North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership

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Bargain Hunt – Update    

An update regarding the NWCE’s recent successful Bargain Hunt is now available.  Please download the document.

North West Shared Services Programme 

A key business priority for both the NWCE and NWeGG is Corporate and Transactional Services and in particular effective Shared Services delivery opportunities that will enable Local Authorities to deliver efficient, effective services through transformed services and delivery mechanisms.

As such, NWCE and NWeGG are developing a joint NW Shared Services Programme and Action Plan that will support councils in the Shared Services area. This will help develop the thinking and knowledge around innovative service delivery and enable councils to benefit from good practice, explore the opportunities and manage the risks.

 A NW Shared Services Programme Board is being established. The first meeting of the Board will be held in mid-December and will discuss regional priorities and align these with national work in this area, the messages coming from the Local Government White Paper and the recommendations to be made in the forthcoming review of opportunities for transforming service delivery across government by Sir David Varney.

An extremely useful workshop was held on Thursday 2 November with representatives from across the NW to discuss opportunities, challenges and the thinking around this agenda. This will help inform the NW Shared Services Programme and provide some direction on the work to follow.

Should you have any queries, or simply wish to discuss this work please contact Olly Baker at NWCE. It would also be extremely useful to hear from councils who are currently participating in innovative partnership working or shared service activity.

Ministry of Defence Fuel Contract

We would like to make all North West authorities aware of an open framework for the purchase of fuels and lubricants. Under the combined MOD/OGCbs liquid fuels contracts councils can procure a wide variety of liquid fuels for the public sector including :-

Automotive fuels, Including              

• Gas oil
• Kerosene
• Heavy Fuel oil
• Medium fuel oil
• ULSD
• ULSP
• Lead replacement petrol
• BioDiesel
• Premium UL motor spirit
• Marine Gas oil
• Premium grade Kerosene

Lubricants and greases

• Engine oil
• Hydraulic fluids
• Compressor oils
• Transmission oils 
• Refrigeration oils 
• Greases
•  Antifreeze         

LPG and Coal are also available.

Whilst the contracts are let on a two yearly basis mini tenders can be run for new customers joining the contracts at any time.  The tenders are based on margin with customers receiving a weekly notification by E-mail based on the Lagged Platts index.

If you require further details or would like a costing please contact Louise Rooney on 0151 672 2410 or via Louise.Rooney@ogcbs.gov.uk.

Swimming Facilities

Fylde Borough Council is considering going out to contract for its swimming facilities through an alternative managed provision. Has any Council either done something similar to this or is considering going out to the market place?

The Council is in the early stages of producing a specification for this requirement, and so would be very grateful for copies of previous contracting documents that have been produced.

Would you please contact Allan Williams their Procurement Officer by email: allanw@fylde.gov.uk or by telephone on 07971 097839 or 01253 - 658639.

Costs of Procurement Process

Halton BC have produced some interesting analysis on the costs of their procurement process and working practices. They are looking to benchmark with other authorities. If you have figures or are planning a similar exercise then please email jean.morris@halton-borough.gov.uk.

NWIN Student Bursary Winners Announced

The Advisory Panels short listed 7 student bursaries for consideration by the NWIN Executive Board. The successful proposals are:

• Martin Allman from Cumbria County Council with SustED - Education and Sustainable Development in Cumbria
• Ian Smith from St Helens Council with Improving Urban Regeneration and Design
• Sharon Dickinson from St Helens Council with Public Sector Customer Care Improvement
• Cathy Boyd from Vale Royal Borough Council with Developing the role of Members in Neighbourhood Management
• Lesley Cooper from Bolton with Forth Quest for Leadership Study Tour of Canada
• Mark Godfrey from Rochdale Borough Council with Study exchange to investigate and report on commissioning arrangements in Waitakere
  City Council New Zealand
• Ingrid Cox from Bolton with BLAST - Bolton Listens and Students Talk

Announcing the NWIN Individual Studentship Bursaries Round 2
Seeking Improvement through Shared Learning

Has lack of funding prevented you from bringing an idea for improvement to fruition? Do you have a dream that will bring about long-term improvements or a vision that will support our shared drive to become a region of excellence in local governance? Would £5,000 additional funding help you make this a reality? Then go to www.nwin.org to find out the NWIN Student Bursaries scheme and how to apply.

Campaign Urges Councils to cut Costs not Services

‘Cut costs, not services’ is the message from the RCEs as they launch the National Procurement Programme (NPP) to urge councils to cut the costs of goods and services and use the savings to protect frontline services.

Based on intelligence from the largest analysis of local government spending ever undertaken, the NPP has identified where councils can make quick wins in cashable savings and top quality guidance is being prepared to help them cut costs in these areas. The On the Money guides will set out the best deals around and a straightforward process for making the transition onto those deals, while the nine RCEs will be on hand to advise and support councils through the process.  The first On the Money Guide (PDF, 22 pages, 1813KB) has just been published and focuses on postal services where analysis by the RCEs shows that at least £20 million in cashable savings can be realised by authorities migrating onto new, more advantageous contracts. Read the full press release - NPP Launch  (PDF, 3 pages, 24KB) 

Section 106 Experience?

A partnership of four District Councils in the South West are looking to align their Section 106 agreements. If you know of any District or Unitary Councils with experience of partnership working with Section 106 agreements who would be willing to share their approach and outcomes, it would be appreciated.

Of particular interest would be examples of good practice which secure high levels of community benefit with low levels of council risk and liability. They would also welcome any simple and effective templates and innovative approaches and ideas about effective involvement of local communities and local councils.

Please send potential contacts or information to Jacky Wolfe, PA to the Chief Executive at Wiltshire DC - jwolfe@westwiltshire.gov.uk

Programmes from the Centre for Local Governance

The Centre for Local Governance has a suite of programmes which will be launched between now and Christmas 2006.  For further information please click here or contact Jez Lloyd.

Further information regarding the launch of the Centre for Local Governance can be found in the events section of this news update.

CATALYST

Read the latest edition of CATALYST, national news publication from the Regional Centres of Excellence.

EVENTS

NWeEGG Annual Conference – 07.11.2006

Final Opportunity to Register – Limited places remaining

An exciting agenda has been put together for this event, including keynote addresses from the Implementation Plan’s architect, the Head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, Ian Watmore, and John Suffolk, the new Government CIO, who will be outlining his vision and plans for the future.  For further information and/or to register please visit www.govnet.co.uk/nwegg

During the afternoon, Sir David Varney is speaking on Transforming the Delivery of Public Services and Peter Ryder, President of SOCITM will be delivering a paper on how to Harness technology for transformational change and efficiency gains. Kate Silver, Implementation Manager, Government IT Profession at the Cabinet Office, will provide critical insights into Developing IT Professionalism and Skills and complimenting the plenary programme will be a series of workshop sessions including: Multi-agency Information Sharing; Government Connect; Tackling Social Exclusion; Putting the Customer First; and Joining up Services across Organisations.

Regional Transformational Government Discussion Event – 09.11.2006

The North West Centre of Excellence is hosting a regional transformational government discussion event (organised by the Cabinet Office and DCLG).  The event is taking place on Thursday 9th November at Ashton Town Hall, commencing 12.00noon with buffet lunch. 

This is an opportunity to discuss this important topic with fellow authorities, senior DCLG and Cabinet Office representatives and shape future thinking in policy development.

Date: Thursday 9 November 2006
Time: Registration 12:00 noon for a 1:00pm. start.  Close at 4.00p.m.
Venue: Ashton Town Hall, Ashton-under-Lyne (directions available at http://www.tameside.gov.uk/corpgen2/ashtcmap.htm )

Register at:  www.govevents.co.uk

The Transformational Local Government discussion paper can be found at www.cio.gov.uk/documents/pdf/transgov/trans_local_gov060328.pdf . This paper identifies some of the key issues and questions and is a useful starting point for our discussions on the day.

National Framework Agreement for Telecare Awareness Day – 14.11.2006

The NFA for Telecare - Awareness Day is an essential event for all professionals involved in providing telecare services.  The conference will raise awareness of the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency telecare national framework agreement and how the agreement supports the development of telecare in England.

If you are interested two dates & locations are available:

• Tuesday 14th November 2006 at the Russell Hotel in London.
• Thursday 23rd November 2006 at the Ellan Road Football Stadium in Leeds.

For a detailed programme and how to register, follow this link.

eInvoicing Visit – 16.11.2006

The NWCE is please to be supporting an open day with the eInvoicing provider, OB10. The day will allow North West authorities to see how eInvoicing could work for in practice and discuss some of the issues that they may be facing. The visit will take place on Thursday 16th November from 10.30am to 2.30pm at their offices in London. If you would like further details or to register attendance please email joe.cunningham@ob10.com or contact the centre.

Government Procurement Service (GPS) conference - Manchester – 23.11.2006 Manchester United Football Club Conference Centre

The next in the 2006 series of regional Government Procurement Service (GPS) conferences takes place on 23 November at Manchester United Football Club's conference centre.

The agenda can be viewed by clicking on this link - GPS conference agenda

Attendance at the Government Procurement Service conferences in November 2006 are by invitation and are only open to the public sector, however to request a registation form to attend the event, or for further information, please contact the OGC Service Desk – tel 0845 0004999; email: ServiceDesk@ogc.gsi.gov.uk

For further information please click here.

Improving the Local Provision of Culture and Sport – Workshop
27.11.2006 – 9am to 1pm

A workshop on improving the local provision of culture and sport is being run by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) in conjunction with the North West Centre of Excellence. The event is aimed at the chief cultural heads of service in each local authority, but we also welcome the attendance of other interested local authority officers and elected members responsible for culture and sport. Please pass this invitation onto any other appropriate people.

Details of the agenda for the day will be available in the near future.

This is an opportunity for you to discuss your experience of the Efficiency Programme and other performance management issues such as CPA (Comprehensive Performance Assessment), and learn from the lessons of other local authorities. The event will focus on the ways in which efficiency gains have been found in culture, sport, library, and tourism provision and subsequently recycled into frontline services that meet the public’s priorities. This workshop will therefore assist you to ensure that the gains made in the Gershon Efficiency Programme actually lead to genuine improvements in the procurement and delivery of these services within your council.

The workshops will be led by the head of the Local Government Efficiency Programme at DCMS, and will provide an ideal opportunity to take advantage of the expertise of the North West RCE to identify good practice in the delivery of culture and leisure services and make the improvement agenda work for you.                                     

You will also find out more about the priorities and the landscape confronting local authorities as they embark upon the third year of the efficiency review in 2007-08. This will feature a discussion of the impact of the Culture Services assessment within the CPA, the introduction of Regional Commentaries and the implications of self assessment on local authority spending and performance.

For further information or if you would like to attend please contact Cathy Page, Head of Evidence and Communication, Regional and Local Govt Unit, DCMS – Tel: 0207 2116491; email cathy.page@culture.gsi.gov.uk

Centre for Local Governance Launch - 29.11.2006, Manchester University

The Centre for Local Governance will be launched at a reception following the NWIN Strategic Board at 4:15pm at the Centre's offices as the University of Manchester.

The launch marks the start of a unique multi-million pound partnership between the Northwest Local authorities, Fire and Rescue Service and The University of Manchester.

Look out for the invitations to the launch being sent out soon.

White Paper discussion – 29.11.2006, Centre for Local Governance

NWIN and the Centre for Local Governance are pleased to announce that they are hosting a discussion on the Local Government White paper published on Thursday 26th October.

Date: Wednesday 29th November 2006

Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm

Venue: Centre for Local Governance

Invitations to this exciting event led by Professor Gerry Stoker will be sent out soon. For more information please contact Jez Lloyd.

NWCE Health and Social Care Programme Board – Next Meeting – 08.12.2006

The next meeting of the NWCE Health and Social Care Programme Board will take place on 8th December 2006  at 10.00am at Wigan Investment Centre.  For further information about this programme board please contact Beverley Brooks at NWCE.