WIREDGOV

An independent review of Local Authority administrative costs has identified potential annual savings of £151m if radical transformation takes place.

The report, commissioned by Public Services Minister Leighton Andrews and published yesterday, supports the need for Local Government reform.

The review collected and analysed information on the overall picture of expenditure on administration in Councils across Wales across a range of activities including property management, ICT and finance.

It suggests authorities can achieve substantial annual savings through standardising their approach across Wales and seeking to match equivalent spending levels with their peers in England. By making these savings, Local Authorities will be able to generate greater investment in frontline services.

Leighton Andrews said:

“When I commissioned this review in November last year, I made it clear I expected all local authorities in Wales to focus the limited resources available to them on delivering front line services to citizens, and to reduce spending on administration and backroom services.

“The report emphasises the value of authorities benchmarking these services against their peers within Wales and best practice internationally. Many of these savings can be delivered now without the need to await wider structural reform to Local Government in Wales.

“We will now consider the recommendations in the report, which will enable local authorities to compare and contrast expenditure and understand where practice should be changed to move a greater proportion of the spending to delivering services to citizens.”

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