A COMPANY specialising in making firms more efficient has helped two North-East local authorities beat public sector cuts by sharing services.

OnePlaceUK has worked with Darlington and Stockton borough councils, so the neighbouring authorities could share back office functions such as human resources, information technology and finance.

The Darlington-based firm believes the procedures it has put in place will help Stockton council alone save £680,000 a year.

The firm, established last year, is now in talks with other local authorities about setting up similar systems.

Although likely to be controversial, one of its founders John Orchard, director of Marchday, which owns Lingfield Point, in Darlington, said it could help local authorities maintain frontline staff such as binmen by saving millions of pounds to reinvest.

Mr Orchard said that every £1m the public sector can save equates to keeping 35 jobs He said: “Instead of having a knee-jerk reaction, we want people to understand how this works, to think seriously about it and to consider the benefits.

“Over the past 20 years, many organisations have grown organically and we need to stop the corporate sprawl. They now find themselves overblown and in a form they wouldn’t have chosen if starting afresh.

“In good times, they may chose to live with these inefficiencies, but tough times have brought a need for clear thinking.

“As always, this presents opportunities for those who are open-minded and can decide what shape they need to be in for the future. The result will be a happier, more efficient workforce, an improved service for the customer and an organisation model which is sustainable for the next 20 years.”

OnePlaceUK analyses the services firms provide and looks at how they can be delivered in the most efficient way possible.

It assesses the accommodation needed, handles the change and develops strategies to manage existing liabilities.

In the deal between Darlington and Stockton councils, it led to the creation of a shared services centre at Lingfield Point, as well as the creation of Xentrall, a joint venture between the councils to provide IT services to both.

Mr Orchard said: “Many of our public sector customers have the same needs. We can often provide shared facilities to satisfy these without burdening an individual organisation with the cost.

“This results in people needing less space and less duplication of meeting rooms, break-out space and so on.”