Councils from across the country have been competing in the Transformation Challenge Awards, which grants government funding to councils who can demonstrate the ability to remain “at the cutting edge of service transformation” said local government minister, Brandon Lewis.
By integrating local health and care services, sharing finance and human resource functions and creating partnerships for better asset management, the money will help councils “overhaul the way they do business” says Lewis.
Amongst some of the winning bidders were Surrey and East Sussex county councils and their respective fire authorities who have been awarded £750,000 to put towards their shared services operation, with a further £500,000 granted to better coordinate children’s services in the two London boroughs of Kingston and Richmond upon Thames.
The government “has always been clear (that) councils should not close services” in response to funding cuts, says Lewis. “Instead, councils should demonstrate the best in innovation.” He also adds that “ministers will champion councils that successfully redesign services.”
“The tide of change that began with chief executives and sharing management teams is now going further to include shared service delivery across council boundaries. These reforms will be key to protecting services while reducing costs to the taxpayer.”
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Abbie Lewis
Quelle/Source: Shared services link, 11.10.2013
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