THE six-year partnership between East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) and Havant Borough Council has gone from “strength to strength”, and this week both authorities have pledged to continue working together on future projects.

This partnership was one of the country’s first examples of authorities sharing a chief executive and having a shared management team to oversee its services when it launched in 2009.

In a joint statement, the authorities said that the team-up has “stood the test of time” and has enabled year-on-year savings of £2.5m for East Hampshire and £1.3m for Havant.

In addition to senior management, the two councils currently share a number of “back office services” such as finance, human resources, procurement, IT and payroll.

Both councils are “working to ensure they provide high-quality services in the most cost-effective way”. But each, they say, they have a different approach to how they do this through their business strategies.

Havant Borough Council is keen to seek others to provide its services if it reduces costs without impeding quality – often known as a “commissioning” approach to service delivery.

EHDC on the other hand has a different strategy; it is keen to sell services to others where it has the expertise and capacity to do so. For example, in the last year it has signed a deal to provide a “parking service” to Havant. It is expected that it will save Havant Borough Council approximately £50,000 per year.

The two council leaders – Ferris Cowper (EHDC)?and Mike Cheshire (Havant Borough Council) are discussing how they could work together to deliver other services to complement their business strategies while benefitting their customers (the local residents and businesses).

Mr Cowper said: “Our partnership with Havant Borough Council has been hugely successful and is going from strength to strength. It has enabled both councils to deliver high-quality services and deliver them more efficiently.

“I am keen for us to look at every aspect of the council’s business and see where we can be more innovative and creative so that we continue to provide services that are the very best that they can be.

“And where possible we are keen to provide services to others. We will be working with Havant to see where this might be possible for mutual benefit.”

Mr Cheshire added: “We are delighted to be working with East Hampshire District Council. Since we formed the partnership in 2009 there have been significant financial benefits – as well as ensuring top quality services for our residents and businesses.

“The partnership is a great example of local authorities doing something differently and working together to improve the service we provide to customers, while also making important savings which can be re-invested in crucial front-line services.”