You are here: Home > About Us > News & Articles > Bristol City Council
Catalyze supports Bristol City Council in agreeing £12m of budget savings
Bristol City Council faced the significant challenge of continuing to provide high quality frontline services whilst making unprecedented budget savings. In order to meet the new spending limit of £330m, further savings of £42m needed to be identified between 2012 and 2015. This required the Strategic Leadership Team to make key strategic choices which will shape the way current and future services are provided to the people of Bristol.
The decision making context was inherently complex with many stakeholders, a wide array of potential options and multiple objectives. To make the required decisions effectively, it was essential to consistently identify, compare and evaluate the available options. Recognising the effective way in which Catalyze has previously worked with local councils, the Strategic Leadership Team engaged Catalyze to support the Neighbourhoods and City Development directorate in their budget prioritisation challenges.
Outcomes:
- A portfolio of £12m of budget savings within Neighbourhoods and City
Development, which have a minimal impact on frontline services, was agreed
by the Strategic Leadership Team. - The inclusive and open nature of the process facilitated a shared
understanding of the proposed savings and the implications for service
outputs. - Detailed discussion and review of costs ensured the proposed savings could
be accurately mapped to budget lines, providing confidence in the plans and
facilitating important conversations with elected members. - A change of approach was developed, replacing ‘salami-slicing’ cuts with a
process which protects service areas already delivering good value for money
for the people of Bristol.
Graham Sims, Strategic Director for Neighbourhoods and City Development, said:
“The Catalyze approach has helped us to deal professionally and transparently with
a major budget challenge. We have been able to identify savings in an inclusive and
collaborative manner, and then link these savings to specific budgets giving us
confidence in our ability to deliver them without negative effects on services we
have decided to protect.”
For the full case study see link.