Cornwall Council's new Chief Executive Andrew Kerr has hit the ground running.
He has announced that almost half the most senior management posts at the Council will go. I am sorry that this will be a painful process for the individuals involved but if the Council is going to be leaner it has to start at the top.
Scott Mann Prospective Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for North Cornwall said " Over the recent budget round we were very clear that we would not support any budget that took money out of services that people rely on. We felt sickened to find that services like buses, public toilets and libraries where being cut but the numerous managers in the management tree where receiving a pay rise."
It is hoped that the new appointee to the Health,Social Care and Children's directorate will be able to integrate the activities of the Council and provide better value for money to the taxpayer.
Conservative group leader Fiona Ferguson said "We need to stop trying to assign blame for issues such as 'bed blocking', and instead concentrate on finding solutions to improve the health and well being of the taxpayer in Cornwall.
Of course, this can only be the start of the Council's efforts to reduce its management costs and it is something the Conservative group have been advocating all the way through the budget process."
I imagine that there will be significant redundancy costs. These need to be kept under strict control and I doubt the financial savings will be immediate.
Urgent consideration will also need to be given to downsizing the political machine at the Council. There are just too many meetings which are not an efficient use of members' or officers' time. With less officers the elected members will need to show the Chief Executive that they too can act promptly to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and costs.