A London council has joined a Kent-based local authority licensing partnership in a bid to improve service delivery and save thousands of pounds.

The London Borough of Bexley has signed up to the Licensing Partnership which already manages the licensing administration operations for Maidstone Borough Council, Sevenoaks District Council and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

Cllr Denise Joy, Maidstone Borough Council’s chair of licensing, sayid ‘By consolidating our efforts we have been able to streamline the service we offer, whilst improving efficiency and value for money for residents.

‘In a time when all councils are having to actively look at ways of reducing spend across services this is a very sensible and practical way of doing this.’

The extra savings will be achieved via increased economies of scale and a move towards more online forms.