Friday 20th February, 2015

Northamptonshire County Council has approved what's been coined the "biggest shake up" of its services in 125 years.

Proposals to save £68 million in the next financial year has led to the council approving more than 60 cost saving measures.

Over the next five years, the council will begin outsourcing services and reduce its core workforce from 4,000 to 150.

Cabinet member for finance, Councillor Bill Parker, said: “What this budget does is make sure that while longer term plans for total transformation of services are developed, we continue in our work to protect those frontline and critical services despite the significant amount of budget reductions we are having to implement.

Councillor Parker added that there could be a hike in the fees the council charges for things such as library fines, county council run car parks and adult social care packages.

“When you are taking this sort of money out of services you have to make tough decisions which we know will not be popular,” he said.

The Council Plan, which was approved through a majority vote, details how the authority will become a much smaller organisation known as the Northamptonshire County Council Group and will commission others to provide services.

This would see the creation of four new separate organisations which will be employed by the council to deliver for the county.

Councillor Parker, said: “As well as these larger organisations the message is clear that other services would also be able to form new enterprises either as private businesses, social enterprises, charities or as part of the voluntary sector. They would all be free to win other contracts to generate additional income to help reduce their costs to the council.