In its latest shared services map, LGA found that councils had made savings of £462m since the map was first complied, with cost reductions coming through shared back office functions, such as legal, audit and human resources. Such back office agreements have realised £145m in savings, the map showed, while shared management with other councils resulted in savings of more than £15m.
According to the latest figures, councils saved £105m in 2014.
LGA improvement and innovation board chair Peter Fleming said that in a climate where councils have less money, taxpayers’ money has been saved by councils sharing services.
‘But even at almost half a billion pounds, the savings from shared services simply do not match the scale of the 40% funding reduction councils saw during the lifetime of the last Parliament,’ he added.
‘As councils continue to find new ways to share services and provide the taxpayer with value for money, we are optimistic other areas of the public sector will be inspired by this work and follow the trail blazed by local government.’
The map also showed big increases in the sharing of adult services, procurement services and capital assets.
Additionally, it highlighted that shared services were growing fastest in the North East of England with an increase of 38 arrangements in the past 12 months.
