Westminster Council are aiming to make a saving of £50 million over the next years with the help of a radical set of spending cuts.
Costs cuts across the organisation following a huge cut in central government funding will include £3.8 million from management and £19 millions from service such as social care, recycling and libraries. Another £23 million will be generated in efficiency savings and £6 million from external income.
Other intended savings will include £12 million from customer service efficiencies and cutting back office staff, £7 million from reorganising cleansing and street management services and a further £3 million saving on housing expenditure. Westminster Council is the the first London local authority to respond in detail to the government's funding settlement.
Cllr Melvyn Caplan, Westminster Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “No one wants to cut services, but previous levels of spending are simply unsustainable and like it or not, we simply cannot afford to do all the things we used to. This means that we will have to make some tough choices in the weeks and months ahead over the level of services we deliver. We will however continue to provide the core services that keep Westminster clean and safe and protect the vulnerable and we’ll have an absolute focus on value for money to deliver more for less for local taxpayers.”
