Councils nationwide are on track to deliver annual efficiency gains to the tune of £1.3 billion, according to official figures.

Published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the figures for the mid-financial year indicate that local authorities are achieving their cost-cutting goals - delivering improved services with greater efficiency.

“Today’s figures again show that councils are making great strides in terms of efficiency and prove once more that councils can provide top quality services by rethinking the way that they do business,” commented local government and community cohesion minister Phil Woolas.

“Government recognises the hard work and innovation of councils in making these efficiency gains and we know that this is not a one-off.

“We share the vision of local authorities that will see even greater gains come through more effective procurement, business process improvement, collaboration and better use of new technology, as set out in our recent White Paper,” he continued.

He concluded that, based on current evidence, councils were firmly on track to exceed the stringent efficiency targets set out by the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Chancellor Gordon Brown expects local authorities to have achieved savings of £3 billion by the end of the 2007/08 tax year.

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