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One workforce?
Ref : 07/037 : Date : 30-03-2007
Adur and Worthing’s councillors want more detailed information before they make a final decision in July on whether to have one workforce providing more shared services. Both council leaders Neil Parkin and Keith Mercer say if the project goes ahead it is definitely not a merger
The two areas have their own distinct identity and the two councils want to keep this and maintain and improve the way the public can access their services.
This week the two councils discussed the business case so far, and both sets of councillors agreed they wanted to know more about how the financial, legal and democratic arrangements would work in practice.
One of the recommendations in the business case calls for Adur Council to change the way council decisions are made. This could mean moving from the current committee system to a cabinet and leader, which need not cost more then the current system.
People in Adur will be asked for their views on this in the summer. Anyone who wants to find out more about how this change of arrangements would affect the council and what the differences are will be able find information on the council website www.adur.gov.uk from the end of April.
Council officers will now carry out this more detailed research with help from external sources, such as the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and the South East Centre of Excellence (SECE). This will be funded externally.
The objectives driving this project are the need to save council tax payers money at a time when local authorities are faced with specific proposals from central government to reduce spending by 10 per cent over the next three years, but still deliver services to a high standard.
Both councils will meet again in July when final decisions will be reached. The meetings are open to the public and the dates for these meetings are likely to be 23 and 24 July 2007.
People can find out about this work on the two councils websites www.adur.gov.uk and www.worthing.gov.uk from Monday 2 April
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