Bedford Borough Conservative Group Leader Cllr Stephen Moon has labelled the failure of the Council to share back office services with other councils as a ‘lost opportunity’ to save millions of pounds for taxpayers.
While neighbouring Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire County Councils’ Local Government Shared Services agreement (LGSS) is projected to make annual savings of £18.8m by 2015/16, Cllr Moon believes that Bedford Borough Council has been ‘left behind’.
Cllr Moon said;
‘The savings made by Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire’s LGSS to date have been vast. By the end of March they have forecasted an annual saving of £13m within an initial budget of £83m which has been achieved in just 3 years. The savings will continue to rise to around £19m by 2015/16. By sharing back office services such as legal services, HR and IT their organisations are leaner and they have managed to protect frontline services.
‘Bedford Borough Council has made no discernible effort to share services to make serious savings for taxpayers Councils such as Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire have benefitted from co-operation and the sharing of ideas whilst maintaining staff motivation. In stark contrast the Mayor continues to isolate Bedford Borough Council and a drawn out re-organisation process is harming staff morale.
‘It is a significant failure of the Liberal Democrats that their insular mindset has cost taxpayers millions of pounds. I fear it is a lost opportunity and that the Council has been left behind.’