First hint of Dundee City Council compulsory redundancies
- By Grant Smith and David Clegg
- Published in the Courier : 14.08.10
- Published online : 14.08.10 @ 11.42am
(Page 2 of 2)
The report asks councillors to back a Changing for the Future programme, including setting up a board of senior officers and councillors to oversee the work.
Four key areas have been identified — the voluntary redundancy scheme, a corporate improvement plan, work within council departments to try to find savings and efforts to collaborate more with neighbouring local authorities.
Mr Sawers insisted the SNP administration would be keeping to the council's long-standing policy of no compulsory redundancies and there were no plans to increase council tax rates.
He added, "The financial squeeze imposed on us by the Westminster Government is unprecedented and the overall financial picture has worsened as the implications of UK budget cuts have become clearer.
"Finding this level of savings means taking some very tough decisions. We will have to work smarter and look to introducing new ways of delivering and modernising council services.
"We will also look at working more closely with our partners within and outwith the city to deliver even more efficient services.
"The chief executive is developing a strategy to look at prioritising and redesigning services in the most productive way, including shared services, arms-length companies, commissioning and outsourcing."
He appealed to opposition councillors to engage positively with the process.
"Given the scale of the challenge facing us, I am hopeful the proposal for a new consensual and co-operative approach will be welcomed.
"In that light, the administration will welcome constructive suggestions from all councillors as to how to achieve the savings forced on us by the Westminster Government."
Labour group leader Kevin Keenan was disappointed more information on where the "drastic" cuts would fall was not known.
"They have long known these cuts were coming and I would have expected they would now be in a position to tell us how they plan to reshape council services and... put that information out to the public," he said.
"It is regrettable they are not at the stage to do that. I would have hoped for a bit more meat on the bones."
It might be time to look at increasing council tax.
"These cuts will impact on individual lives in any case. I think the council tax is something the administration should be considering. I know it is unpopular but these cuts will also be unpopular."
Independent Ian Borthwick, the city's longest serving councillor, said "careful consideration" must be given to any cuts.
"Clearly, this is a very substantial amount that has to be cut from the budget.
"I have maintained right throughout this process that it is vitally important that elected members are fully appraised of the consequences of these cuts and the effect they will have on the families and communities we represent."
Conservative group leader Rod Wallace gave a cautious welcome to some of the new measures in the report, but hit out at Mr Sawers' comments on the Westminster Government.
"These cuts were mooted by John Swinney long before the coalition government in London," he said. "It was always going to be a very painful process: we've known that from day one."
Add a comment