House of Commons – Written Answers 1 November 2010
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State
for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the merits
of proposals to establish joint chief executive posts for local authorities in (a)
adjacent boroughs, (b) boroughs which propose to operate joint
management teams and joint services and (c) other boroughs. [21014]
Robert Neill: As outlined in the Secretary of
State's speech of 13 October 2010, a copy of which has been placed in the
Library of the House, the Government are strongly supportive of councils
sharing services and chief executives to deliver savings that will help protect
frontline services; permission from the Department is not required. The local
government sector is evaluating the opportunities offered by such approaches,
including through the Local Government Group's Place Based Productivity
programme. The Improvement and Development Agency has published reports on this
subject in 2008 and 2009, at:
www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=14198370
The evidence so far from
this work is that joint chief executives or management teams can lead to
financial savings, greater opportunities for joint procurement, and the ability
to share the experience and expertise of specialist staff and other services.