Brighton's bins boost budget
- Published: 29 July 2008 09:57
- Author: Robin Latchem
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 29 July 2008 13:31
More wheelie bins, cutting temporary bed and breakfast accommodation and other changes have brought more than £6m worth of savings for Brighton & Hove Council.
The figure is close to the government's call for 3% savings on the council's overall budget for the year of nearly £210m.
According to the council, a restructuring of the council's in-house home care service and greater more use of the in-house Care Crew temporary staff pool helped adult social care services make savings of nearly £1m.
Cutting the number of people staying in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation, tighter management of empty properties, a more streamlined repairs service and re-tendering the council house repairs contract have helped save more than £600,000.
The relocation of the visitor information centre to the Royal Pavilion complex has saved money and helped increase the number of people using the centre.
And the extension of the wheelie bin service to thousands more households has helped the council improve recycling levels, send less waste to landfill and save taxpayers more than £700,000.
The council has also received £700,000 from the government for exceeding our targets for cutting down on housing benefit overpayments.
Cabinet member for finance, Councillor Jan Young (Con), said: "When we talk about making better use of public money, it's not just about saving cash. It's also about finding ways to deliver better services by doing things differently.
"Delivering value for money services to residents is one of our key priorities, and we're committed to making our services even more efficient and helpful to residents in the coming years."
