SOMERSET County Council's drive to slash millions of pounds from its budget continued this week with plans to cut drastically the number of its offices.

On top of the £20 million savings it hopes to generate with a recently announced 'Change Programme', the authority intends to reduce the number of major office buildings from 33 to just five.

The move, which will be implemented over the next ten years, is aimed at saving £5m and will leave just one main office in each of the county's five districts, supported by ten 'drop-in' offices countywide for mobile workers.

The latest cutbacks will see county staff sharing offices with district councils and other public sector organisations in a bid to save running costs, work more closely with other authorities and make it more straight forward for residents to access public services.

Staff would be given better technology to allow them to work "more flexibly and productively" with the aim of giving them more time to spend delivering services.

Cllr David Huxtable, cabinet member for resources said the vision was for the council to become a smaller, more flexible and more ambitious organisation.

"We need our offices to be fit for purpose, more economical and able to adapt to changing demands in future," he said.

"The planned office changes will allow us to make better use of our buildings as we continue to deliver better value for money for our residents."

Cllr Huxtable said as the changes were implemented, buildings no longer required would be sold to reduce maintenance costs.

He said the proposals, known as the 'Smart Office' programme, had already received national recognition by being awarded Pathfinder status by central government, meaning it was one of a selected number across the country to be copied by other councils to improve local access to services and make better use of public buildings.

A pilot scheme will be tested this winter, although the council has yet to reveal where, and if successful the programme will be rolled out across Somerset with all changes expected to be completed by 2014.