Review of Council's Senior Management Posts

Written by Cllr Jon Rayner, Portfolio Member for Resources on Mon 24th Jul 2006

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to read comments in last week's Malvern Gazette by Conservative Councillors about the Council's proposed senior management review.

The Liberal Democrat/Green administration has put in place plans to streamline top management and deliver substantial net savings over the coming years, releasing more money to spend on frontline services where it is most needed.

We are doing exactly what the Conservatives failed to do when they ran the Council, and by opposing our plans and trying to score cheap political points in the press they show themselves to be disingenuous.

The Council will make huge savings in its salaries budget by removing a whole layer of senior management and reducing the next tier too. The money saved will be used to improve front-line services to Council Taxpayers and to continue to keep rises in the Malvern Hills portion of Council Tax below inflation. Inevitably there will be redundancy costs, but these will be spread over a number of years and savings will start from the word 'go'.

The officers who may leave as a result of the review plan have served the District loyally and well, but it has been rather like driving a Jaguar on a Ford Fiesta income. The structure was put in place by the previous Tory administration, who are now trying to cover their embarrassment and poor control by criticising the review. They failed to support the savings in Council in April and if they were to be re-elected next year they would no doubt return to their old lazy, laissez-faire ways.

We are proud of this Council's record of positive management to keep the Council Tax down and of our focus on our priority areas for service improvement. In just three years we have moved from being at the bottom of the heap to being one of the best-performing District Councils in the country. In spite of the jealous quibbles and niggles reported in last week's Gazette, the senior management review will help us to deliver even better results for the benefit of the community.