In terms of the significant savings required by Dundee City Council to meet its revenue budget targets for 2011/12, £5600 is not a great deal, but every penny counts ...
At yesterday's Scrutiny Committee, I asked how much it cost to print the council's annual Performance Report. 400 copies at a staggering £14 each this year, I was told. My suggestion is - do not print it all - create a PDF to send to those who normally receive it and send it by e-mail. Anyone who cannot receive it electronically could be given a copy printed on an office inkjet printer if they requested it.
£5600 saved. Simple.
And this approach could be replicated for other publications - Council Plan, progress reports, Single Outcome Agreement Annual Reports - and all the other rather dull stuff that councils are obliged to produce and few wish to read. I have now written to the Chief Executive suggesting he takes this forward.
In addition to this matter, I made the following points (amongst others) at the Scrutiny Committee yesterday :
* I welcomed the excellent inspection report on Park Place Nursery School and asked a question about the recommendations.
* I asked a question about data collection regarding school placing requests.
* I asked about improving the council's sickness absence performance (not for the first time).
* I asked a series of questions about the risks associated with and the progress thus far with the corporate electronic records and document management system - an issue on which I have previously expressed concern about in terms of cost versus perceived benefits.