Councils have saved more than £100m through sharing services in the past year, according to new figures from the Local Government Association (LGA).
The LGA’s shared services map reveals councils saved £105m from shared services arrangements since last year, in addition to the £357m already saved since the map was first compiled in 2012.
The new research shows the sharing of back office functions such as legal and HR, have saved councils £145m, while shared management has resulted in savings of more than £15m.
Cllr Peter Fleming, chair of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said: ‘In a climate where councils have less money, it is pleasing to see how much taxpayers’ money has been saved by councils sharing services, and how many councils have adopted this approach.
‘Since 2014, the amount saved through shared services has increased by £105m, to £462m, which shows how much the benefits of sharing services have been embraced by councils.’
The map shows shared service arrangements are growing fastest in the North East of England with an increase of 38 arrangements in the past 12 months.
