A ground-breaking partnership between Stockton and Darlington Councils is now on track to save £13.6m.
Xentrall Shared Services ICT was established in May 2008 to jointly deliver back office services to both Stockton and Darlington Councils.
The original business case for the partnership identified joint savings of £7.4 million over ten years, along with significant service improvements. The original savings target has been exceeded and it is expected £13.6million savings will be made over the same ten year period.
Stockton Council’s Cabinet has now approved plans to extend the partnership on a continually rolling basis when it reaches the end of its initial ten year period in April 2018.
Councillor David Harrington, Stockton Council’s Cabinet Member for Corporate Management and Finance, said: “This partnership has enabled both councils to retain control over their services, improve service provision and deliver millions of pounds of savings.
“The savings and transformation targets set in 2008 were ambitious but the partnership has met the challenge while responding to the constantly changing financial environment. It’s now on target to make £13.6 million savings in the same ten year period.
“Xentrall is a first-class example of a public partnership working not only to achieve the necessary savings, but also providing services in a way which is cutting edge and to the benefit of all its customers.”
Darlington Council’s Cabinet Member for Efficiency and Resources, Councillor Steve Harker, added: “At a time when saving money is high on the agenda, this is great news for Darlington and Stockton. Xentrall is a ground-breaking partnership which shows that Councils can work together and share knowledge, as well as make essential savings. To be on target to almost double the savings that we set out to make is absolutely fantastic – well done to everyone involved.”
In 2012 the ground-breaking partnership won national recognition after it was commended in the annual MJ Local Government Achievement Awards within the ‘Transformation Through IT’ category.