Wealth of expertise could see Swansea Council create new enterprises

SWANSEA Council could use the wealth of expertise among its staff to develop new enterprises which will help cut costs or pay for vital council services in the years ahead.

Knowledge and expertise in areas as diverse as construction and maintenance, energy supply and printing could all be put to more commercial use to help pay for public services.

Proposals being put to Cabinet on May 12 are suggesting a more commercial council using the skills and talents its workforce already have could create new income and reduce costs to help pay for services residents count on every day.

Clive Lloyd, Cabinet Member for Transformation and Performance, said: “We want to unlock the entrepreneurial spirit among our staff and give them the opportunity and the incentive to come up with ideas that will generate income to help pay for services.

“We already employ a lot of people with skills that can be used or developed creatively. Over time we aim to create an environment which encourages our staff to think of ways in which the skills they have can be applied differently to either save money or generate income.

He said: “We have to find £81m of savings over the coming years and at the same time we want to protect and improve services as much as we can.

“The number one aim of this strategy is to support our priorities like safeguarding people, tackling poverty and building sustainable communities. We all know there will be less money coming from government in the years ahead so we’ll be more able to deliver on our priorities if we can bolster public services by being more commercial.

“Other councils in England in particular have gone down this route with good effect and now it’s time to see what can be achieved here.”

The report to Cabinet says the council should consider investing in solar energy as a way of generating energy and cutting its costs. The council might also consider selling energy to residents more cheaply, as some other councils have done. It’s also suggesting there are potentially commercial opportunities available by extending its catering and printing services into the open market.

The report also unveils a new Commercialism Strategy which is part of Sustainable Swansea – Fit for the Future, the council’s transformation programme.

The strategy includes proposals for training and awareness-raising among staff about commercialism as well as identifying strengths and opportunities to maximise council assets and learning from and collaborating with others.