Council must step-up cuts battle

The six-month probe revealed austerity measures at Selby District Council still needed to be stepped up, despite the authority streamlining a number of its key services in a bid to tackle Government cutbacks.

While the council has made significant headway in reducing costs, the report listed a number of areas where improvements should be made. The time taken to re-let vacant council-owned homes is below target and the review also highlighted areas where more work could be done to boost efficiency and productivity.

The review focused on the council’s new organisation Access Selby, an independent body which was set up to deliver services at a cheaper cost.

The move followed an announcement last year that a third of Selby District Council’s workforce was set to be axed in the biggest shake-up in the 36-year history of the authority.

Eighty posts out of the 222 full-time positions are expected to go as the council battles to cut £3m during the next four years from its annual £11m revenue budget, with more services likely to be contracted out.

Despite the shake-up, the report showed the council was hitting the majority of its targets - with many services improved.

The leader of the council, Coun Mark Crane, said: “Whilst other councils have had to cut services to meet the reductions in funding faced by local authorities up and down the country, we’ve totally re-designed the way we work - and our innovative approach is now paying off.

“Importantly, heartfelt congratulations must go to everyone who works at Access Selby for their efforts at a time when there has been huge uncertainty about jobs.

“We continue to face significant challenges, but we’ve demonstrated that we are well-placed to meet these challenges head-on.”