DISTRICT councils in South Worcestershire are to consider a new report on the future of shared services.

Leaders of Worcester City Council, Wychavon District Council and Malvern Hills District Council will plough through an expert report on working together to save money. As we reported previously, the three councils are due to merge their revenue and benefits service in July, saving each authority £250,000 every year.

They will come together at some date this summer to discuss the report, which was prepared by officers across the districts, and what to merge next. Serena Croad, leader of Malvern Hills District Council, said: "We can now show that we are making real progress in building better, stronger and more efficient services in south Worcestershire, building on the success of our nationally acclaimed Worcestershire Hub."

Simon Geraghty, leader of Worcester City Council, commented: "This provides the framework for how we intend to work even more closely with our neighbouring councils. Given the financial pressures we are all facing, it is essential we collaborate to achieve efficiencies and improve services while retaining our individual identities."

Paul Middlebrough, leader of Wychavon District Council, added: "This is a great opportunity to work closely with our colleagues in south Worcestershire, not only to improve the services we provide, but equally to ensure we can fund service enhancements for the future, with no additional burden to the local taxpayer."