Scottish councils consider merging services

Midlothian said the merger would include back office functions, education and social work services. Although few details have been provided, Midlothian explained that it is keen to "progress joint services with other councils" and that it has been discussing specific possibilities with East Lothian "for some time". "Now is the time to take those discussions further. These discussions are based around a shared education service, a shared social work service and shared back office functions," said Derek Milligan, leader of Midlothian Council. "We're facing unprecedented cuts and know shared services will help save money while maintaining quality of service - but sharing services will not be the only answer and is one of a number of measures, including reviewing and potentially stopping some services, that we know we're going to have to take over the next few tough months and years." In August, the former head of Scotland's Accounts Commission Alastair MacNish said that the country could save £1bn over a decade by the mass merging of local authorities. "Do we really need, or can we afford 32 council leaders, 1,222 councillors, 32 chief executives, 32 heads of educational service, social service etc etc?," he said at the time.