The scandal of London councils' spending black holes

"I work in financial consulting, looking at how teams, departments and processes operate, and find ways to deliver better results for less money. You do this by cutting waste, improving productivity and simplifying how things are done. That balance is achieved every day in the private sector. Yet in local government, we're repeatedly told it can't be done."

"Tower Hamlets brings in roughly 100million a year in council tax. The five per cent rise in council tax was sold as necessary and unavoidable, yet it only raises around 5million. In the context of a council planning to spend well over a billion pounds across the next few years, that's peanuts."

"If you're trying to find a few million in a large organisation, you start with discretionary spending and outsourcing. Consultants. Lawyers. Professional services. Recruitment agencies. Contractors. Marketing. Such costs are often necessary. But unlike core staffing or operational infrastructure, they can usually be reduced, renegotiated or delivered differently."

After relocating from Singapore to London, the author observed significant disparities between public service quality and tax burden. Despite paying higher taxes in London, infrastructure deteriorated with missed bins, crumbling roads, and strikes. When council tax increased, the author attended a budget meeting seeking justification. Tower Hamlets council collects approximately 100 million annually in council tax, with a five percent rise generating only 5 million despite planning over a billion pounds in spending. Drawing from financial consulting experience, the author identifies that private sector organizations routinely achieve efficiency through waste reduction, productivity improvements, and process simplification. Local government claims such efficiencies are impossible, yet discretionary spending on consultants, lawyers, professional services, recruitment agencies, contractors, and marketing typically offers reduction opportunities without affecting core services.

Read at www.standard.co.uk