Councils investigate services merger

Oldham Council could spearhead a major policy for the Greater Manchester area under plans to merge services across the region.

The 10 councils which make up the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities spend £2 billion in the region.

Now they will merge 10 key fields, and aim to raise fees and charges to generate income.

They hope to save £116 million by 2014, and four areas have been picked to be the first services to be fast- tracked to a merger.

These are adult and children’s services, procurement, and back office functions.

Emma Alexander, who heads Performance, Capacity and Services for Oldham Council, explained: “It will depend on which authority is strongest in that area, and where there is the greatest opportunity to make savings.

“We are also working with other authorities to see just who is charging for what and how much.”

It will also help to have a consistent approach, she said, and councils will learn from others’ experiences what services people want to buy.

Ms Alexander, who is Oldham’s lead officer on AGMA’s Improvement and Efficiency Commission, said there will be a report back to AGMA in March.

Oldham Council’s joint partnership called Unity, which is backed by business support company Mouchel, could benefit from the new approach.

She said: “It may be that we are able to support delivery services for other authorities through the Unity Partnership, and might get extra business by supporting other authorities and offering our facilities. If not, it will continue to work as it does now.”