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Sutton Borough Liberal DemocratsWorking for you all year round
Beddington, Belmont, Carshalton, Cheam, Clockhouse, Nonsuch, St Helier, Stonecot, Sutton, The Wrythe, Wallington and Worcester Park. |
Treasury chief investigates secret of Sutton's success
July 2, 2010 11:34 AM
Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, today made a high-profile visit to the Liberal Democrat Sutton to learn how its innovative savings programme could be duplicated by councils across the country
Alexander, the Treasury minister in charge of savings, toured the flagship Liberal Democrat borough on the first of the series of factfinding visits he will be making to authorities and organisations ahead of the Spending Review in October.
He came to Sutton to learn more about how the council works with other public bodies and involves local residents in its work as part of its efforts "to do more for less".
Afterwards Alexander, who will make the key decisions about the country's spending plans, said: "I think the way they are doing it in Sutton has really interesting lessons for the way we can make savings across the board.
"I was very struck by the way the police and the council are working together... in a way that is both saving money and improving safety.
"It's a classic example of how by breaking down barriers between what might traditionally have been very discrete and different services you get better results and make savings - that's what doing things more efficiently is all about."
The Minister talked with the council's leadership about the Smarter Services Sutton transformation and efficiency programme, which aims to save £30m over the next four years - while also redefining what the council does.
He then met with frontline staff and residents to discuss a series of initiatives, including how the provision of social care is being transformed in the borough; how young people are involved in decision-making processes, and how people are being encouraged to change the types of travel they use.
Council Leader, Cllr Sean Brennan, said: "We work with our residents in Sutton, and with our partners across business, health, the police and voluntary sector to get the best outcomes for Sutton. It is this relationship with our residents that will be most important as councils up and down the country change.
" We put value for money at the heart of everything we do in Sutton and we will get through these difficult times together by inviting everyone to take part in a root and branch review of what the council does and how we do it."
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