Councils could save £140m per year, says report

IT and home working can help...

A government watchdog has said councils that share services and use innovative working practices could save much more money than the current public sector efficiency targets.

An Audit Commission (AC) report dubbed The Efficiency Challenge claims local authorities could save £140m per year compared to the government saving targets of £75m over three years.

James Strachan, chairman of the AC, said: "Savings of this order could help councils minimise pressure on frontline services such as education and social care. We will follow this up through our scored value for money judgement for all councils."

The report said English councils annually collect around £18bn in council tax and pay £13bn in benefits, spending £1bn in the process. From visiting 30 councils, the AC found potential savings of 4.2 per cent of that £1bn spent.

Old IT systems, high staff turnover and using temporary staff all contribute to higher costs, the report said.

Case studies in the report showed home working and modern IT systems could improve efficiency. Sickness absence was reduced by 29 per cent and productivity increased by 15 per cent after one council introduced home working, the AC said.