Council services must change

A new report which is set to transform the way Nottinghamshire County Council provides services in the future, will be debated by councillors for the first time next week.
Nottinghamshire County Council Leader,  Alan Rhodes.Nottinghamshire County Council Leader,  Alan Rhodes.
Nottinghamshire County Council Leader, Alan Rhodes.

In the face of Government funding cuts, the council has had to radically overhaul the way it operates.

Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Coun Alan Rhodes, said it was likely the authority will deliver fewer services directly in the future. Some of the Council’s functions may be provided by mutual companies, charitable trusts or commissioned from the private or public sector.

He said: “The County Council and public services generally is at a crossroads. Carrying on as we are is not an option - it’s a time for us to be proactive and brave about our future direction.

“Redefining the Council is not just about saving money, we are viewing this exercise as an opportunity for the Council to modernise and create a blueprint for providing relevant, value-for-money services that local people want and need.

“We owe it to the people of Nottinghamshire to be constantly reviewing what we do and how and why we do it. The potential for using technology and different ways of delivering services has never been greater - the world is changing and we need to change with it.” He said the report ‘Redefining your Council’ represented one of the most significant changes in the County Council’s 125 year history.

Despite already making over £100m in savings over the last three years because of Government funding cuts, the Council still needs to bridge a further £77m budget gap by 2017/18.

The report details how the council will take a strategic approach to making the changes needed, so that frontline services can be protected as far as possible.

Service reviews are likely to take place between May and July, with any proposals as part of the 2015/2016 budget setting process.