The sun seems to be shining on ‘money men’ at present.
Recent appointments to the top job in Birmingham, Tower Hamlets and Barking and Dagenham have been to people with finance and resource backgrounds, following the extremely-successful approach of Westminster City Council over the past few decades.
But this comes as no surprise. If ever there was a time which puts prudent fiscal management at the fore, it is now.
The heightened age of efficiency gains is forcing councils to ask and find the answers to tough questions. While value for money is, of course, something we should always strive for, the Government’s probable 3% cashable target is excessive in light of previous years’ savings which councils have already delivered.
Is it reasonable to expect councils to achieve this arbitrary target? Particularly those in London and the South East, which inevitably shoulder more of the burden when other market pressures are taken into consideration?
Surely, London and the South East deserve to keep more of the wealth they create, rather than transferring resources to other parts of the country?
The inevitable consequence of trying to make public money go further is a more aggressive prioritisation of council services.
When this process is exhausted and there is no fat left to trim, what options are left for authorities?
And the sun is also shining on another money man at the moment, with Gordon Brown poised to take the helm at a national level. As he sets out his agenda, would it be naive to hope for a more honest assessment of how he expects councils to meet his targets?
The challenge is there, Mr Brown, but can you work with local government and respond? n
Richard Ennis is director of resources at Ealing LBC
Two ways to improve local authority finances
The NAO has concluded insufficient action has been taken to address weaknesses in council finances. Teams from TLT LLP consider what councils should do next.
