South Cambridgeshire District Council's APPROACH TO EFFICIENCY SAVINGS

1. As a low-spending and low-taxing local authority, South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) has a well-established track record of value-for-money service delivery. Our focus is on providing the best possible services, within the resources available, to help meet the needs of residents and service users.

2. In 2004/05, four in five councils spent more on services per head of population than SCDC. In 2006/07, the Council has the set the ninth lowest council tax precept of all 238 district councils in the country. At the same time, SCDC has received official recognition as a 'Beacon Council' for waste management and recycling and is an RTPI award winner for planning. National 'best value' comparisons show that SCDC is amongst the top performers in local government for community safety and tackling benefit fraud.

3. The Council made £765,000 of efficiencies made in 2004/05 and 2005/06. The main savings relate to:

increased staff productivity in carrying out housing repairs;
streamlining the management of the Environmental Health service;
increased staff productivity in providing the waste collection service;
reducing sickness levels amongst staff at our HQ; and
getting a better deal for purchasing five new waste collection freighters.

More details can be found in the 2005/06 Annual Efficiency Statement (Backward Look).

4. SCDC also expects to make over £600,000 additional efficiency savings in 2006/07. The main areas in which SCDC plans to realise significant savings in the next few years are:

implementing efficiencies already agreed in response to council tax capping in 2005/06;
further streamlining working practices in the housing repairs service;
restructuring the Council's housing management and sheltered housing;
reaping the benefits of our investment in ICT in recent years; and
slimming down senior management and simplifying business processes.

More details can be found in the 2006/07 Annual Efficiency Statement (Forward Look).

5. This approach means that the Council is on course to meet or exceed the official targets for efficiency savings that the Government has set all local authorities. All councils are expected to make 2.5% efficiencies each year throughout 2005 - 2008, compared to 2004/05 spending. For SCDC, the official efficiency targets are £513,000 in 2005/06 (including on-going ones from 2004/05), plus an additional £415,000 in 2006/07 and a further £415,000 in 2007/08.

6. The Government has produced detailed guidance on what counts as an efficiency saving. They can be based on producing the same outputs for less inputs (cashable savings) or more outputs for the same inputs (non-cashable savings). Savings do not count as efficiencies if they lead to a cut in service or reduced performance. The main types of efficiencies envisaged include: increasing staff productivity; carrying out service transactions electronically; securing better deals through improved contract arrangements; and working in partnership with others.

7. Further background information is available via the following links:

Report to SCDCs Cabinet - 13 July 2006 (This link will open in a new window)
Report to SCDCs Cabinet - 9 March 2006 (This link will open in a new window)
Measuring and reporting efficiency gains, DCLG official guidance, May 2006.

Contact Officer:

Finance Project Officer
e-mail: john.garnham@scambs.gov.uk (This link will open in a new window)