Responding to the prospect of such large cuts John Barradell proposes that it is far better to have a wholesale reorganisation now rather then have to impose a series of ad-hoc changes in a piecemeal fashion as the reduced income starts to bite.

He focuses on duplication of administrative roles in many council departments and elements of a “silo mentality” that prevents them from working in a collaborative manner. He also makes it clear that Brighton & Hove City Council, like every other local authority in the UK, faces budget cuts over the next three years regardless of which political party wins power in the 2010 General Election. He quotes a savings gap in 2011/12 of around £8m, and in 2012/13 of around £5m assuming that the Government does not cut the city’s existing funding grant.

His proposed solution is to concentrate on essential services but trying to avoid  out-sourcing if possible unless it demonstrably represents stronger value for money. He also want to change the role of the seven strong team of directors so that they concentrate more on 'joining the dots' to deliver an holistic approach to service delivery. They will be tasked to commission services from across all council departments to deliver the services expected of their directorates.

The report places considerable emphasis on fulidity of resources and innovation in the way they are applied.

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