Prolonged austerity measures have given Britain’s local councils cause to think more innovatively about how to simultaneously provide services and save money, with outsourcing often at the heart of their strategies.

According to the FT, councils from Suffolk to Kent are positioning themselves as trading companies and commissioners, rather than direct providers of services. Research undertaken by Localis, the local government think-tank, has shown that the vast majority of councils share some services with their counterparts, over half own a trading company and, going by current trends, almost all will do so by 2020.

“Councils are setting the pace because they have faced tough finances for longer. They are more confident than central government in outsourcing, merging the back office and joining up front-line services,” commented Andrew Haldenby, director of pro-market think tank Reform.

Recent analysis conducted by the Local Government Association found that UK councils will have to find an extra £1 billion by 2020 in order to fund the new minimum wage proposed in the government’s summer Budget.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related: UNISON expresses concerns over Northamptonshire County Council’s extensive outsourcing