Uncertainty ahead for staff amid authority’s radical overhaul

Conservative council leader Mark Crane last week announced one of the most radical overhauls of the way any local authority operates in the country, which he believes will help the authority save much of the £3m-a-year being cut from its budget by 2012.

The council intends effectively to create a separate business, owned by the authority, which will run services on its behalf, with only a core of 14 “commissioners” left working for the council itself.

Unsurprisingly, the move will involve a major shake-up of the salaries paid to staff working for the new firms, as well as giving them far broader roles crossing many council services.

A council statement said: “Rather than people working in distinct departments like environmental health or housing, staff will be split only between ‘community services’ or ‘business support’. This means resources can be focused on issues that matter most.

“Under these arrangements, a new team of community officers will deal with a range of issues including fly tipping, local housing issues, business rates and some planning issues.

“They will be supported by specialist help where necessary for areas in which staff require specialist knowledge or qualifications.”

The experiment breaks radical ground for a local authority, but opposition leader Steve Shaw-Wright has warned the changes are moving “too far and fast”.

But Coun Crane insists the shake-up is the best way of protecting services in the current climate. Only minor service cuts have been announced by the council, with its Tadcaster office closing and charges for parking and planning fees increased.

Coun Crane said: “This is a huge change for the whole organisation, but really shows that we’re leading the way when it comes to new ways of thinking to deal with reductions in funding.

“We’d have to make cut backs whether we changed the way we worked or not, but developing this new model gives us a unique opportunity to minimise the impact of budget cuts on front-line services.”