West Lothian Council plans savings by sharing services

Dec 10 2009 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

SAVINGS could be set to be made at West Lothian Council with a plan to share services with five other local authorities.

Council representatives have been involved in radical discussions with their counterparts at Midlothian, East Lothian, Fife, Scottish Borders and City of Edinburgh to review if bringing together a raft of services would improve service delivery and provide better value for local taxpayers.

A report on the issues was submitted to the Council Executive, recently, and detailed proposals about what can be pulled together under the “shared services” umbrella will be put forward in early 2010.

The move, which is expected to deliver financial and service benefits, is partly in response to the increasing demands on all public sector organisations.

However, it also builds on the strong links that already exist across a range of the councils’ responsibilities.

Council leader, Peter Johnston, said: “We are already committed to finding ways to improve services and reduce the costs to taxpayers but the financial pressures on us in the next few years mean that this work has to be made a top priority.

“Working closer with other councils makes financial sense.

“However, irrespective of any future service delivery change, this is not a green light for the creation of cumbersome institutions, such as the old Lothian Regional Council.

“West Lothian Council will retain control and oversight, and the interests of West Lothian’s citizens will always be our number one priority.

“In order to structure this important work, any service change would be underpinned by an appropriate business case, with a realistic assessment of benefits, costs, timescales and infrastructure requirements.”

The council leader insisted each proposal will be examined carefully to establish what is best for West Lothian.

He added: “If the proposals put forward are not good for West Lothian, we will not participate, and if they are good for West Lothian then we will look at them in greater detail.

“The Scottish Government has confirmed that the public sector in Scotland will need to identify a further £500m of efficiency savings in 2010/11 so there is a clear need to review how we deliver key frontline services despite drastic reductions in our budgets.

“Sharing services with other councils is one option being considered. This means that councils would work together to provide services across their boundaries rather than each council delivering its own services. Sharing Services is about taking a fresh look at how we deliver for our communities.

“Through the Edinburgh, Lothian’s, Borders and Fife Forum, we have already carried out a great deal of work in developing a number of partnership projects, which have resulted in massive benefits to the tax payer.

“We look forward to finding out what the outcome of the detailed proposals are in the new year.”

So far the forum has looked at joint road maintenance activities, as well as reducing costs through ‘mobile working’ – having staff based outwith traditional office locations.

More activities have been identified for further scrutiny.

A lead council was identified to coordinate a business case for each activity.

Over recent months, council officers from West Lothian have been exploring the potential for greater collaboration for the mobile/flexible working activity.

Other areas being examined are: payroll (Fife Council); procurement (The City of Edinburgh); road maintenance and audit (Midlothian Council)

Chief Executive Alex Linkston said: “We are no stranger to partnership working in West Lothian. For example, the Community Health and Care Partnership (CHCP) has been established now for nearly five years and brought closer working relationships between the council and the NHS.

“The new West Lothian Civic Centre has brought a variety of partners under one roof, where we can all benefit from each other’s expertise and knowledge.

“It’s going to be very important for the public, and the public purse, for local authorities to work together in this way.

“There’s already a lot to build on, but long-term success will require commitment, trust and leadership.

“Of course, any changes to services will need to be formally approved by the councils, and we’ll be discussing the issues with staff and the unions.”