Bournemouth bites back

Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin the leader of Bournemouth Council leader replies to his critics and says his  new waste buster will help save nearly £16 million.

Bournemouth Borough Council is a unitary authority with a budget in excess of £450million p.a.  One of the Executive Directors (Major Projects) retired in April.  The Council always planned to recruit a replacement, but we have decided to change the job description to reflect the national agenda (particularly CSR 07) and our local agenda.  The new job title is 'Executive Director - Transformation'.

The target for cashable efficiency gains amounts to £15.9million over three years, much of which will come from new business processes facilitated by ICT investment, including better procurement.  We are also exploring the opportunities that a Strategic Partnering arrangement may offer the Council and other public sector organisations.

As Leader of the Council, I and my colleagues have made an 'Efficient Council' one of our key priorities in response to the views the public expressed during the Council elections last May.  The previous Liberal Democrat administration was perceived as ineffective and inefficient. We won a landslide, with a net gain of 25 council seats (out of a total of 54)- the best result in the country.

An organisation of this size needs the appropriate level of leadership and skills to deliver, and this appointment will ensure that this happens.  As a Conservative Council, we putting right years of Liberal Democrat  mismanagement, and we are keen to attract the best professionals to make this happen as part of the new leadership team.