Local council cuts over the next two years are inevitable, but many smart local authorities are already on the case and working to achieve the holy grail of saving money without cutting frontline services.

There’s no reason why every council needs its own, separate back office functions such as HR and payroll. Sharing these services, often with neighbouring councils, has already been proved to be an efficient way of saving money without compromising services.

As the harsh reality of the Government’s budget cuts hits local services, councils should be looking at which services can be shared as a first step towards operating for a lower budget. With the right processes and people in place, it’s a straight-forward way of keeping councils running for less.