Haringey Council statement on shared services
Publication date: Thursday 2 December 2010
Haringey and Waltham Forest councils are working together to explore ways to provide high quality, reliable joint services in the wake of central government spending cuts.
The scale and speed of the cuts mean Haringey will be forced to make savings of around £50million next year alone, with more to come in the years ahead. Shared services between the two boroughs could provide a way to deliver some services at lower cost in the future.
The two councils have agreed to work together to explore the business case for several services to see if a shared approach will be cost effective. Given the differences between the two areas, this will be focused on a defined number of services. The arrangement will also be a means of sharing good practice between both councils.
Haringey Council Leader, Cllr Claire Kober, said:
“Given the scale of the cuts, we have to find new and imaginative ways of providing services in order to bridge the funding gap we and Waltham Forest face. We have to examine all proposals which can reduce costs and protect frontline services.
“Haringey and Waltham Forest have unique differences and challenges which mean that in some areas it will not be possible to share services. This arrangement will be pragmatic in that we will only share services when it makes clear financial sense to do so.
”Clearly the council already has a number of existing working arrangements and partnerships with other boroughs which will continue. The arrangement with Waltham Forest adds a further opportunity for the council to both share services and good practice which will ultimately be a benefit to Haringey’s residents.”
The two councils are agreeing a Memorandum of Understanding which sets out the intention to explore shared services. No shared service will be established unless there is a clear strategic or financial case.
At present, Haringey and Waltham Forest councils are discussing sharing the following services:
- Legal services
- School meals
- Call centres
- Organisational development and learning
- Audit
- Payroll
- Recruitment services
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