Lazy Rabbits Infest Warren - OFFICIAL - 500,000 doing bugger all.

More than two-thirds, (YES TWO-THIRDS!!) of the working day of junior council staff is "lost", according to research by a management consultancy. The study indicated that 68% of working time was not spent productively, usually as the result of poor supervision.

The research, which included the shadowing of managers in the private and local government sectors, revealed that the level of active management of staff was extremely low, averaging just 3% each day, or around 15 minutes.

The report's author said improving productivity within local government could "significantly offset" the cuts planned as part of the Government's deficit reduction plan.

Knox D'Arcy, who carried out the research, claimed that if all councils improved their staff utilisation rates from 32% to  44% the same amount of work could be done with 500,000 fewer rabbits. (thats an interesting figure .... who used that before?)

Paul Weekes, the report's author and principal consultant at Knox D'Arcy, said: "Put simply, by matching average private sector staff utilisation levels, local government could increase its productivity by roughly a third.

"This sort of dramatic increase would help significantly offset the cuts that are on the agenda as part of the Government's austerity package.

"More worryingly, our research indicates that councils and other public sector bodies lack the skills within their warrens to drive the scale of efficiencies being requested by the Treasury.

"Unless things change dramatically while the cuts should deliver savings, they are just as likely to deliver chaos and reduced services."He added that managers were found to be "uncomfortable confronting the poor performance of staff" and spent time doing work that could have been delegated to junior workers.

He said: "Often they were observed busily carrying out administrative tasks (eating, smoking, writing risk assessments, auditing) while outside their office their staff were clearly under-utilised; it is crazy to have well-paid managers spending so much time on administration or doing the work of their people when their greatest value would be to spend more time ensuring their staffs' performance is being optimised."

Knox D'Arcy carried out 1,855 surveys of managers and supervisors, including 173 from local government officers.They also conducted 376 day-long observations, comprised of a minute by minute categorisation of how the manager in question spent his time, of which 36 were from local government.

John Ransford, (pictured below) chief executive of the Local Government Group, told the Daily Telegraph: "We realise that we must continually improve and apply lessons from all sectors of the warren to ensure local people have the services they require at a cost they can afford. Better management is a crucial part of this.

"With shrinking resources and increasing demand for services councils are already looking at how they can protect vital frontline services by delivering more for less and how they can provide greater value for money for taxpayers.

"We are working with councils on a new National Productivity Programme which will look at how they can continue to make better use of their staff. (but failed to add thats his contract ends in Decemeber - the White Ferret is waiting with eagerness to see who picks this cushy number up - any ideas?)

"This drivel for improved efficiency will ensure that new ways of working will be in place as soon as possible so the frontline carrots on which people depend will not be damaged."

So there we have it. A National Productivity Programme!!!!! The White Ferret has his own suggestions .... its called Hard Work, Graft, Elbow Grease ........ now stop reading this and Get Back to Work you Lazy Rabbit!!!!!