Friday 26th June, 2015

Four councils in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire are to explore sharing services with the aim of saving around £55m over 10 years.

Earilier this week, Cheltenham Borough Council voted to join the plan which the three other councils had already agreed upon.

The idea is to turn council departments into separate companies, which then carry out joint council services.

However, trade union group, Unison opposes the plan, questioning the level of accountability, staff conditions and the levels of money to be saved.

Leader of Cheltenham Borough Council Steve Jordan said the move could lead to job losses.

He said: "We all need to make savings, so one away or another it will mean less people doing jobs.

"Hopefully that means we can avoid cutting services because that's the other alternative, and we are looking for a more productive way of doing it."

Unison's John Drake described the proposal as "scary" for staff.

The councils involved in the scheme are Cotswold; Forest of Dean; West Oxfordshire District Council and Cheltenham Borough Council.