Wednesday 9th April, 2014

Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has announced £410 million in funding to help councils transform the way they run local services.

A further £320 million is to be made available in 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016 to areas with ambitious plans for improving services that could include integrating health and social care.

Some of the authorities whose transformation plans will receive immediate support include: Blackburn with Darwen, will receive £750,000 for a shared service; Taunton Deane and West Somerset, will benefit from £750,000, for Shared services.

West London (Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow) will have £150,000 to transform employment and skills support; West Cheshire will receive £150,000 to support the expansion of ongoing service reforms.

Kingston upon Thames will also benefit from a £485,000 award for shared services and Essex will receive a further £100,000 for ICT and assets.

Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said:

"This £410 million funding package will help to fundamentally change the way local public services are delivered to residents. The Troubled Families programme has led the way in showing how services can be improved by building them around what people want and need, not how agencies want to organise themselves."