Councils could save millions of pounds a year through shared services projects, and recuperate the ‘modest' set-up costs within less than two years, according to a new report from the Local Government Association (LGA).

Published on 9 August, Services shared: Costs spared? assesses five case studies of councils' sharing arrangements. In total, the schemes saved £30m across their lifetimes, providing ‘the same or better levels of performance at less cost'.