feature: Making your money go further
4 August 2008
Haringey Council is committed to keeping costs down and delivering value for money.
In fact more than £15 million has been saved over the past two years, meeting government targets and keeping the Council Tax down.
Savings can be made by disposing of buildings that are no longer needed, for example. Plans are now underway to reduce the number of buildings owned by the council by about a third, meaning cheaper running costs all round, as well as a boost to capital budgets.
More efficient ways of working – such as online systems which use electronic invoicing rather than paper bills – can also save money.
The costs of Council Tax payment transactions – collecting the money and getting it into the bank – are being reduced significantly through e-payment and the paypoint system where residents can pay at shops across the borough.
E-savings
Switching to e-billing was part of a major drive to cut the council’s energy costs.
With buildings across the borough plus street lighting and other energy-hungry facilities, the switch did away with 22,000 manual invoices.
Green savings
Working with other councils to procure energy more cost-effectively is now saving around £300,000 a year in electricity bills.
The latest plan, now being introduced in the council’s main offices, is ‘voltage optimisation’ – a system that reduces average voltage levels into a building.
Equipment performance is not affected, but bills are reduced by around 10 per cent. The system was introduced at Hornsey library when it was refurbished last autumn, and savings of 11 per cent have been recorded.
More to come
“As a large organization running a huge range of services we spend money on everything from stationery to large construction projects,” says Cllr Charles Adje, cabinet member for resources.
“We are committed to spending that money in ways that deliver value for money while continuing to improve services.”
The Audit Commission verdict
Council spending is checked by independent local government watchdog the Audit Commission.
In its latest report (February 2008) the Commission said:
“Haringey continues to make good use of its resources and to focus on value for money. Clear improvement plans are in place and the Achieving Excellence programme supports Haringey’s capacity to deliver further efficiencies and improvements.”
Your verdict
In the latest residents’ survey, conducted at the end of 2007, the score on council efficiency went up 10 per cent, to 58 per cent. On value for money positive results were up eight per cent, to 42 per cent.
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