West Sussex councils considering sharing services

Chichester, Arun and Horsham district councils are looking into linking their human resources, legal, and internal auditing services.

And Chichester and Arun authorities are considering sharing revenues and benefits, customer services, and information and communication technology.

All three councils have been working together since March to assess the options and how they could work.

If agreed, the authorities would follow the lead of nearby Havant and East Hampshire councils, which started to share services and staff several years ago.

Councillor Tony Dignum, leader of Chichester District Council, said: ‘In the current economic climate we have to constantly look for new ways to make savings.

‘This approach has been successfully adopted by many councils across the country and is tried and tested.

‘This project offers us an opportunity to explore how we can work more closely with our partners in order to continue to deliver quality services, while also delivering best value for our council taxpayers.’

The cabinets at all three councils will now decide whether to give the go-ahead for the project to move to the next stage.

Arun’s leader Cllr Gillian Brown said: ‘It makes sense for us to work together to 
improve services, increase resilience and save money.’