A Reform UK-led council is spending £1.4million to carry out a cost-cutting review.
Leicestershire County Council, which is under no overall control but Nigel Farage’s party, is three seats short of holding a majority, and announced it was launching a “top-to-bottom” analysis of its £1.3billion annual spending.
External consultancy company Newton has been commissioned to carry out the task as opposed to the members of the party’s much promoted own Department of Government Efficiency “Doge” team.
Council leader Dan Harrison said the exercise would identify savings many times higher than the fee being paid to the firm, however opposition leaders questioned if any actual savings would be found.
Mr Harrison, the councillor for Ashby-de-la Zouch, said: “Residents are expecting us to reduce costs and that’s what we’re doing. Closing a sizable £90m gap is no easy feat.
“That’s why we’ve brought in leading professionals to look at every inch of the council and help us to bring down costs.
“Newton has a strong track record across the public and private sectors, and will be led by the evidence.
“This isn’t about eking out a few hundred thousand pounds here and there. This is about working with [lead officers] across the council and our partners to identify and test big opportunities to do things differently.”
Reform UK runs Leicestershire County Council on a minority administration
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It said the review would focus on prevention, supporting residents before they need help from the council and managing growing demand for services.
However, opposition leaders expressed concerns that the external consultants would find minimal opportunities for savings.
Leader of the council’s Liberal Democrat opposition group Michael Mullaney told the BBC: “£1.4m is a lot of money to spend on consultants to cut costs.”
The Hinckley and Bosworth councillor added: “The reality is the council has been cutting its spending for years and if there were more savings to be found, they would have been identified.”
Leicestershire County Council is bringing in external consultants
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Councillor Harrison previously stressed the necessity of finding cost cutting in the east Midlands council.
In October, he told the BBC: “They [the specialists] come from big companies. They know what they are doing. I’m looking for maximum efficiency that will have an effect on our budget.”
“It’s going to be a once-in-a-generation sweep through and a look at how we are operating.
“We are demanding efficiencies because we have to do something dramatic. We have to get the budget balanced.”
The council’s Cabinet Member for Resources Harrison Fowler, said: “Getting maximum efficiency for our tax payers is at the heart of this.
“These are very experienced people who will give us the fresh eyes and best practice required for such a major task.”
However, leader of the Conservative opposition group on the council and Bradgate councillor Deborah Taylor said: “He [Mr Harrison] said he wanted to cut council tax, then he said he would freeze it, now he’s saying it will be an increase, but not by the maximum.
“The council has saved £290m since 2010. It’s already incredibly efficient. I’m not sure where he thinks these savings can be found. The only way to achieve it is to cull staff, and if you cull staff you reduce services.”