Orbis Public Law shared service to launch next month after councils back plans

The Orbis Public Law shared legal service will launch next month after Surrey County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council and East and West Sussex County Councils backed plans for the project.

The local authorities expect Orbis Public Law to generate savings of £1m annually within three years.

The shared service will also look to generate extra money by providing legal advice to other public, voluntary and charitable bodies.

In February Local Government Lawyer revealed that the four councils were putting together a business case for establishing an alternative business structure. (Click here for more details of the plans for an ABS and more generally on Orbis Public Law)

The launch of the shared legal service follows the establishment last year of the Orbis partnership, which covers areas such as human resources, finance and procurement.

Cllr David Elkin, East Sussex County Council lead member for resources, said: “This is a great opportunity which will enable us to meet the challenges ahead.

“The new single service will allow us to tap into the wider pool of staff members with specialist expertise that comes from an expanded team.

“By creating what is believed to be one of the biggest legal operations in local government we can achieve greater resilience, reduce cost and deliver savings through economies of scale, avoidance of duplication and income generation.”