District Council leaders from
Hambleton and Richmondshire recently met Local Government Minister
Bob Neill MP to discuss the impact of the reduction in Government
grant and how the Council is responding through its shared service
initiative.
With all services agreed for sharing where
possible, the partnership between the two councils is now entering
its third year and should be realising joint savings around the
£1.8m mark by the end of the year.
“We did not expect the Minister to open his
cheque book but we came away feeling he understood our situation
better and the impact of cuts on an authority like mine which
already has one of the lowest council taxes in the country,” said
Councillor Neville Huxtable, Leader of Hambleton.
And Councillor Blackie, Leader of
Richmondshire added “We were also able to emphasise the challenges
of delivery to rural communities and that our shared service
initiative was a beacon approach to what otherwise would be far
deeper cuts to some of the most remote and vulnerable
communities.”
Joint Chief Executive Peter Simpson summarised
the visit by saying “It was good that the minister recognised the
work we are doing to minimise the need for cuts and search even
deeper for efficiencies through our shared service programme.
Minister Bob Neil agreed to respond to the
Councils representations and confirmed his support for the shared
service initiative. He said ‘Councils like Hambleton and
Richmondshire should be praised for the positive approach
they have taken to sharing services and reducing costs which has
the full support of Government.”
September 6, 2011
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