Harrow Council to make £62m savings over four years

Councillors in Harrow have voted to reduce their spending by £62m over the next four years.

The Labour-run authority has set its budget for 2011-12 at £175.5m. Over three years an estimated 150 posts will go from its current workforce of 3,550.

Library staff and street cleaning teams will be affected but the council said front-line services had been protected.

All of London's councils have finalised their budget for the next year, with almost 9,500 jobs being lost.

In an effort to make these savings the council said it was carrying out an intensive review and reform of services to find innovative and cost-effective ways of working.

Ten major projects will contribute significant savings in 2011-12 at the same time as protecting or improving services, it said.

The council is looking to make £2m savings in procurement, £1.1m in children's services and £4m through a number of measures including renegotiating care contracts and joining up with other boroughs to buy services in bulk.