Councils must demonstrate value for money
With council taxes set to rise next month, local authorities should crack down on waste and inefficiency, the CBI has warned.
Link: Council tax receipts increase
A report, Delivery for Local Government, from the business lobbying group argues that £3bn a year could be saved if local authorities were more efficient.
The figure was calculated by using published government data on councils. The CBI said that councils, instead of making efficiency savings were, trying to raise business rates to paper over the cracks.
‘Councils must demonstrate real value for money before coming back for more,’ said CBI deputy director, John Cridland.
The CBI said some councils were working well but said others remained opposed to change and introducing competition to improve services on ideological grounds.
It urged councils to share services such as back-office functions and waste collection in order to reduce costs.