Councils set to slash maintenance funds

March 25, 2011 - PRLog -- Evidence is emerging of councils front-loading cuts to facilities management and building maintenance budgets.

Councils are currently finalising spending plans for an April deadline and consultants close to the negotiations believe hundreds of millions of pounds could be taken out of the sector over the next two years.

The cuts may be compounded by councils holding on to their FM and maintenance budgets until the end of each period in case they need to divert funds elsewhere.

EC Harris head of local government Bill Green (pictured) said: “Most councils are targeting savings of around 20 per cent this year in maintenance of their corporate estate, with a similar impact in wider estate, including schools, flowing through next year.”

In England alone there are 36 metropolitan districts and 32 London boroughs, plus the City of London.

Cuts of 20 per cent to each of their budgets would total in excess of £340 million, with £165m being cut from London.

With cuts from the UK’s 55 unitary authorities and 27 two-tier shire counties factored in, the overall reduction could soar further.

Mr Green says the areas are seen as “readily addressable targets”, as they don’t involve redundancies or cuts to frontline services.

He added that tighter budgetary controls could see “significant sums held back as a precaution and only released in the final part of the year”.

PwC director in real estate advisory Guy Brett agreed the cuts to maintenance budgets could run to the hundreds of millions of pounds as local authorities seek to avoid property closures.

“They might be cutting maintenance budgets more because they are trying to keep facilities open. So you might find you get a 10 per cent reduction in floor space but a 40 per cent reduction in maintenance.”

Electrical Contractors’ Association commercial advisor Ken Tracey agreed the cuts posed a major threat: “This is doubly bad because in a recession our members are usually deprived of new build so they start going for maintenance and refurbish instead.”

Willmott Dixon chief executive for support services Chris Durkin said he was not surprised.

“It is easier to impact on maintenance budgets than on others, so there is definitely front-loading going on because you can take the benefit of that more quickly.

“But over time we are not expecting it to continue to be penalised because the fact is there are compliance standards that apply to public property.”

The Comprehensive Spending Review introduced cuts of 26 per cent in funding from central to local government over the next four years, with councils’ budgets cut by up to 8.9 per cent in 2011.

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Article sourced from:
http://www.hvnplus.co.uk/news/councils-set-to-slash-maint...

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