Labour-run Nottingham City Council will be spending £60,000 to hire a consultant to review its office portfolio. The council hopes it will help cut costs and support savings as it seeks to keep the books balanced.
According to documents the council will be reviewing its office buildings used for administrative purposes. The authority says it hopes this will develop an understanding of the opportunities to achieve "short-term reductions in the operating and holding costs of its administrative offices portfolio, and medium-term opportunities to reduce permanently its operating footprint with a view to achieving further sustainable cost savings."
However it is required to be done within a short timeframe and the council does not have the capacity to undertake the work in-house. It has therefore allocated £60,000 to appoint an external consultant through a competitive process.
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The authority has been struggling to find the in-house expertise in its journey towards financial stability, largely due to a staff "exodus" due to better wages in the private sectors. Since the Government appointed an improvement board, the authority has been selling off property assets as well as planning to slash services such as its library offer, and so far it has been able to cut its debt from £1.2bn to £900,000.
It is understood the review will not affect staff numbers at present, the council says. Councillor David Mellen, the leader of the council who represents the Dales ward, added: “This is a strategic look at the council’s office space and continues a process started more than a decade ago, which involved a reduction of council buildings and move towards fewer sites.
"Many organisations across the country, both public and private sector, are considering how to optimise space following the impact of the pandemic. Staff are working in different ways now and so it’s prudent to ensure that our offices are used effectively.
“The review will focus on what the authority currently has and the best way to utilise it for our staff and residents. We would expect the findings to be available early in the New Year along with options for further discussion.”
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