HIGH-level discussions are being held about a radical shake-up of the way Worcester City and Worcestershire County Councils work together.

A joint statement released this morning reveals that politicians from all parties at both city and county level met recently to discuss how the two councils could change the way they operate to make services more efficient.

The city council is desperate to find ways of saving money by sharing services with other councils following the 11th-hour collapse of its proposed merger with Malvern Hills.

City council leader Simon Geraghty said: "Whilst no decisions were taken at what was an exploratory discussion between the parties, I found the meeting both encouraging and constructive.

“We now want to build on this partnership to examine together the opportunities to reduce the real financial pressures the county town is facing by closer collaboration."

Decisions on how far the joint working arrangements will go are expected before the end of the year, but county leader George Lord said the collaboration would not extend to a full merger.