'Radical' plans needed to save Harrow Council money

8:10am Monday 9th February 2009

By Tristan Kirk

THE top councillor in Harrow has warned “unpalatable” changes will be needed in the coming years as the recession deepens.

Councillor David Ashton, leader of Harrow Council, has just put the finishing touches to the budget for next year, and is immediately starting work on savings for next year.

He and officers have made “efficiency savings” to bridge an £8.9m funding gap in the budget, and will have to make almost £16m in savings in the next two years to produce a balanced budget.

He said: “The main challenge of the next two years is to get that right. There needs to be a more radical approach.

“We will continue to drive out more efficiencies, but there has to be a limit.

“We may have to do some unpalatable things but we want to do the least unpalatable things as possible.”

Cllr Ashton said he does not know what will need to be cut next year, but suggested services which did not need to be run by the council and could be provided privately would be high on the list.

Library hours have already been trimmed this year at nine branches around the borough as one of the cost cutting measures announced in the budget.

The council is also reviewing its parking services and is hoping to make an extra £1.4m due to new traffic laws and better enforcement by cameras and parking wardens.

One of the headline announcements in the budget put together by the Tory administration is a voluntary severance package for council staff.

It is hoped £2m can be raised during the next two years by giving workers who want to leave an immediate lump sum payment.

However, if people do not take up the severance package, the council will have to look for further cost cutting measures to make up the money.

Although there are no widespread redundancies in this year's budget, Cllr Ashton warned they could not be ruled out in the future.

He said: “There are no plans for a voluntary or compulsory redundancy scheme, but it would be inappropriate to say any further. I can't commit to what might happen in the future.

“That said, we don't want to make redundancies in the future if we can help it.”

A scheme that could be under threat of being delayed is London Borough of Harrow Anywhere, where staff will be equipped with laptops and phones to work remotely.

Cllr Ashton warned the scheme may have to be put back, but said it would not be scrapped altogether because it is needed for when a new civic centre is built in Harrow town centre.