Chief executive Nick Carter has launched a councilwide plan to find savings as the new Conservative administration seeks to honour its election pledge to ease the pain for council taxpayers.

In a letter to staff obtained by newbury.net, Mr Carter told the 3,500 staff: “At this time of the year the focus once again returns to money and in particular next year's budget.

“Money, or should I say, our lack of it, has always been an issue and we have all felt the pressure of working with limited resources. We have responded well to this challenge and our performance and the level of satisfaction amongst users of our services and the community at large is testament to that.

“Early indications suggest that there will be little new money available next year across the public sector including local government. This is despite the fact that the demand for our services, particularly in areas such as social care and waste, continues to rise.

He added: “Work has already begun on looking at where savings can be found to ensure that we can deliver a balanced budget without placing an undue burden on the local Council Tax Payer and I will update you on this later in the year.

Whilst we have to continue to tighten our belts I would however like to stress that I am committed to providing you with the resources you need to continue to do a good job. The Council's services will only ever be as good as the staff that provide and support them. Training and development are therefore high on my agenda and I am particularly keen to listen to you over the coming months about how the Council can more effectively support you in your work.”

Tory leader Graham Jones publicly criticised his Liberal Democrat rivals when they ran the council for allowing nearly £1m a year to be spent on hiring consultants on issues ranging from traffic flows to organising roundabout sponsorship.

By August he was in charge, and said at the time: I now want to be very clear at the outset of the new administration that we will be judged on the priorities set for us by local people. Our residents want good front line services, like well-maintained roads and good schools, but without their Council tax soaring through the roof every year.