Reform council plans 'deep dive' cost cutting drive

Council leader Dan Harrison would not be drawn on potential redundancies

The Reform UK leader of Leicestershire County Council has said a "deep dive" efficiency drive will be carried out to try to cut the authority's costs.

Dan Harrison said he wanted to bring in specialists from international firms to find ways of reducing the council's annual £1.3bn spend.

Opposition councillors have warned the move would likely lead to significant redundancies among council staff, leading to reductions in public services.

Harrison told the BBC he would not be drawn on potential job losses among the council's 6,000 employees at this stage, with the review set to start in November.

"It will be from top to bottom, and bottom to top, of the whole business," Harrison said.

"Everything will be looked at."

During a BBC Radio Leicester hot seat interview, Harrison said: "They [the specialists] come from big companies. They know what they are doing.

"I'm looking for maximum efficiency that will have an effect on our budget."

When asked how much it would cost to employ the specialists, the council leader said he was unable to say because contracts were yet to be signed.

"Whatever they charge, it will be a hundred times to the benefit of the authority," Harrison said.

"It's going to be a once-in-a-generation sweep through and a look at how we are operating.

"We are demanding efficiencies because we have to do something dramatic.

"We have to get the budget balanced."

He said Reform UK, which has run the council as a minority administration since May, aimed to set a budget with a 3% council tax increase from April 2026, rather than the 5% maximum allowed by a government-imposed cap.

Opposition county councillors said they were sceptical about how much more could be cut from spending

Deborah Taylor, leader of the Conservative opposition group on the council, said: "He [Harrison] said he wanted to cut council tax, then he said he would freeze it, now he's saying it will be an increase, but not by the maximum.

"The council has saved £290m since 2010.

"It's already incredibly efficient. I'm not sure where he thinks these savings can be found.

"The only way to achieve it is to cull staff, and if you cull staff you reduce services."

Harrison insisted public services were "paramount" to his administration.

Michael Mullaney, leader of the council's Liberal Democrat group, added: "I'm sceptical that they [Reform UK] can find much more to save.

"There's not much fat to cut.

"They will have to reduce staff numbers, and that will affect services like social care and road maintenance.

"We would not support a budget that cuts public services. Reform does not have enough councillors to get a budget through unless they persuade others to support them - or at least not to vote against them."