A UK city council plans to stop supplying mineral water to staff in a bid to save money.

Posted January 30, 2007 in [Water]

Saturday, 27th January 2007
Bethan Dorsett

Rochdale council chiefs - who last year saved £6,600 by axing biscuits from meetings - want staff to drink tap water instead.

Tory leader Coun Ashley Dearnley says the move could slash more than £30,000 from the council budget.
He said: "In the last year the council has spent £35,000 (Polaris' note: equivalent to USD 59,000) on bottled water.

"There is nothing wrong with tap water and the reality is we cannot afford to keep buying mineral water.

"A similar scheme has been introduced in Liverpool, although I had been planning to include this in the Conservatives' budget proposals for some time."

Proposals

The idea has already got the backing of Labour leader, Coun Allen Brett. He said: "I think it is a good idea and if Coun Dearnley hadn't proposed it, then it may have been suggested in the budget proposals."

Coun Brett said he would also look at other ways of finding money for services.

The cost-cutting move comes as the council has outlined controversial proposals in which voluntary groups in the borough will be given points rating the quality of service they provide. The points will then determine how much cash they receive.

It is believed that many organisations will face big funding cuts if the plan is given the go-ahead, including the Council for Voluntary Services. Some could even get nothing.

The proposals have come under fire from councillors from all parties, but the cabinet's finance chief, Coun William Hobhouse, says £28,000 is still guaranteed to the voluntary sector over the next three years.

He said: "I attended a meeting with some of the groups and it struck me that grants should be linked to the way these organisations develop their priorities.

"If groups improve services they will score higher and get more money."

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© Copyright 2007 Manchester Evening News.