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NWIEP Update
 THE proposed three-year
business plan for the NWCE was presented and approved this week by the NWCE Management
Board.
The
report is available here and the
executive summary here.
The
report will now be used by the IDeA as it prepares a business plan
for the North West improvement and Efficiency Partnership for
submission to CLG.
The
NWCE will keep stakeholders informed of the progress of the
plan and the development of the North West Improvement and
Efficiency Partnership in future editions of Central
Intelligence. |
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Trading places
 NORTH west
councils can wise-up to carbon trading ahead of a national scheme
that DEFRA will introduce in 2010.
The NWCE is supporting a carbon trading pilot that
will give councils a valuable insight into how the scheme will work
and how it can benefit them.
Under the scheme, councils may have to find
hundreds of thousands of pounds to buy carbon credits if they can
not make their own allocation meet their needs.
Conversely, with the shadow price of carbon now
standing at £8-£16 per ton, councils can make money, if they find
that they are under-using their credit allocation, by selling off
their excess.
The Local Government Information Unit, supported by
the NWCE, has held several workshops with a number of councils to
show them how carbon trading will work and other councils can now
sign-up to the pilot before its launch this April.
Contact Neil Hind at the NWCE on 0161 342
4080. |
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Help is at hand
 A guide that
highlights the help and advice available for supply chain
professionals looking at sustainability issues is now available from
DEFRA and Action Sustainability.
The
guide features sustainable procurement training and awareness
raising events offered by Action Sustainability, how the Carbon
Trust can help businesses cut carbon footprints, and gives details
of other organisations that can help with
sustainability.
The
guide can be downloaded here. |
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High energy priority
 A NUMBER of
councils and the local Learning & Skills Council have asked for
information about energy management frameworks and how to find the
necessary resources to complete the new Energy Rating
Certification for public sector buildings.
Energy management and certification is a relatively
new area but the NWCE wants to encourage collaboration on the
subject.
Anyone who has such a framework in place or who
is planning to implement one is asked to email neil.hind@hind.co.uk.
If
the NWCE establishes that nothing suitable exists then a regional
framework may be proposed. |
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Right money for the job
 4Ps have
launched a new guide for council treasurers and finance chiefs to
help councils put the right money into new projects.
Councils can use the guide to help them select the most
appropriate finance option for capital projects. It outlines the
generic financing options available to local authorities and
considers the pros and cons of each option.
John Reed, 4ps' Project Director, said: "It is essential that
local authorities select the most appropriate financing option for
each project. 4ps' guidance is an essential reference guide for any
local authority procuring capital projects and, for the first time,
brings together a broad overview of all the options for financing
capital projects."
For a free copy of 4ps' guidance 'Financing issues for local
authority capital projects' go to: www.4ps.gov.uk
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Mutual marvel
 TWENTY-FOUR
councils across England and Wales, including Knowsley MBC, want to
set up an insurance mutual.
The insurance
package that has the support of the NWCE will be available to other
local authorities once established.
The councils are aiming to buy in insurance
requirements collaboratively, rather than their paying different
amounts via the normal insurance provider markets.
Knowsley is the only north west authority involved at
this stage of the project, and is a member of the steering group.
The London authorities are already using a
succesful insurance mutual that was set up and launched last year
with the help of the London Centre of Excellence. This scheme
was the winner of the LGC finance award for innovation 2007.
Details can be found here.
Details of the new, national project will be available
soon on the NWCE website. |
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Lean thinking for big
savings
 ENGLISH local
and regional public bodies can now save valuable time and millions
of pounds by using a new Business Process Improvement (BPI)
framework from the West Midlands Regional Improvement and Efficiency
Partnership.
The Business Process Improvement/Lean System Thinking
Framework will cut costs for four years for those authorities who
use consultants on competitive fixed rates.
It will bring together three key improvements -
programme and project management, leadership and change management -
to Business Process Improvement from experienced suppliers in
BPI/Lean Systems Thinking.
Councils will be able to mini-tender to all suppliers
on the framework, saving the time and cost involved in a full tender
exercise.
To see the full press release click
here or for information on how to use the agreement, click
here. |
| Health and Social Care News |
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Magnificent seven move forward
 SEVEN councils
from the region will attend a final feedback session about the
national pilot to develop a pricing tool for adult social care on
January 30, 2008.
Bury
MBC, Halton MBC, Lancashire CC, Oldham MBC, St Helen's MBC, Wirrall
MBC and Cheshire CC are taking part in the pilot, along with 64
other authorities from across the country.
The
toolkit, due to be launched in spring 2008, will help providers and
local authorities to achieve a better understanding of the market
for accommodation-based care for adults with a learning disability.
A regional version of the model has already proven to be a success
in the south east with councils saving up to 13%.
The
latest bulletin from the project team can be accessed here, or for more information about the
project click
here. |
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Tracking the Big 5
 THE next What's
in it for us? event - Tracking the Big 5 - has been re-arranged and
will take place on March 19, 2008 at Wigan Investment
Centre.
The
meeting was originally set to take place on January 23, but was
postponed to allow for the fact that sub-regions have been
given more time to prepare their draft strategies, and to
enable a fuller update to be provided on the North West Improvement
and Efficiency Partnership.
At the March event Lindsey McKenna
wildlife conservationist and motivational speaker will be
revealing how local authorities can learn from the animal
kingdom about operating effectively and efficiently.
There will also be updates on activity from the Big 5
- the sub-regional shared services groups.
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Express take-up
 COUNCILS have
been spurred into action to take up the remaining places on the BPI
training course being offered through the NWCE.
As
the funding for the free training is due to end in the summer, 147
places have now been allocated out of 200 available on this phase of
the training.
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For better, for worse
 THE Audit
Commission has published a report that outlines potential savings of
up to £390m for councils engaged in strategic service-delivery
partnerships.
For Better, For Worse contains case studies for 14
strategic service-delivery partnerships that are worth £2.6 billion
and which can expect cost savings of between one and 15 per cent for
services being realised through the strategic service-delivery
partnerships.
The report also reveals that more than half of UK
councils say that they are engaged in, or considering, a service
partnership of some kind.
View the report here and the summary here. |
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Make haste for waste
 THERE are a
limited number of places available at the North West Centre of
Excellence sponsored waste event, headed by keynote speaker Joan
Ruddock MP, Minister for Waste and Climate Change.
Government Office for the North
West is staging the sustainable waste conference on February 4 at
Lancashire Cricket Club and the event is 'must' for all waste,
recycling and sustainability officers.
The conference - Sustainable
Waste Management in the North West - in line with the Government's
Waste Strategy for England 2007, will feature workshops on carbon
reduction, climate change and recycling and will feature
representatives from the Environment Agency, Action Sustainability,
Greater Manchester Waste and WRAP.
The day will be led by Alistair
MacDonald, former BBC environmental correspondent and other speakers
include Colin Cram, regional director NWCE.
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A WINning read
 The latest news
bulletin from the Waste Information Network (WIN) is now
available.
This issue includes the
latest case studies and information on the seven current
consultations relating to waste plus new toolkits
Click here to access the
newsletter. |
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Catalyst
 THE latest issue
of CATALYST, the national newsletter from the Regional Centres of
Excellence, is now available.
Download CATALYST here. |
Sustainable procurement project
meeting February 5, 2008, Nelson Town
Hall
 The agenda for
the next meeting of the sustainable procurement project is now
available.
The
sustainabile procurement project was created to help co-ordinate
sustainability work across the region, and takes account of other
regional and national initiatives.
The
February meeting will include a discussion about the draft
sustainable procurement policy, written by the NWCE, and the local
government response to the sustainability strategy.
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Get
the inside track on CSR07
4th
National Public Sector Procurement Conference February 7,
2007, City of Manchester Stadium
THE
NWCE will be playing a major part in a national procurement event
that will throw new light on meeting targets set by
CSR07.
The 4th National Public Sector Procurement
Conference 2008 will be chaired by the centre's regional director,
Colin Cram.
The event on February 7 will be at the City
of Manchester Stadium and is a must for everyone in local government
who is concerned with CSR07.
Speakers confirmed for the event include Howard
Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, and Helen
MacCarthy, director, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency.
Some
of the seminar areas that will be covered include: a guide to
implementing a successful e-commerce strategy, procuring sustainable
goods and services and ensuring their provenance and identifying
quick wins in procurement.
Tickets for the event are discounted for a limited
period at £175 + VAT.
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North West Centre of
Excellence
Room 5.15, Council Offices, Wellington
Road, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 6DL
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