Shared Services and the Midlands Today Debate

Look out for the sharing of services between Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough Councils as it is a topic on BBC One’s Spending Review: The Midlands Today Debate programme this week.

The Chief Executive of both Councils has been invited to speak about Shared Services, where Members decided to share operational services and a management team as a way of managing the impact of large budget cuts on services to residents.

Funding from Central Government to fund local authority budgets are widely expected to be cut by at least 25% over the next five years in the coalition Government’s national Spending Review in October.

Shared Services is set to make ongoing savings of £250,000 this year rising to £1m next year, and increasing as more services are shared.

Airing on BBC1 in the West Midlands at 10.35pm on Thursday September 9, the programme includes a panel of politicians, public sector workers, business leaders and members of the public.

The debate will be followed up on BBC local radio the following morning.

Kevin Dicks said: “We can all see that local councils are facing difficult decisions, as the reduction in grant funding from central government will have impact on our services somewhere. However with a creative and innovative approach I believe there are opportunities to improve the efficiency and quality in local services and therefore 5reducing, as far as possible, the impact of the cuts.

“In our region it is Bromsgrove and Redditch that have taken the lead on this creative approach to try to reduce the impact of cuts on jobs, services and local businesses.”