Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council continues to deliver value for money, an official audit of its accounts has found.
The annual audit, carried out by external auditors Mazars LLP, also commends the Council for putting in place proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources.
The Annual Audit letter says: “Each year undoubtedly becomes harder and the scope for reducing expenditure without affecting service standards becomes more and more difficult. The Council continues to have a strong approach in considering a range of options, regularly updating and agreeing its plans well ahead of the relevant financial year.
“As we have seen in recent years, the Council is exploring innovative service redesign solutions to preserve service delivery and financial stability, such as new partnerships, joint ventures and ‘invest to save’ initiatives. When doing so, we have noted that the Council adopts controlled processes to mitigate risks.”
The findings of the 2014/15 Annual Audit will be reported in full to members of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet on Thursday (14 January).
The Council’s Leader, Councillor Bob Cook, said: “Despite the significant challenges we face it’s good to see that the Council has been commended for both planning and delivering realistic and practical savings plans which have meant we have been in a position to carefully manage significant reductions in funding.
“This is becoming increasingly difficult in the current financial climate and though we will continue to face difficult times andtough decisions on our spending priorities and plans for the future, we continue to be ambitious for Stockton Borough and all of its residents.”