Cheshire East signs off on plan to ‘transform’ council and cut costs

The cash-strapped council needs to save £100m by 2028 to balance its books and was recently granted exceptional financial support from the government to the tune of £17.6 million.

But one of the key requirements is it must produce an improvement and transformation plan and submit it to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) by next Tuesday (August 27).

The urgency to approve the plan and start implementing it at pace was stressed numerous times throughout last night’s (Wednesday) meeting of the corporate policy committee.

But the Conservatives clashed with Labour and the Independents, arguing the plan showed a lack of councillor involvement in the future process, which would have such a huge impact on the council and residents.

Cllr Stewart Gardiner (Image: Cheshire East Council)

Cllr Stewart Gardiner (Knutsford, Con) said: “There doesn't appear to be any focus on the decision-making by us as elected members who, at the end of the day, are the people who will be taking the can for any decisions that are made.”

He later added: “No disrespect to any officers, but part of the reason why we're in the mess we're in is because there has been not enough, I believe, member involvement in decision-making.”

The report to last night’s meeting said council officers and consultants had identified 100 opportunities with potential savings in the range of £59m to £91m over the next four financial years.

Some are in areas the council is already known to be looking at, such as the possibility of three-weekly black bin collections and remodelling library provision across the borough.

Others include a hike in fees and charges for council services and a review of properties that have been renovated or extended to uplift council tax bands.

Another aim is to cut the use of high-cost agency staff.

Cllr Gardiner said: “If we are going to have political buy-in, we need to be provided with options.

"We can't just be provided with ‘this is what's going to happen’, and I can't see that that assurance is here.”

But an amendment put forward by Conservative group leader Janet Clowes to have informal corporate policy meetings to scrutinise proposals before they were referred to the committee, was defeated.

Cllr Michael Gorman (Image: Cheshire East Council)

Deputy council leader Michael Gorman (Wilmslow, Ind) said: “There's no democratic deficit here, which I think is the case that's trying to be made.

“We have debated this at length at full council and in other places, and we have voted for it at full council in a democratic fashion.”

Cllr Mark Goldsmith (Ind) reminded the Conservatives they were the opposition party.

“It seems to me there's some confusion about being in administration and being in opposition,” said the Wilmslow councillor.

He said the decision-making was taken by members at committees but ‘in the work up to that and what is involved, that's really an administration task’.

Council leader Nick Mannion (Macclesfield, Lab) again repeated the need to move at pace, agreeing extra meetings would hinder this.

“Yes, there needs to be political oversight to the delivery of the transformation program, but we have to get this right quickly and we have one opportunity to get it right,” he said.

The plan will now be submitted to the MHCLG.