Charnwood Borough Council - Leading in Leicestershire

A LEICESTERSHIRE and Nottinghamshire council are aiming to be the first in the country to share services across county boundaries with a private sector partner.

Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) in Nottinghamshire and Charnwood Borough Council (CBC) in Leicestershire and are joining forces in a ground-breaking deal to save millions of pounds for council tax payers, become even more efficient, secure jobs and be more competitive.

The two councils hope for another country first – to expand their horizons to develop a centre of excellence which will offer councils and other organisations well trained staff in skills shortage areas in local government.

On Tuesday, 18th December the Leaders, Deputy Leaders and Chief Executives of both councils signed an agreement to drive them forward to achieve more together – better performance, using resources better and becoming even more efficient. There will be continued savings year on year under the new partnership, with at least a 10% saving in the first year and additional annual savings in the future.

This new marriage will see two different counties come together with a leading private sector organisation in the shared services field (still to be confirmed) to deliver services such as benefits and revenues (council tax administration), information technology, finance, human resources and property (RBC only). The partnership will go live in summer 2008.

Cllr Neil Clarke, Leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council, said: “Rushcliffe is not afraid to be forward thinking – and this is a very big deal for both councils. All councils face an uphill battle to deliver more services for less money. Shared services means that both organisations and staff and residents are in a win/win situation and can face the future with greater confidence.”

Cllr Richard Shepherd, Leader of Charnwood Borough Council, said: “By working together we will be able to achieve a far better deal with a private sector provider. It is an innovative and challenging step forward in the way we both do business, but we are confident it will provide great strides to achieving better value for residents as well as a better service.”

Brian Hayes, Chief Executive of Charnwood Borough Council, said: “This is an innovative and ambitious project which will bring huge benefits not just to Charnwood and Rushcliffe residents, but across the region. Sharing services in this way will ensure more efficient and effective ways of working, which will directly benefit the customer by allowing more funding to be injected into the frontline services.”

Allen Graham, Chief Executive of Rushcliffe Borough Council, said: “Rushcliffe is a great council – and this will transform the way we do business. We want the best deal for our residents, to improve our staff and create a legacy - something which other councils can benefit from up and down the country which will save us even more money and provide local government with the skills it needs in the future. “

The two councils have been working together over the last 18 months to finalise the deal. The final two contractors are now preparing their final submission to the two councils outlining their proposals to make savings, improve performance and develop a centre of excellence for shared services in the East Midlands.

• Shared Services Partnership Concordat (PDF Document 1.06 Mb.)