A COUNCIL’S leader is vowing to change the way the authority does business.
James Jamieson has set Central Bedfordshire Council the task of making £10million savings in the year from April while not increasing council tax and at the same time maintaining levels of service to the public.
Councillor Jamieson told told a breakfast gathering of businesspeople in Shefford today (Friday) that this would be achieved by focusing on the outcomes of services rather than how they are delivered.
Mr Jamieson, who has a background in business, said this might be achieved by giving contracts to businesses, creating trusts and working as partners.
“Changes can be quite uncomfortable,” he said. “People do not like change but we will change.”
He gave an example of changes in social work, where home visits have been contracted out, allowing highly skilled professionals to concentrate on other tasks. This, he said, had been initially resisted but has now been accepted and has saved money.
He also questioned whether there were opportunities where the council should join other, bigger, authorities in providing services such as IT support.
Changes could mean Central Bedfordshire Council keeping services but running them on a more commercial basis. He mentioned building and planning services as coming in this bracket, not necessarily to make a profit but certainly to cover costs. But when questioned on whether this would mean higher fees, he didn’t rule it out. He said: “It is more to do with how it works than the cost.”
The council now has a financial incentive to help businesses thrive. It will be allowed to keep the proceeds of business rates, so the more companies are created or encouraged to invest in the district, the more money it can use on services.
Mr Jamieson said the council plans to invest in increasing broadband coverage in the area from around 80 per cent to 97 per cent in the next three years.
Mr Jamieson also said the council needs to change its culture. He has been a councillor for two-and-a-half years and had been surprised how ‘closed’ the authority was, not having a culture of being open.
“We are going to be a council that says ‘yes’,” said Mr Jamieson. “And if we can’t say yes we will look at ways of saying ‘maybe’.”
He said he wanted a culture of ‘how can we help you’ in the authority. He added that a number of the councillors had a background in business. He said: “Speak to a councillor if you’re not happy with a particular officer.”
The breakfast was jointly organised by the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce.