Star date: 21st June 2016

SALFORD COUNCIL `AT THE FOREFRONT' OF `RE-ENGINEERING' LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Salford Council is estimating £63.5million of cuts over the next four years as it admits it's at "the forefront of new ways of working with central government helping to shape the future of local government". The Council adds that this will include "service transformation and the re-engineering of services".

It looks like the end of local government as we know it, although the gleeful Council also reveals that it has been "cash rich", has increased reserves and last year had an underspend of £1.3million in its front line services revenue account. Is Salford Council cutting `too deep, too fast'? Is everything awesome or awful?

Full details here...

"Salford will be at the forefront of new ways of working with central government helping to shape the future of local government".

Not many people know it, but last week Salford Council's Cabinet agreed a Customer Transformation Project which "relies heavily on behaviour change and channel shift" so they can "self serve" for "an excellent customer experience".

In an overload of jargon and hype, the DIY culture reality is a £2million cut in the service, a £3million cost to implement and the possible loss of 120 Council posts, as revealed in December (see previous Salford Star article – click here).

Meanwhile the Council has also hived off its social care services to the NHS, costing £29million to set up with 2% cuts to its budget every year (see here), and privatised its social housing via Salix Homes, amongst other things. Basically it has self shrunk, egged on by Tory Government cuts ideologically aimed at shrinking the state, to a point where there's little left to actually manage.

Salford Council calls this "service transformation and the re-engineering of services", and, with a gleeful tone in the introduction to this year's draft accounts - estimating £63.5million cuts over the next four years - states "Salford will be at the forefront of new ways of working with central government helping to shape the future of local government".

It bears echoes of Blackley and Broughton MP Graham Stringer who, when he was leader of Manchester Council, was one of the first of the so-called `left' Labour leaders to have a cosy visit with Margaret Thatcher at 10 Downing Street.

The Labour Party has accused the Government of `cutting too deep too fast' but is this true of Salford Council too, led by its officers who are cashing in on the `re-engineering'? The draft accounts reveal that, in 2014/15 there were five non-school staff paid over £95,000. In 2015/16 there were eight earning over £95,000. At the same time, 91 non-school and school staff took voluntary redundancy as posts were slashed.

Meanwhile in 2015/16, the Council actually underspent its revenue budget, which pays for front line services, by £1.3million; and its reserves swelled to £14.4million, which even the Council admits "is a significant achievement when considering the level of savings that have been required". It also admits that "During the start of 2015/16 the council found itself in a cash rich position with the receipt from the transfer of housing stock to Salix Homes". Salix actually paid the Council £23.8million for the houses, which was used to repay short term debt, for the likes of the AJ Bell Stadium etc.

So what is the true position? The draft accounts states "it is clear that the Council continues to be in a strong position moving forward" – but at what cost? The shrinking and privatisation of public services; the cheap sell-off of the city to developers and being "at the forefront of new ways of working with central government"...

Awesome or awful? The community will decide...