THE Police and Crime Commissioners for North Yorkshire and Cleveland will share a chief finance officer to save money.

Julia Mulligan and Barry Coppinger, PCC for Cleveland, have agreed to share the post held by Michael Porter, who will now split his time between North Yorkshire and Cleveland.

Mr Porter's role, which he currently carries out for the Cleveland PCC, sees him advice the office on all financial matters, to ensure public money is used appropriately.

Julia Mulligan said: "As Police and Crime Commissioner, I want to ensure we get best value for money for the public purse, and sharing some “back-office” resources is just one of many ways that we are working to do this in North Yorkshire. I’d like to welcome Michael to the team, and I look forward to working with him to ensure we manage resources efficiently in all areas of our activity."

Barry Coppinger said: "One of my five main priorities is to forge better links between agencies and I’m delighted that as Police and Crime Commissioners, we are able to take this opportunity to share services.

"I will continue to encourage further collaboration opportunities with partner agencies and emergency services so that we can make the best use of our limited resources."