A transformation programme to turn Merton Council into a more lean and efficient organisation over the next three years will be preliminarily considered by cabinet on Monday (11 May) with a final decision to be taken later this month following councillors undertaking scrutiny.

The programme would be the next step in giving Merton a more secure financial footing for the future, and is based on the findings of Deloitte who were commissioned last year by the council to find significant savings. In April, Deloitte presented a set of ambitious proposals to the council, identifying up to £68m in gross savings available by March 2013.

The council will be looking at how these proposals can practically be implemented across the council through the transformation programme, the first stage of which would be to review the layers of management within the council as well as tighten up Merton’s procurement.

Separately, the council has identified that it will need to find savings of over £14 million for the 2010/11 financial year and over £11 million in the following year. The transformation programme would contribute towards finding those savings.

Deputy leader and cabinet member for corporate resources, Councillor Samantha George said:
“We need to continue providing high quality services at a price that residents are prepared to pay. We can only do this by radically changing the way we do things at Merton. We want to transform the council into a leaner organisation that continues to keep the cost to the council taxpayer down. I am confident that a transformation programme could deliver this for the years to come.”