London authorities 'should share financial and HR services'

Barking & Dagenham and Croydon are hoping to convince other London borough councils (LBCs) to sign up to their proposals at a meeting on April 18th, Local Government Chronicle (LGC) reports. Documents from efficiency partnership Capital Ambition, which has contributed £250,000 to fund a feasibility study for the plans, indicate that LBCs including Lambeth and Havering have already expressed an interest in sharing services.

Although the councils behind the proposals have not given any figures for possible savings, LGC said that upgrading HR and IT systems every few years can cost a single borough up to £1 million, while signing a new contract can cost up to £8 million.

Croydon LBC's deputy chief executive Nathan Elvery told the publication: "There have been a number of examples of these projects already, but rather than try to do something between two authorities, the ambition is to do something between all the authorities in the capital."

Earlier this year, Hugh Grover of London Councils called for LBC grant allocations for 2011-12 to be frozen at 2010-11 levels in order to give authorities more certainty over future funding.