DESPITE already having combined service agreements with Shropshire, Cheshire East, Warrington, Halton and Knowsley, our council has just spent £393,000 investigating whether operating a shared service agreement with Wirral Borough Council for back-room services would be feasible, practical and good value for money.

Much of this was just about getting Wirral to join the current arrangement between Cheshire West and Chester Council and Cheshire East for providing payroll and ICT services.

So, after all the press photos, ceremonial signing of agreements and announcements about how much it would all save council taxpayers, they manage to spend the equivalent of employing four heads of department for a year, to achieve nothing!

Ray McHale Ellesmere Port