Surrey County Council has announced it has saved taxpayers around £700,000 in the last year thanks to sharing buildings with other organisations.
The saving – enough money to pay for a year of residential care for 28 people, or 70 school places – has been made because sharing more buildings means paying less for rent, heating and repairs.
Around 1,000 county council staff share offices across Surrey with hundreds of employees from other public services, including around 700 in offices owned by borough and district councils.
Surrey County Council’s cabinet associate for assets and regeneration programmes, Tony Samuels, said: “Demand for our key services like schools and elderly care is rising, and Government funding levels are falling, so this £700,000 saved is money we can plough back into the front-line.”
He added: “We’re constantly looking for new ways to maintain a high-quality service for our residents while paying less money, and sharing buildings is something we want to do more of in future wherever suitable.”
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