Red tape 'bonfire' could save £4.5bn
Councils bogged down in admin
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Friday, 20, Nov 2009 12:00
By Doireann Ronayne
Getting rid of bureaucracy, unnecessary targets and red tape could result in savings of £4.5 billion a year, the Local Government Association (LGA) has claimed.
It has identified simple measures that councils could take such as cutting out unnecessary policies, saving £1 billion, and reducing administration costs by £1.5 billion.
These could open up funds to protect school places and resurface roads.
The Conservatives jumped to support the LGA's findings. Shadow local government minister Caroline Spelman said: "Labour's red tape and regional quangos have wasted billions of pounds of taxpayers' money and forced up council tax bills for struggling families and pensioners."
The report revealed the number of full-time employees working in central government has increased by 21 per cent over the last ten years. In one year alone the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) reported a ten per cent increase in permanent staff.
"Cutting back Labour's bureaucracy could free up funds to help stop the constant hikes in local taxes and divert more resources to frontline services like bin collections," Ms Spelman added.
LGA chairperson Cllr Margaret Eaton said she wanted to see local government become more effective and provide better value for money.
"Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money is being spent on needless bureaucracy," she commented.
"We need a bonfire of red tape so that taxpayers' money can be freed up to protect frontline services. Staying the same is not an option."
LGA research found the annual £4.5 billion saving could provide much needed services to the local community by protecting 300,000 school places, ensuring 175,000 personal care packages and providing 36,000 miles of road resurfacing.
These savings can be achieved without harming the quality of services local councils provide, the report argued.
Cutting the amount of data and reports that local council prepare for the government could result in a £400 million saving. Getting rid of government offices and reallocating funding from central bodies directly to local councils could save a further £250 million.
Quangos would also see their budgets slashed under the LGA's proposals. It identified £430 million in unnecessary spending on their administration.