress made since the Conservatives, working alongside the Independents, took control of Cornwall Council in 2009.
The independent report was prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers who provide a benchmarking service to a number of Councils to allow performance to be compared.
This positive performance result sits alongside continued effective management of the Cornwall Council budget which is on track to deliver well over £50m of savings in the current financial year. These savings comprise the initial Cornwall Council target of £40m savings in 2010/2011 (which were needed to keep the council tax increase low) plus the subsequent additional savings required from the reduction in Government grants. Whilst the latest forecast is of a small overspend this primarily arises from the effect of the Government grants reduction and there is every expectation that the budget will be back in line before the financial year comes to a close.
Further savings arising from the rationalisation of Cornwall Council’s office property will be achieved by the adoption of modern working practices. This will reduce the number of offices which the Council needs to occupy. There will be some short-term costs, especially regarding refurbishments of offices in Dolceath Avenue, Camborne, and New County Hall, Truro to allow more staff to be based in these locations however overall the changes will achieve significant long-term savings.
Much remains to be done. The current performance improvements, whilst welcome, are not any reason to reduce the efforts to make further substantial improvements.
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