Scottish councils combine resources in a bid to reduce costs
17:02 - 25/10/2010
Scottish councils combine resources i...
In the aftermath of the government’s spending review, eight local authorities in Scotland have made the decision to pool their social care commissioning and training resources in a bid to save money.
As local authorities throughout the country prepare to tighten their belts, these eight councils – West and East Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Glasgow and North and South Lanarkshire – have decided to restructure their health and social care departments. They will now be taking a joint approach to commissioning, procurement and training across adult and child care services.
Although the councils have made it clear that they have no current plans to merge their services and become a “super council”, as some local authorities in London are tipped to do, they are proposing to share services in order to reach a saving target of £70 million over the next five years.
It is proposed that they will pool resources in four areas, to include social care and waste management, and this restructure is expected to save 10-20% of current expenditure. The proposal will be submitted to the councils’ chief executives at the end of November.
Local agencies, including the police and the NHS, have already linked with the councils to form the Clyde Valley Community Planning Partnership, which provides services to more than one-third of Scotland’s population.
Ronnie McColl, leader of the West Dunbartonshire Council, explained: “Every council in Scotland is facing the most significant budget gap in living memory. The shared services project will help contribute towards meeting that challenge in a way that reduces the burden on the taxpayer and still provides good level of service to the local community.”
Perry Leeks, Managing Director at First Response, says: “First Response Training Scotland can work with you to help reduce your costs. We work with several local authorities throughout the UK, including a number of Scottish councils, to support them to maximise their training and development, always working to budget constraints.
“We offer a range of innovative delivery methods, including practical training, e-learning and distance workbooks and blended learning approaches, helping organisations to reduce their costs without cutting their training and risking safety and quality standards.
"We are living in difficult times but it is important that financial constraints do not translate into a reduction in safety and quality standards and that vulnerable service users are not put at risk. Councils and other organisations within the social care sector must continue to train their staff to a high standard – but we can help them make sure that they do this without blowing the budget.”
For further information on how First Response Training Scotland can help you to review your spending without cutting your training, call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300.
As local authorities throughout the country prepare to tighten their belts, these eight councils – West and East Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Glasgow and North and South Lanarkshire – have decided to restructure their health and social care departments. They will now be taking a joint approach to commissioning, procurement and training across adult and child care services.
Although the councils have made it clear that they have no current plans to merge their services and become a “super council”, as some local authorities in London are tipped to do, they are proposing to share services in order to reach a saving target of £70 million over the next five years.
It is proposed that they will pool resources in four areas, to include social care and waste management, and this restructure is expected to save 10-20% of current expenditure. The proposal will be submitted to the councils’ chief executives at the end of November.
Local agencies, including the police and the NHS, have already linked with the councils to form the Clyde Valley Community Planning Partnership, which provides services to more than one-third of Scotland’s population.
Ronnie McColl, leader of the West Dunbartonshire Council, explained: “Every council in Scotland is facing the most significant budget gap in living memory. The shared services project will help contribute towards meeting that challenge in a way that reduces the burden on the taxpayer and still provides good level of service to the local community.”
Perry Leeks, Managing Director at First Response, says: “First Response Training Scotland can work with you to help reduce your costs. We work with several local authorities throughout the UK, including a number of Scottish councils, to support them to maximise their training and development, always working to budget constraints.
“We offer a range of innovative delivery methods, including practical training, e-learning and distance workbooks and blended learning approaches, helping organisations to reduce their costs without cutting their training and risking safety and quality standards.
"We are living in difficult times but it is important that financial constraints do not translate into a reduction in safety and quality standards and that vulnerable service users are not put at risk. Councils and other organisations within the social care sector must continue to train their staff to a high standard – but we can help them make sure that they do this without blowing the budget.”
For further information on how First Response Training Scotland can help you to review your spending without cutting your training, call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300.
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