Monday 8 August 2011

Time to start counting our spoons?

When the fanfare of trumpets last month announced a transformation in the way Cornwall Council delivers services it seemed too good to be true: saving £10 million of taxpayers' money while protecting 3,000 existing council jobs. A miracle?

Now that we're starting to see the detail, it might be time to pause and consider. Next week's Audit Committee, warned of the "significant risks" inherent in this project, will be told of 50 posts "removed from the current restructure..."

The County Hall mantra for the past couple of years has been how Cornwall is to become a "commissioning council" which secures best value by "outsourcing" (the 21st century word for 1980s-style privatisation.) Maybe I'm just a cynical doom-monger who always thinks the worst, but might it not be a good idea to see what happens at Suffolk county council before the restructuring becomes irreversible?

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