Councils meet for talks

A committee set up to oversee joint working between Oldham and Rochdale councils met for the first time this week.

Work is being undertaken to investigate opportunities for collaboration, compare current services and highlight opportunities to save up to £20million and improve services.

Both authorities appointed five members each to the Oldham and Rochdale Advisory Joint Committee last month before decision making in July.

Oldham Council leader Jim McMahon and his Rochdale counterpart Colin Lambert issued a joint statement saying: “Joint-working plans offer a major opportunity to make financial savings while continuing to deliver good services to residents in both boroughs.

“Any decision to proceed with service integration would need to be taken by members of both local authorities.”

The committee will continue to meet for discussions before final proposals are considered at Cabinet and full council meetings of both authorities next month.