The Local Government Group, which represents more than 350 councils in England and Wales, says it is saving millions of pounds through an outsourcing deal. Under a two-year agreement it has outsourced back office staff to enable it to represent its members more effectively.

Two years ago the Group entered a partnership with Liberata to run its finance, human resource administration, IT, facilities management, customer services, and design and print departments and say it is on course to save 18.2 million pounds by the end of the ten-year contract.

John Ransford, Chief Executive of the Group, said: “Councils are currently under enormous financial pressure and need to find every way to become more efficient to avoid cutting vital frontline services on which millions of people rely. We too are committed to making the most effective use of our budget as we strive to give the best service to our members, providing real value for money for their subscriptions.”

He said the Group had gone into the deal with Liberata as a way to make cost savings and improve the quality of services. As far as possible the terms and conditions of staff who were transferred were protected. Mr. Ransford said the Group was keen to share its experience with councils and added: “Money saved from back office work is money we can plough into our frontline services lobbying for our members and representing their interests as effectively as possible.”