ONE recent letter suggests that we are out of step with each other. We want to make it quite clear that nothing could be further from the truth.

We are working very closely together to drive through the improvements which need to be made and neither of us have said or done anything which contradicts the views and actions of the other.

We are united on the problems which need to be addressed within the council and how to address them. The move from seven councils to a single authority last year involved the biggest ever change in Cornish local government. This was not an easy process.

There was a leadership vacuum in the dying days of the old councils and, as a result, some key decisions were not taken.

With just six months to go before the start of the new authority on April 1, 2009, no structures had been agreed and there were still more people working within the seven organisations than money to pay their salaries. We knew every month of delay would cost the council £1m and everyone worked incredibly hard to turn the situation around and implement the new structures in record time – a Herculean task. Without such prompt action an overspend of £10m was on the cards.

The fact that the new council came into operation with no disruption of services is of great credit to all the staff involved. We know there is still a huge amount of work to do if we are to create the high performing council that Cornwall wants and deserves.

There would appear to be a great deal of confusion about the savings and costs involved in forming the new council. This has inevitably left residents unsure over who or what to believe.

The reality is that the original savings target for One Cornwall in 2009/2010 was £15.64m and this is being delivered. The target for ongoing savings for 2011/12 is £29.67m and these further savings are on track to be achieved.

The predicted costs are also on track. The original planned spend to the end of 2011/12 was £42.5m and the latest forecast is that this will be £41.5m – meaning the total costs of creating the new unitary authority will be within the original budget.

It is a nonsense to separate savings and costs. We need to look at the results together. The truth is the net position was negative in 2008/09 and 2009/10 because those costs outweighed the savings. We will start making modest savings in 2010/11 and these will grow significantly in future years.

There were, however, unanticipated costs which were an inevitable consequence of the disruption of unitary amalgamation. These resulted in a predicted £15m overspend for 2009/2010. We immediately took robust action to address this which brought it under control for the second half of the year. This required drawing on reserves to deliver the 2009/2010 budget.

The focus on delivering the unitary inevitably meant some areas did not receive the attention they deserved. One such area was expenditure control. The (former) county council overspent in 2008/09 and these problems continued in the 2009/10 year. We are now confident we will deliver the 2009/10 budget but tough action will be needed. The council has made considerable progress in improving its financial management over the past six months – a fact which has been recognised by the Audit Commission. While we know we need to strengthen our budgetary control processes further, the commission shares our view that we are on the right track.

The predicted squeeze on public funding over the coming years means the new council is facing a period of unprecedented uncertainty. The creation of the unitary authority, however, means we are in a stronger position to deal with the challenges ahead than many other councils in the country.

This is good news for people in Cornwall as we will be able to continue with our plans to improve the quality of services we provide at the same time as providing greater value for money for council tax payers.

One of the key strengths of the new council is the partnership between members and officers who are working very well together. We would like to widen this partnership to include local residents and would ask your readers to support the council in delivering the priorities set out in the business plan so we can create the Cornwall we all want to live in.