Shared legal service begins operation at two districts in West of England

A shared legal service for Wychavon and Malvern Hills District Councils has come into operation from 1 January 2016.

The new service is hosted by Malvern Hills, with Wychavon delegating its legal services function in accordance with s. 101 of the Local Government Act 1972. However, the intention is to have a legal presence in both the Malvern and Pershore offices in the coming months.

Ian Marshall, who was Head of Legal and Support Services at Wychavon, has been appointed Joint Legal Services Manager & Monitoring Officer for both councils.

Councillors at both local authorities backed the move last month. The two councils already have a single chief executive/managing director and a joint senior management team, and a shared legal service was seen as a natural progression.

Marshall said: “We are looking forward to the year ahead. We are confident that the new combined team will deliver efficiencies for both councils over time and make the service more resilient." 

The Wychavon/Malvern Hills deal is the latest shared service to come into being.

The 3C shared legal service – covering Cambridge City Councii, Huntingdonshire District Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council – was formally launched in October 2015.

Five local authorities in the South of England – East Sussex, West Sussex, Brighton & Hove, Surrey and an unnamed district – are meanwhile in discussions about a proposed partnership, called Orbis Public Law.