For many years, if a council department didn't spend its budget, it could have it cut next year. We all used to see roadworks everywhere in the month before their year end.
Similarly, the men at the top got paid for the number of staff they supervised.
These factors produced inefficient bloated councils.
When they were told to cut staff, they transferred a lot of services to Capita and the like, so that the council payroll appeared to be cut. Capita, of course, negotiated clever contracts, and services actually cost more.
There is still a lot of fat to be shed