Council faces

crunch time

over cuts

The county organisations have already had to grasp the nettle, and now it's the turn of Boston Borough Council.
We're talking of course, of staff cuts – with Lincolnshire already proposing 800 for starters and Lincolnshire Police more than 150.
Tonight, Boston's policy and projects committee dons its cloak of secrecy to consider how to deliver the savings required after the economic crash and subsequent cuts in government grant – and a key item is to review staff costs.
The council currently employs the thick end of 300 staff which cost £8,648,581 - or 82.11% of its net spend – so the problem is obvious.
“Given that staff costs make up the highest proportion of our controllable spend the council has limited opportunities to deliver the overall required savings through service transformation without reviewing staff costs overall. “ says the report to tonight's meeting.
“Officers have been working with staff and the representative trade unions since early 2010 to consider options for a reduction in overall staffing costs whilst endeavouring to maintain front line services. This has culminated in a set of proposals being developed which are currently being considered by staff which make changes to their overall terms and conditions of employment.
"The council is seeking to reach voluntary agreement with staff on these changes but may need to consider an alternative approach should agreement not be reached.”
The carrot ... or the stick?
The problem here, as we very well know, is that no-one wants to lose their job. But the other problem is that it is very well known that the public sector is heavily over-staffed, and in many areas the work is not especially arduous. Notwithstanding that, no trade union representative in his or her right mind is going to agree a package of jobs for the axe.
Boston's management structure has already been slimmed down and now comprises a Chief Executive and deputy plus a part-time Strategic Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer. Having said that, a number of fancy new job titles appear to have emerged on the next rung down the ladder.
The borough is braced for the possibility of legal action by staff against any job losses and is seeking ongoing legal advice employment law issues arise but thinks the risks are under control.
However, the fact remains that at the end of the day the responsibilities of district councils are few in the great scheme of things, and Boston has already handed off a few of these to the private sector with more to come.
We have said before that a service which costs £8million out of a budget of £10 million to administer simply cannot be an efficient service.
Boston had the chance to share a number of its back office services with neighbouring districts but blew it.
A thorough analysis of the benefits to be gained from merging what are currently separate departments could well deliver some interesting opportunities for cuts that would both improve efficiency and save considerable sums.
But at the bottom line, perhaps the best thing to do would be for someone in Whitehall to consider whether the time is right for a compete revamp of this tier of local government.

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