Streamlining Will Save £1 Million Per Year in Management Costs

Highland Councillors are being advised that more than £1 million will be cut from management costs as the result of the first phase of management restructuring, which will see the Council reduce the number of Services from nine to seven, reduce the number of areas it operates from eight to three and cut the number of managers by 20%.

The Council has already agreed to delete 25 management posts at a saving of £739,000. This is the result of 107 posts being deleted and 82 new posts being created. Employers’ on-costs bring the total in savings on management costs to more than £1 million.

Further proposals concerning the merger of the Housing Service and Property and Architectural Services will be considered when the streamlining proposals are presented to The Highland Council’s Resources Committee on Wednesday (14 February). If agreed, this will see a further four managements jobs being deleted.

The Council has decided to alter the way it manages Services to meet changes in planning and licensing legislation and to meet the Scottish Executive’s drive for more efficient working within tighter budget guidelines.

This will see the Council merge Housing and Property and Architectural Services as well as the Chief Executive’s Office with Corporate Services.  The seven new Services will be: -

Voting by Proportional Representation at the forthcoming local council elections on 3 May will see the number of councillors remain at 80 but they will be grouped in 14 four-member wards and eight three-member wards.

To accommodate the change, it has agreed to move from eight Council areas to three operational management areas, with as many services being delivered at local level within the new multi-member wards.

The three operational management areas are: -

Council Services are currently reorganising management areas to reflect these new boundaries. Operational management areas will be led by Corporate Managers, who will ensure the efficient administration and delivery of services within their area, reporting to the Chief Executive.

Interviews for these three posts will take place on 21 February.

Multi-member wards will be administered by Ward Managers, who will report to a Corporate Manager. 

There will be four Ward Managers covering seven wards in and around Inverness, plus a City Manager for Inverness in recognition of the strategic importance of the city and regional hub.  In Lochaber, one Ward Manager will serve Caol and Mallaig as well as Fort William and Ardnamurchan.  In Caithness, one Ward Manager will cover Thurso, Wick and Landward Caithness.  All other 10 wards will be served by a Ward Manager, giving a total of 16 Ward Managers.