WEST Oxfordshire District Council is hoping to save thousands of taxpayer pounds by sharing back office services with three other councils.

The local authority has used £2.9m of Government funding to link up with Cheltenham Borough, Cotswold and Forest of Dean district councils.

The money will pay for, among other things, expanding depot services for waste provider Ubico to cater for Forest of Dean and West Oxfordshire alongside Cheltenham and Cotswold councils.

The authorities say the programme, called 2020 Vision, will let them save money while retaining political independence and decision-making powers.

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West Oxfordshire leader Barry Norton said: “At the heart of the programme is our commitment to safeguarding frontline services and maintaining local decision-making. Having their [central government] support and confidence in our efficiencies programme is significant as we look to take the next steps forward.”

The £2.9m comes on top of £900,000 already allocated to the partnership by the Government.

The councils claimed shared staffing and management arrangements would result in “considerable savings” for their 400,000 residents. The grant is a portion of £89.4m to be shared between 73 local authorities from the Government’s transformation challenge fund.

The agreement is subject to approval at the four councils’ cabinet meetings, taking place this month.

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