Merton is involved in shared working
Four south-west London boroughs - including Merton - have won a Government award for improving business practices and service delivery.
The joint bid by Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton councils has secured a £485,000 Transformation Challenge Award, a Government scheme which rewards local authorities for transforming how they spend public money.
The four boroughs are working more closely together and sharing functions, such as legal services, to provide more effective services and cut costs. Now the councils want to strengthen their shared arrangements, backed by the extra money from the Government.
Councillor Stephen Alambritis, Leader of Merton Council, said: "Partnership working is at the very heart of how Merton operates as a council, for which we’ve been nationally recognised. Our residents rightly expect us to pursue every opportunity to manage their money wisely. So working closely with our south London neighbours and exploring ways we can share services makes good business sense.
"Our recent shared service success, the first four borough legal service in the UK, is just one example of what can be achieved when we come together as four neighbouring boroughs.”
April 6, 2014