A new plan to guide county council services in the face of £78 million savings is to be discussed.
Leicestershire’s ruling cabinet will consider proposals to get the biggest impact for its spending, by focussing budgets on the highest priority areas.
As we must save £78 million by 2020, we’ve refined what the council wants to achieve through its different services. We’ve developed guiding principles, to focus our resources to make the biggest impact for the people of Leicestershire.”
"If we can help people at an early stage, or help them to help themselves, it could reduce the demand for some services – releasing money for the most crucial issues.
"A good example of preventing needs is public health. If we can promote healthier lifestyles now, we can reduce the number of seriously-ill people who require costly services in future.
“One of the best ways of meeting need is our work to boost the economy, which attracts investment, creates jobs and could raise income for the council.
Person:Councillor Byron Rhodes, deputy leader
The council is proposing to adopt four guiding principles:
- Preventative measures, such as: investment in health promotion; preventative maintenance, to make roads last longer; and advice on support available in the community
- Measures to reduce need, such as: increasing recycling to reduce waste sent to landfill; providing targeted and time-limited support for families; and support for carers
- Delaying the development of need, such as: minimising the effect of disability for people with complex health conditions; and support for people to regain their skills and independence, following illness
- Meeting need – such as: enabling voluntary groups to provide community transport; supporting and delivering key infrastructure improvements to enable economic growth; and ensuring compliance with statutory requirements
The new approach will be supported by the council’s transformation programme, which has already made £23 million of efficiency savings, through measures ranging from better use of space in County Hall to the introduction of LED streetlights. It is now aiming to save a further £35 million over the next four years.
Cabinet will discuss the report when it meets at 2pm on Tuesday, April 19. Work will then take place to draft a new strategic plan, which will be considered by cabinet in November.
The report is available at online and the meeting will be webcast live.