‘Limits reached to efficiency savings’

Councils will not be able to look to adults’ services for much longer to deliver savings demanded by the Gershon review, a social services leader has warned.

Anne Williams, joint chair of the Association of Directors of Social Services resources committee, made the comment after figures last week from the government showed that adults’ services contributed just over £200m of the £1.2bn of efficiency
gains made by councils in England in 2005-6.

This compared with £76m from children’s services, £52m from Supporting People, and £16m from homelessness services.

Williams said: “Because we have a good track record, we have been the people who have had to deliver a lot of the savings.

But everyone is saying we can’t do much more.”