A SENIOR Worcester Conservative has hit out at "self important" councillors more interested in their egos than trying to serve the public.

Councillor Andy Roberts, a former Worcester mayor, says too many politicians are more bothered about their own reputations than looking to save cash by merging rubbish collections.

As your Worcester News revealed on Monday, the council has written to all district authorities in Worcestershire and even those in Warwickshire, Shropshire, Telford and north Gloucestershire to see if there is appetite in a deal.

From 2017 the city council wants to outsource its bins service to a private contractor, and is looking to see if greater economies of scale can be found.

But in recent weeks the districts have made it clear they are uneasy about a 'tie in', with some councillors suggesting they would be reluctant to lose one of their key services.

A new report was published last week saying a loss of "sovereignty" is proving a sore point.

There are worries councils, who have their own badges on their bins and vehicles, would be reluctant to give up that identity.

In the same report, put together with input from nine councillors after a lengthy investigation, it said a merger between authorities in Somerset had saved £1.7 million of taxpayers' money since 2007/08.

Cllr Roberts, who is now cabinet member for cleaner and greener in Worcester, which includes bins, said: "We need to tackle this issue of 'sovereignty' because I just don't understand it.

"It seems to me that this is about the self importance of some councillors, who are more interested in having their own badge on whatever it is, than actually providing the best possible service to the public.

"If you look at Somerset they've saved £1.7 million for the public by going down this route.

"Why wouldn't you want to save £1.7 million?"

He was speaking during a meeting of the overview, scrutiny and performance board at County Hall.

Councillor Ken Pollock, who was also involved in the review, said: "We couldn't do much more than say 'you'd be missing out on the chance to look at possible efficiencies with this'."

He said the feedback he got was "if you take those badges away, some of that identity is lost", which would mean councils could be at a "disadvantage" in trying to claim credit for a service which is generally very highly-regarded.

The city council insists the letter is merely an open invitation to other authorities in case they do want to join in with the outsourcing effort in the months to come.