When Resources are Scarce...

04 Nov 2010

... the most effective public services have to be designed to target effort on preventing problems rather than the more expensive option of fixing them further down the line.

This is exactly what the Mansfield District Council Housing Solutions (MARS) Scheme set out to achieve. By working successfully with credit unions and private landlords, not only did they provide excellent services to vulnerable people in the community but they also created net cost savings of £231,594 for the authority.

View the MARS video case study to see how their idea earned them a 2010 Delivering Chances Award for Integrated Services.

Creating a Legacy for the ‘Big Society'

04 Nov 2010

EM IEP has joined together East Midlands Neighbourhood Resource Centre and East Midlands Empowerment Partnership to produce 'The Big Offer' - a free package of support for communities, councillors and public sector colleagues.

The programme is designed to create a lasting legacy around existing work which supports the 'Big Society' and will start in December.

Anyone wishing to register their interest in receiving more information should email their contact details to: info@emep.org.uk

Goverment Announces Support for SMEs

04 Nov 2010

As part of the cross-Government drive to boost support for millions of Britain's small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, has announced a series of measures to make it easier for small firms and organisations to do business with government.

On the Cabinet Office site you will see an announcement from the Cabinet Office about procurement-related measures to help SMEs. This seems to be mainly about central government, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Lord Young will be consulting further about government support to SMEs including procurement issues.

For more information go to: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2010/101101-openup.aspx  

Efficiency Challenge - Waste Project Update

03 Nov 2010

Phase two of the Waste Project is well underway and is receiving excellent support and participation from across the East Midlands region.

In mid-November three unique good practice case studies will be published examining how North Kesteven District Council, Rushcliffe Borough Council and Erewash Borough Council are able to achieve high performance standards whilst keeping spend down. The case studies illustrate transferable good practice to reduce costs and improve performance, they discuss operational processes, the environment the service operates in and resources and staffing issues. The case studies also examined the attribution of overheads etc in the local authorities costs for waste collection.

On the 18th November the EM IEP will be delivering a free regional event ‘Improving Efficiency in Waste Collection Services' for Directors of Environmental Services, Heads of Services and Operational Managers. The event will be introduced by Councillor Neil Clarke, Leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council and includes presentations on:

• Implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review
• Understanding the New Legislation and Requirements
• Collaboration on Procurement County and Regional Level
• Waste Prevention
• Understanding Partnership Working
• Examples of good practice from across the region

The event will also provides the opportunity to discuss examples of good practice from across the region and network with other operational managers, heads of service and high profile speakers.

In the New Year the EM IEP will be holding the second ‘Target Costing' working group meeting where officers are looking at driving out efficiencies within their waste services. The EM IEP will also be running a FREE ‘Contract Management' training workshop for waste officers focusing on supporting officers to:

• Improve contract management risk analysis
• Improve processes and controls, to help drive out efficiencies in waste (and other) contracts.

This workshop will be held on the 16th February and will be advertised on the 'Events' section of this website shortly.

Case studies will be avilable at the free regional event ‘Improving Efficiency in Waste Collection Services' and published on the this website under 'Case Studies'.

If you would like to be involved with the ‘target costing' working group, receive more information about the Contract Management course or discuss any other parts of the project please do not hesitate to contact Rebecca Parker, EM IEP at rebecca.parker@nottscc.gov.uk

Climate East Midlands Newsletter - Out Now!

03 Nov 2010

Climate East Midlands is the region's climate chnage partnership which is funded by EM IEP.

Climate East Midlands have recently published their  autumn 2010 edition of The Wrapper - Climate East Midlands' quarterly newsletter.

In this issue:

- Royal endorsement for The Meadows
- Almost £1m for East Midlands Skills
- Celebrating 10 years of the Nottingham Declaration
- Changing Climate Weeks 2 Engaging with business:

- New East Midlands Mayday Network
- Carbon Positive Award Winners
- Adaptation Business Guide News from around the East Midlands:

- Lincshore: more sand for Lincolnshire
- MoorLIFE: peat restoration in the Peak
- More woodland in Leicestershire
- Green Business Fairs in Derbys and Notts

Go to: http://www.climate-em.org.uk/news/item/latest-edition-of-the-wrapper-published/

OGC Contracts Database - Recent Additions

02 Nov 2010

The Office of Government Commerce has made some additions to its Contracts database, these additions are listed below:

Buying Solutions

Facilities Management, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2049.asp  
Postal Services, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2161.asp  
Travel Management Services Provision, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2179.asp  

DWP

Retail Goods - Pan government, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2377.asp  (NOTE; This framework is designed to provide goods to help individuals find employment)

ESPO

Library Stock, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2380.asp  
Dictation Equipment, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_1427.asp  
Clay & Glazes, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2383.asp  
Aviation Fuel, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2389.asp  
Signs, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2191.asp  
Ironmongery, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2188.asp  
Science/Laboratory Equipment, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2185.asp  
Fuelcards, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_1482.asp  

Braintree

Staff cars contract hire and maintenance, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2405.asp  
Janitorial Supplies, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2402.asp  

We are also staring to identify aggregated e-auction opportunities via the contracts database and have flagged potential auction opportunities for

Carbon Offsetting in January, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2397.asp  
Refrigeration in January, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2395.asp  
Vehicle Hire in January, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2398.asp  
Mobile Voice and Data Services in March, see http://www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase/list_all_contracts_2396.asp  

The full calendar of planned aggregated auctions can be found at: http://www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk/categories/eCommerce/eAuctions/aggregated/calendarofevents/  

New Framework Agreements Directory Live at Buying Solutions

02 Nov 2010

You can now see all of Buying Solutions' products and services in one accessible, easy-to-read web page.

The new, convenient web page allows you to see at a glance all of the products and services that you can access through Buying Solutions, with expiry dates and links to further information on each framework agreement. The content of the page is also available to download.

Go to: http://www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk/frameworks/list.html

Save Money Using a Hybrid Mail Contract

02 Nov 2010

Hybrid Mail is where you create a document / letter / on your PC in your office and it is routed electronically to a printer at a remote third party location. The document is printed in your style / letterhead in a secure environment on a high speed printer along with documents from other customers, such as councils, and the NHS. It is then enveloped, mail sorted and passed to a mail delivery supplier.

Hybrid mail is common practice with organisations such as banks and supermarkets.

Where are the savings?

(1) It enables Councils to re-engineer the post room service
(2) no need for stocks of letterheads / special documents
(3) and their relatively small volumes are bulked with other customers to get volume rates.

For more information please contact: andrew.foster@nottscc.gov.uk

Contract framework details are available on: http://www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk/frameworks/contract_details.html?contract_id=995  

West Midlands Procurement Framework for Jobs and Skills

02 Nov 2010

The West Midlands Procurement Framework for Jobs and Skills (launched in March 2010) was developed for use by public and voluntary sector organisations who wish to increase access to jobs and skills opportunities for local people through the procurement exercises they undertake.

The Framework
The Framework enables public, private and voluntary and community sector organisations to contribute significantly to tackling Worklessness, and its consequences, by:

- Making access to jobs and skills a core requirement of procurement exercises from the outset;

- Addressing the real and perceived legal barriers to the use of jobs and skills clauses in procurement exercises;

- Providing advice and guidance (including bespoke templates) to help embed a focus on jobs and skills throughout the end-to-end procurement process - from setting strategic priorities to contract implementation and monitoring; and

- Sign-posting procurers and prospective contractors to the range of support and advice that can help both parties deliver on the jobs and skills requirements to be delivered.

For more information, go to:  http://www.advantagewm.co.uk/what-we-do/supporting-people/economic-inclusion/procurement-framework.aspx

MSTAR: Managed Services for Temporary Agency Resources

02 Nov 2010

Project Update - October 2010

MSTAR, the Managed Service for Temporary Agency Resources project, has been commissioned by the Local Government Professional Services Group (LGPSG) in order to establish a national framework for managed services for agency workers.

Following a series of workshops and online consultation with stakeholders, the OJEU contract notice (http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:319776-2010:TEXT:EN:HTML) for the MSTAR framework has now been posted.

Tenders are due to be returned by 6th December 2010, with a view to completing evaluation and award in time for the framework to be live in April 2011.

Consultation with potential users has been a core part of the work to create the MSTAR framework, with over 30 local authorities involved to date in working groups to develop the scope and specification. This involvement will continue through the letting and subsequent management of the framework.

The framework will be for the provision of managed services for agency workers, covering the spectrum of needs for local authorities and education customers, as explored with the stakeholder groups. As such, the agreement will need to be entered into as a corporate arrangement. It will not operate as a PSL or framework for direct supply, and will not be suitable for ad-hoc use.

The scope of the MSTAR framework has been designed to meet a broad range of user requirements, and is being structured to enable authorities to call off or mini-compete to find the option that best meets their needs.

Within the framework there will be three ‘lots', covering Corporate only, Education requirement only, and Corporate and Education requirements combined; where Corporate Staff means any roles reasonably required by any Local Authority or Wider Public Sector, or Third Sector organisation and Education staff means any roles reasonably required by any educational establishment.

Individual users will need to manage their own supplier and service delivery, but the framework will be managed by ESPO at a national level to drive performance on an ongoing basis.

A number of local authorities have committed their intention to use the agreement to the OJEU notice, to aid suppliers in understanding the likely volume of use early in the framework lifetime. However, the framework will be available to all local authorities and a number of other wider public sector organisations; more information by way of user guidance on how to access it will be made available closer to the framework going live.

Contacts:
If you have any questions, please contact:
ESPO - k.shaw@espo.org or g.kaur@espo.org  
OGC - professionalservices@ogc.gsi.gov.uk  
DfE - mstar.project@education.gsi.gov.uk  

MSTAR - Background and Objectives:
Managed services have grown in popularity over the last few years, offering organisations the ability to channel their usage through one supplier to gain management information, savings through better rates, reduced risk through standardised terms and conditions and audits of agencies, and the ability to manage use of temporary workers.

Many organisations wish to ‘tap in' to existing agreements, rather than tendering themselves, to save time and money, and to make use of the increased influence that collaboration can bring. However, to date the choice and opportunity to do this have been limited by the number of agreements available for other organisations to use.

Research showed that a significant number of agreements were due for renewal between 2010-2012. Rather than duplication of effort in letting similar agreements multiple times, one national agreement is being established, with substantial input from potential users.

The Local Government Professional Services Group (LGPSG), a stakeholder group run by and for local authorities, has commissioned ESPO (on behalf of Pro5), the Office of Government Commerce (OGC - part of the Efficiency and Reform Group within the Cabinet Office) and the Department for Education (DfE - previously DCSF), to work collaboratively with local government colleagues in order to establish a national framework contract for the managed service provision of temporary agency resources.

The national MSTAR framework aims to:
• Harness the opportunity to aggregate spend and procurement know-how, gain greater value for money and cashable savings for the public sector;
• Minimise duplication of effort and time taken within the tendering process;
• Build strategic relationships with suppliers to gain better value for money, improve performance and align them with our organisational priorities;
• Ensure there are fit for purpose frameworks and contracts in place across professional services spend, that best serve public sector organisation's needs;
• Share commercial knowledge, including supplier and market intelligence and expert advice to add value across the public sector.

Covering supply for both local government and education, it is anticipated that this contract will be available from April 2011.

For updates, go to http://www.ogc.gov.uk/managedservicecontract.asp

Buying Solutions Announce Replacement Vehicle Purchase/Lease Procurements Now at Invitation to Tender (ITT) Stage

02 Nov 2010

The new framework agreements, due to be awarded in early January 2011, will be mandated for central government departments and will be available for use by all public sector organisations.

Both the vehicle purchase and the vehicle lease framework agreements are due to expire later this year and the development of replacements has now progressed to ITT stage.

As well as more vehicle options, both framework agreements will provide competitive rates, enabling organisations to purchase and lease cars efficiently and cost effectively in accordance with their own travel policies and requirements. In addition, the new arrangement will allow customers to source all lease vehicle requirements from a single provider, as well as providing an outsourced fleet management solution.

Both framework agreements support the Efficiency and Reform Group's aim to centralise the procurement of common goods and services by aggregating demand across the public sector, reducing costs and increasing savings. They will also assist with policy compliance including carbon dioxide emissions, whole life costing and the Clean and Efficient Vehicle Directive.

For more information, please contact the Buying Solutions customer service desk:
Tel: 0345 410 2222
Email: info@buyingsolutions.gsi.gov.uk  

Procurement & Efficiency Bulletin - Nov 2010

01 Nov 2010

WINning Ideas

27 Oct 2010

WINning Ideas is a collection of great ideas that really can help you improve your waste services and save you money! You regularly tell us that you want to know what other councils are up to and so we have done the research for you, bringing together all the best initiatives from around the country in one place. Click on the links below to look at the WINning Ideas.

1: Benchmark your service and find areas for improvement & efficiency

2: Give yourself a healthcheck

3: Work with your neighbours

4: Use smart buying solutions

5: Review costly policies

6: Look at total costs (collection, treatment, disposal) and finds out if you are investing in the right part of the system

7: Bring your data management & IT systems into the 21st Century

8: Bring those waste arisings figures down

9: Life begins at 40!...Dry recycling rates of 40% are around the corner with 60-70% overall recycling and composting rates and are set to save you £££s

10: Get smart with your marketing: your communications are an invest-to-save essential

Value for Money Toolkit

27 Oct 2010

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Local Government Group have launched of a free online toolkit for councils to help them save money and sustain their drive to improve the quality of services to the public.

This partnership offers councils the benefits of CIPFA and LG Group expertise, underpinned by an investment on behalf of local government made by the Local Government Group.

The toolkit is available to all councils across England as a way of getting up-to-date information on their council's performance, and how it compares to other authorities. It brings together a range of performance indicators, along with financial information to help identify areas where efficiencies can best be made.

The Value for Money Toolkit was originally developed by Somerset County Council, on behalf of the Society of County Treasurers, which used it to transform the quality of their services.

The partnership will be steered by experts from local government to grow this service into a powerful tool for understanding and improving the way services are delivered at minimum cost to either councils or the tax payer. The benefits include:

- Rapid access to up to date information
- Responsiveness to the changing priorities of the local government sector
- Maximum benefits for minimum cost.

The toolkit went live in September 2010, with data included for 164 councils. There will be a second, and final, release in November 2010, which allows responding councils opportunity to review the data submitted and for non-responding councils to submit their return.

The Value for Money (VfM) toolkit graphically illustrates how the costs and performance of an authority compares to its peers across a range of services. It will also allow local authorities to track the performance of their services.

Some of the key features of the model are:

- Provides a powerful, yet simple to understand, visualisation of all services on the same scale.
- Data required to drive the model is either readily accessible, or easy to collate.
- Indicators can be ‘weighted' or excluded to allow for individual authority circumstances or priorities.
- A range of comparator groups are available.

For more details, please contact vfmtoolkit@cipfa.org.uk .

Eight Authorities sign up to Energy Programme

27 Oct 2010

Eight authorities in the East Midlands could cut their energy bills by a total of £1m a year - more than £100,000 each - after they joined a Carbon Trust programme today

The programme has been specially developed by the Carbon Trust for the East Midlands and is funded by the East Midlands Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (EM IEP). It will enable the authorities to work together and develop detailed action plans to reduce their energy use and carbon footprints.

The authorities participating in the scheme are:

• Daventry District Council and Kettering Borough Council in Northamptonshire.

• Rushcliffe Borough Council, Broxtowe Borough Council and Newark & Sherwood District Council in Nottinghamshire.

• North East Derbyshire District Council; Peak District National Park Authority and Amber Valley Borough Council in Derbyshire.

Representatives from each authority will attend a series of workshops over the next three months where they will learn new skills and share ideas for improving energy efficiency. Each authority will also receive specialist support from a Carbon Trust expert to help them set their energy and carbon saving targets and design a cost effective action plan to meet them.

This is the second year the programme has run in the East Midlands. Ten other local authorities participated in last year's inaugural programme and as a result developed plans to cut their annual energy spend by an average of £120,000 each and reduce their carbon footprints by around 800 tonnes each.

For full information go to: http://www.govtoday.co.uk/Communities-and-Local-Government/Local-Government/authorities-sign-up-to-energy-programme.html

More information also available at:
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/news/news/press-centre2010/2010/Pages/public-bodies-aim-to-cut-energy-bills.aspx  or http://www.eastmidlandsiep.gov.uk/climate-change/

Alternatively, wacth our some of our short climate change films at: http://www.eastmidlandsiep.gov.uk/emiep-tv/1/filter/themes/38/

Delivering More for Less II

27 Oct 2010

We live in one of the most centralised democracies in Europe. However, despite the intricate financial and organisational ties binding local government to central government, councils remain the most efficient part of the public sector. They have consistently squeezed the maximum value out of every pound of public money they spend, and they have directed funds to the places where they will have the most long-term impact in their local communities.

WIN's Waste Services Benchmark - A free service for councils in England

27 Oct 2010

Want to find out how your service compares? This new service is designed to help your council identify areas for improvement by comparing against a Waste Services Benchmark which reflects the range of practice across the country

The service is designed to be easy to use, engaging and flexible. Councils which helped test the service said "It's a really thought provoking service that has given me clear guidance for areas to develop." It also provides advice and support on developing an improvement plan. It is intended to be challenging - so even councils which are performing well can benefit.

Accessing your council's account. WIN have created a FREE on-line account for every council and waste partnership in England. For lots more information, see their Frequently Asked Questions page or contact win@southeastiep.gov.uk to obtain login details.

IDeA Offer to Councils on Budget Challenge

27 Oct 2010

Do you want to keep political control of your budget process? Do you need help making sure you're not pushed into the wrong choices in your budget?

The IDeA and their team of senior Council Leaders/Councillors are here to help you.

The IDeA is offering FREE assistance to Councils over the next 6 months to help you and your team develop a survivable budget.

They are offering Counties, Mets and Unitary Councils 4 days and Districts 2 days of  support from a senior council leader/councillor to help your Leader, Resources portfolio holder and cabinet develop your budget over this summer and autumn. The person assigned to your council would reflect the administration in control of your council. The IDeA will work with you to properly look in detail at your budget options and give confidential and honest advice about developing your budget options.

"I only became elected Mayor in October and effectively had just a few weeks to put together the council's first budget as a unitary authority. The IDeA Member Peers advice and support was invaluable in getting to grips with the task and helped us make £9m of savings and bring in a below inflation council tax rise."

Mayor Dave Hodgson, Lib Dem Elected Mayor and Leader, Bedford Borough Council.


These are some of the areas where we could help you:

- Your budget process
- Your savings options
- Your reserves and provisions
- Comparative costs
- Record of overspends/underspends by service
- Your fees and charges
- Back Office costs
- Short and Medium term strategies

The IDeA would spend one day reviewing your information away from your office, and three one day visits at times of your convenience during the summer and autumn. If more time was required then this could be negotiated for a reasonable fee. In Districts both days would be on site with you. There is limited funding for this offer so councils will be offered support on a first come first served basis. The IDeA can also work with you on budget communications and consultation strategies as well as internal political communication within your council.

For more information please contact the National IDeA Leads:

- Conservative, Cllr Paul Bettison (paul.bettison@bracknell-forest.gov.uk)
- Labour, Cllr Bryony Rudkin (bryony.rudkin@btinternet.com)
- Lib Dems south Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson (geraldvj@gmail.com)
- Lib Dems north Cllr Howard Sykes (howard.sykes@idea.gov.uk)
- Independents, Cllr Jonathan Huish (jonathan.huish@idea.gov.uk).

(Part of the LGA National Productivity Programme).

FOCUS: WIN’s guide to saving money in waste & recycling services

27 Oct 2010

This guidance covers some of the main things that councils can do (and some have done) to save money while either maintaining or improving services. This can help all councils whether their service is in-house or contracted-out.

NEW! Communal Containers in City Centres Brighton & Hove and Bristol pave the way and reap the benefits!

27 Oct 2010

WIN's new case study reviews both authorities schemes, exploring how the projects have developed; the benefits and cost savings; operational challenges and reveals the lessons both councils have learnt along the way.