Leaders of Wirral and Cheshire West and Chester councils have taken the first step towards combining their corporate services.

The neighbouring authorities say reducing duplication and bureaucracy, while making the most of economies of scale, will create considerable cash savings.

Cheshire West leader Mike Jones and chief executive Steve Robinson met with Wirral counterparts Phil Davies and Graham Burgess to sign a "concordat" declaring the councils’ intention to merge £69m of back office functions.

If the merger is successful, the two could extend their partnership to further areas like community budgets, public health and economic development.

The agreement says the combined service should serve both councils "equally, economically, effectively and efficiently."

Next step in the process will be the formation of a joint committee to oversee the merged operation.

Councillor Davies said: “This is a big step towards making our services more cost effective.

"At Wirral, we feel it’s vital to make savings on our processes and procedures to minimise the effect on front line services so it’s important we consider innovative and different ways to deliver the best possible services to our communities.”