Whitehall should dispense with tough efficiency targets if it wants local authorities to achieve sustainable savings in future, research indicates. A survey of local authority attitudes towards savings programmes, published by law firm Nabarro on 3 December, suggests Whitehall's Gershon review has affected a behavioural change in the way councils seek and achieve efficiency savings. Under the 2004 plan, overseen by businessman Sir Peter Gershon, councils were asked to find £3bn of annual savings by 2008. They surpassed the target, which has now been replaced by a further £3bn benchmark for 2011. According to the Nabarro survey, town hall staff believe the majority of savings could be found through shared services – such as IT, procurement and finance – and waste management reforms. But respondents also called for ‘less red tape, fewer central government targets and greater incentives to ensure future, sustainable efficiencies'. Elizabeth Cooper, partner at Nabarro, said: ‘While the majority of local authorities have taken on board the efficiency mantle… there is a strong desire for them now to be left alone to get on with it. ‘They would prefer the freedom to develop their own strategies, rather than having to follow central government targets or be bound by overly-prescriptive national objectives.'
