Three more councils in talks over shared legal service

Three more local authorities have confirmed they are in talks over a potential shared legal service.

The councils involved – Reading Borough Council, Wokingham Borough Council and the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead – employ more than 40 lawyers between them.

A spokesman for Reading said: “We can confirm that we have had some discussions with Wokingham and Windsor and Maidenhead councils about the possibility of sharing staff and expertise in legal services but we are not yet in a position to make any further comment on the progress of these talks.”

The discussions are just the latest in a series of developments in the last year, as local authority legal teams look to deliver savings and efficiencies.

Other significant potential or completed tie-ups revealed by Local Government Lawyer include:

• Southampton City Council and Fareham Borough Council
• Cannock Chase District Council and Stafford Borough Council
• The London boroughs of Haringey and Waltham Forest
• The London boroughs of Richmond and Merton
• Norfolk Public Law, which involves Norfolk County Council, Norwich City Council and Great Yarmouth Borough Council
• A group of authorities in South West Wales including Carmarthenshire County Council and Bridgend County Borough Council
• Four district councils in Leicestershire and Warwickshire.