Falkirk and Clackmannanshire councils agree joint working to save cash
Falkirk and Clackmannanshire councils have agreed to work more closely together in a bid to make savings although members have been told it is not “an exercise in cutting jobs”.
Chief executive Kenneth Lawrie told members of Falkirk Council on Thursday that collaborating with Clackmannanshire would help both councils transform in a bid to meet their tough financial targets in the years ahead – and that it could pave the way for other public services to follow.
Mr Lawrie said: “It has the potential to play an important part in addressing our financial sustainabilty challenge and the £43.9 million budget gap we face over the coming five years.”
The initial proposal – known as the Discovery Project – was agreed by senior staff from each council along with consultants PwC, who agreed key areas where work should start.
The proposal, which was presented to Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Councils simultaneously, has an estimated potential financial benefit of between £16 and £21 million, depending on the level of integration and the timeline for delivery.
While Stirling Council was initially involved, it declined to take the proposals forward, although Mr Lawrie stressed that the door remains open.
In fact, he said, the real success of the project will involve more joint working that will involve more partners, including other councils, and in some cases on a national level to achieve meaningful savings.
The latest agreement means that the areas selected for collaboration will be looked at in more depth to build detailed business cases but any final proposals will return to councillors to approve.
The first trenche, involving Falkirk & Clackmannanshire only, will include support for Additional Support Needs (ASN) services; internal Audit and Fraud; and revenues and benefits services.
Work is also at an early stage to look at how the councils might team up to provide housing services, roads and estates management.
And they hope that more significant savings could be made on other projects involving other partners, including: joint procurement and contracting of IT for Education; social care front door and contact centre; joint foster care arrangements; storage and maintenance of equipment; resilience and emergency planning; trading standards, building standards and environmental health.
On a national level, collaboration could look at HR and Payroll Services.
Mr Lawrie told members that most of the proposals “need to be done on a broader basis than simply ourselves and Clackmannanshire”.
“We think we need a greater number of partners in order to make the kind of efficiencies and savings which are necessary for our financial sustainability,” he said.
Members were told that joint working with other partners could actually help protect jobs by saving money behind the scenes rather than cutting more frontline services.
The leader of Falkirk Council, Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, said the work that has already gone into the project shows “a willingness for collaboration” at a time when council budgets look likely to remain static while costs and demand for services continue to rise.
She told the meeting that councils could not continue the “salami slicing of services” that has been seen in the past.
Cllr Meiklejohn said: “There may often be a rush to judgement when proposals like these are put forward and a conclusion that this process will lead to jobs being cut.
“But I am confident that this is not an exercise in cutting jobs but is instead focussing on working collaboratively to drive efficiencies, increase economies of scale and enable sustainable and reliable services for our communities.”
The councils have been given a £2 million grant from the Scottish Government’s Spend to Save fund to develop the project.
Falkirk councillors were keen to know how the workforce – who will inevitably be anxious – will be involved in the process and they were assured that staff and trade unions will be kept informed.
Mr Lawrie replied: “We need to be really open about this work. There’s no advantage in being otherwise – we need regular briefings, we need to involve teams in discussions about the future of their services.
“If business cases are going to work and be effective, that can only be done with the engagement of employees.”
Independent councillor Robert Spears asked if this was “a slippery slope for the Scottish Government amalgamating our councils” but the chief executive said he did not believe this was the case.
Mr Lawrie said: “There is absolutely no doubt that in the context of wider public sector reform there is probably a degree of hope and some expectation that collaboration between councils and other public bodies will increase over the coming years.
“I think it’s difficult to see a route through the scale of the financial pressures we face without this becoming more prevalent but there is certainly no indication that there will be any enforced mergers amongst local authorities.”
Mr Lawrie stressed that while the £2 million funding from the Scottish Government shows it is supportive of the project, there is no obligation for either council to continue if it is not clear that savings will be made.
He told councillors that he hoped there would be further report by June 2026.
Clackmannanshire councillors also backed the project.
In a statement, chief executive Nikki Bridle said: “Collaboration with Falkirk Council and other partners will make us more resilient, more flexible and better prepared to face the challenges of the future.
“Councillors have now agreed to allow the next, detailed stage of this collaborative development work to begin.
“No immediate changes will occur, instead the focus will shift to testing proposals and assessing where joint working could bring the greatest benefit.”