Saving money at Dorset Council could become an expensive business with ‘a substantial investment’ likely to be needed in high-tech equipment.

As with businesses across the globe, much of the council’s ‘savings’ will be based around getting us, the customers, to do much of the work ourselves – expected to involve millions of pounds being invested in IT systems.

The idea is one of the key findings of consultants, Price Waterhouse Coopers, who have been looking at ways the council can cut costs in visits to County Hall, Dorchester over the summer.

Their advice comes with a £150,000 price tag.

Council leaders admit that £8.6million of savings they had hoped to make this financial year from transforming services are now unlikely to be achieved, resulting in the eventual shortfall having to be taken from reserve funds.

That news has led to a spat between the Lib Dems, who now control the council, and the Conservatives who were in charge up until May.

As with national politics it is based around the claim of  “the black hole you left us” – and led to a minor spat at a recent finance meeting between Tory group leader Cllr Andrew Parry and the portfolio holder for finance, Chickerell councillor Cllr Simon Clifford.

Said Cllr Parry: “Our taxpayers will be bitterly disappointed that you will not achieve one penny in savings unless you can produce a rabbit out of the hat.”

It resulted in Cllr Clifford claiming that had the Tories not left the finances in the state they are the new administration might not need to be spending money on financial advisors.

“The idea of  rabbit out of a hat is a nonsense… It’s your £8.6million cock-up. We’ve inherited your black hole; it’s your cock up and we’re having to sort it out,” he said, claiming that Price Waterhouse Coopers had been ordered in by the previous, Conservative, administration, not the existing one.

Cllr Clifford later apologised for his language.

He said he hoped the existing Lib Dem regime would re-set the council finances through “a transformative approach.”

The former Tory financial lead, Cllr Gary Suttle (Swanage), said provision was made for the savings to be achieved, with staff allocated to the task, back in February : “The work is now six months behind and very little will now be delivered in the year so the £8.6million deficit will now have to be carried by reserves,” he said.

The council officer who heads up the financial teams, Aidan Dunn, told councillors that the consultants had made officers realise the complexities involved with the changes which would be needed to transform the way the council works: “they have given us some real insights on how we are organised and if we did things differently it would be better for our residents,” he said, adding that it was now “almost inevitable” that there would be a budget gap in the next financial year.