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Two more district councils have announced plans to join up and share a chief executive and senior management team. South Oxfordshire DC and Vale of White Horse DC have confirmed they have been looking at the possibility of sharing officers for some time and plans for a single senior management team will go before their respective councillors on 16 July. The joint management structure is expected to save £750,000 a year and will build on a number of initiatives already in place. A single head of finance is already working for both councils and the two authorities are also committed to a joint waste and street cleansing contract. If councillors agree to the plans then work will start almost immediately to reduce the 21 senior posts in the two councils to a single team of 12. The joint chief executive will be chosen from the two existing top officers, who are David Buckle and Terry Stock. ‘Shared management arrangements, bring together our two management teams, makes more sense than cutting services,' said South Oxfordshire DC leader Ann Ducker. ‘We will continue to deliver efficient good quality services that meet the needs and expectations of our electorate.' Vale of White Horse DC leader Tony de Vere said: ‘With the joint working we are already doing and have planned, about 40% of our spending is on shared services. ‘This is a sound and compelling next step for the councils which will strengthen the councils' ability to concentrate on both their shared services and different priorities for their areas.' The MJ reported last week (3 July) that Bromsgrove DC and Redditch BC have agreed to share chief executive Kevin Dicks for an initial 12-month pilot.

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WHITEHALL

DCs join forces and team

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