Led by Carmarthenshire County Council, six South West Wales authorities; Bridgend, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Neath Port Talbot and Swansea have agreed to enter into a formal agreement with regard to the development of a “virtual” shared legal services which will launch on Thursday 1st April. The new shared service will see closer collaboration between staff in the legal teams across all six authorities with greater sharing of resources and internal expertise.
Meryl Gravell, Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council said:
“The Shared Legal Services project in South West Wales is an excellent example of what can be achieved through collaboration between authorities. The six participating authorities along with support from Swansea University, the WLGA and the Welsh Assembly Government’s Value Wales have succeeded in creating a project which now has real momentum and support from staff.”
“Councils are facing real financial challenges and the project, even in its research and analysis phase has already been able to deliver some tangible benefits in terms of cost, making savings of £40,000 in 2010/2011, with a potential for further savings in future. We are also looking to invest in our legal services staff across the region through enhanced training opportunities. The project has real potential to improve the overall quality of service, deliver efficiencies and reduce the overall cost to the public purse.”
Jane Hutt, Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Business and Budget said:
“This is exactly the type of project we are looking to encourage and I am pleased that the support we have provided through the Making the Connections Improvement Fund has helped facilitate a successful outcome. Sharing the lessons learned from the approach to help wider adoption is essential and I note the interest already being shown by local government in other parts of Wales”.
Chris Holley, Leader of the City and County of Swansea and chair of the most recent Regional Partnership Forum for South West Wales meeting said:
“The Shared Legal Services project has already delivered benefits in terms of cost. But it is also extremely valuable in terms of the sharing of expertise. Through the engagement of staff in the project, a number of new initiatives have been put in place that will enable staff to access and share the knowledge and expertise that already exist in the six participating authorities. These initiatives include the implementation of quarterly special interest groups, a regional approach to training and the creation of a shared web forum for the sharing of knowledge and information.”
