Poots welcomes local government's commitment to savings

Environment Minister Edwin Poots today welcomed local government's assurances that they are committed to achieving £438million efficiency savings which will ultimately benefit the ratepayer.

The Minister was speaking after a meeting of the Strategic Leadership Board which is responsible for steering the local government reform programme.

During the meeting local government presented their alternative to a Business Service Organisation and Single Waste Disposal Authority whilst maintaining that these proposals would deliver the same level of savings.

Minister Poots said: "It is clear from the meeting today that we all have the same goal of making the maximum savings for our ratepayers - we just need to agree how we get to this point. I am grateful to local government for presenting their proposals today which I will now take time to consider in detail.

“The only part of this process where I am totally inflexible is when it comes to asking ratepayers to pay more as I simply will not do that. I welcome the fact that local government agrees with me on this point. I am, however, flexible when it comes to how these savings can be made.

"Local government are confident that their alternative proposals can deliver the projected savings of £438million over 25 years identified in the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) full economic appraisal. If this can be demonstrated through credible, robust and detailed proposals then I will certainly give these my fullest attention. However there remains much work to be done."

The Minister concluded: “Obviously a decision of this magnitude will require my careful attention whilst bearing in mind the tight timeline to which we are working. The proposals discussed today are to be further developed before deciding on the way forward to deliver the most efficient services for our ratepayers.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Strategic Leadership Board is chaired by the Environment Minister, Edwin Poots. The Board was established to oversee the effective creation of 11 new councils. Members include ten political party representatives, nominated by the five main political parties and NILGA.
2. The Department of the Environment commissioned the economic appraisal from the consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers. It outlines the available options and clearly demonstrates how reform can be achieved; the associated costs and the financial and non-financial benefits including a projected saving of £438million over a 25-year period.
3. In March 2008, the Executive announced the go-ahead for local government reform. The vision is of a strong, dynamic local government that creates vibrant, healthy, prosperous, safe and sustainable communities that have the needs of all citizens at their core. Central to that vision is the provision of high quality, efficient services that respond to people’s needs and continuously improve over time.
4. The Local Government Reform Programme is one of the most complex and challenging areas of the Reform of Public Administration. It involves a reduction in the number of local councils from 26 to 11.
5. It affects over 9,000 staff in local government and involves the transfer of approximately 1,000 staff from central government. It also includes the transfer of a large part of the planning function in the Department of the Environment.
6. It involves the delivery of three major pieces of legislation through the Assembly (Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions, Finance and Reorganisation Bills).
7. The Business Services Organisation (BSO) is a recommendation in the PwC report, which will deliver a number of transactional functions (e.g. payroll, finance, HR and procurement) on a regional basis.
8. The Single Waste Disposal Authority (SWDA) will operate as an incorporated single waste management group taking on the responsibilities of the existing three Waste Management Groups.
9. All media enquiries should be directed to the DOE Press Office 028 9054 0003. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.