Cambridgeshire and Peterborough councils have announced plans to share more of their top personnel in order to make efficiency savings.

The plans will see a new joint executive director join Gillian Beasley, who has held the post of joint chief executive of both councils since 2015.

The new role is being created to lead place and economy work across both the county and the city council, replacing a senior role in each.

The existing Cambridgeshire County Council roles of directors of business improvement and development, and corporate and customer services have also been extended to cover both authorities.

These changes are set to deliver efficiency savings of £90,000 across both councils, as well as delivering benefits of more streamlined working.

This move means Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council have reduced the number of officers they pay more than £100,000 from nine to two in the last four years.

‘This proposal sees us building on the success we have already achieved with Gillian Beasley as our joint chief executive driving forward an ambitious plan to share expertise, efficiency and effective practices,’ said Cllr Steve Count, leader of Cambridgeshire County Council.

‘We know how to do this sort of join up well, and driving down costs and reducing duplication is of enormous benefit for our residents and the partner agencies we work with.’

Cllr John Holdich, leader of Peterborough City Council, commented: ‘While our management team is shared, we are confident that this will not damage or diminish the sovereignty of either council.

‘We retain our separate identities, and while we share an ambition to improve overall outcomes for our area and our residents, as politicians we remain focused on the particular issues each of us face.’

Two new posts — a joint service director-highways and transport, and joint service director-growth and economy — are also being created to cover both authorities. ?