News and Events
Events
Below are key regional and national events. Each of the nine Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships host a variety of events - check out your RIEP events webpages.
East of England IEP Sharing Data to Improve Services Free Events: 8 September - Bedford and 29 September - Ipswich
In response to the message that there are persistent problems across the public sector in relation to data sharing, Improvement East has worked with SOCITM Learning to develop a one day programme around sharing and managing data.
Details of these free EEIEP Events and the online booking form are available from EEIEP's website: 8 September – Bedford and 29 September - Ipswich.
The Customer Service and Business Transformation Network and Performance and Improvement Network are running a joint event looking at good practice taking place in the East of England around performance and business transformation that are making efficiency savings. £70 delegate fee.
Details of this EELGA Event and the online booking form are available from EELGA's website.
As the financial situation bites, it has never been more important to ensure that services are efficient and deliver value for money. In conducting Value for Money or Service Reviews, councillors are keen to get the maximum practical and tangible benefits from the process. This workshop session will help Elected Members to navigate the review processes and ensure the best outcomes for services.
Details of this free NEIEP Event and the online booking form are available from NEIEP's website.
See IT in Action: Efficient Services, Improved Lives: 6 October - London
This is a practical marketplace event showcasing how local authorities can: improve lives; deliver efficient and tailored services; reduce costs and will provide a platform to explore the new government priorities around: data transparency, openness and accountability; increasing internet usage; the Big Society.
FREE for representatives of local authorities and their strategic public sector partners.
Details of this free Event and the online booking form are available.
Local authorities are the frontline for many public services. Sharing customer data is part of their day-to-day business and one which has significant costs and risks. Local authorities throughout England and Wales are all connected to the Government Connect Secure network (GCSx). This enables them to share data securely with other local authorities and government agencies.
This conference, organised by the LG Improvement and Development, Local Government Association and Government Connect, is to help demonstrate the ongoing case for GCSx for local authorities and their partners. It will show how this network enables local authorities to share citizen data with key partners to speed up processes and help deliver joined-up services more effectively and efficiently. FREE to Public Sector delegates only.
Details of this free GCSx Event and the online booking form are available from LG Improvement & Development's website.
Breakthrough Services in Local Governement Conference: 1 December - Manchester
With the process of service re-design already underway in many localities, all local authorities and service providers must work together to align services, share skills, increase connectivity and maximise ICT and data-sharing potential to improve citizen-focused services and secure future revenue streams.
This conference is hosted by NWeGG and supported by Local Government Improvement and Development, Cabinet Office, LSP Futures, Government Connect, Socitm, NWIEP, LeGSB, Local Partnerships, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council and Policy Review. Various delegate rates are chargeable, depending upon which sector you work.
Details of this Event and the online booking form are available.
News
The CIPFA publication Leading in Hard Times is tailored explicitly for the very difficult conditions which are likely to prevail for the next few years. It focuses in particular on the leadership responsibilities of those in very senior roles, whether executive or non-executive. It sets out key principles that should underlie the way public bodies and their leaders approach the challenges of the new environment, as well as key actions that will enable leaders to direct organisations' responses to the new challenging climate.
This new action plan marks a radical shift of power from Whitehall to local councils and communities that will make the Big Society part of every day life. The plan sets out a new 18 month programme for the department that will deliver radical decentralising and transparency reforms that put citizens and councils in control of their communities. It is one of the first fundamental Structural Reform Plans for making departments accountable for the implementation of the reforms set out in the Coalition agreement. .
RIEPs Report: summary of key achievements – two years on
This report summarises the RIEPs’ key achievements in the period from April 2008 to end March 2010, and sets out the return on the investment which the RIEPs have made over five national priorities. For each priority area key case studies highlight what local authorities have achieved by working with their RIEP. Further, there are details of what to expect from the RIEPs in 2010-11 and beyond.
Spending Challenge : appeal for cost cutting ideas online and via Facebook
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has called on frontline local government workers to send Downing Street their best cost-saving ideas via the newly launched Spending Challenge website. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have written to the UK's six million public sector workers, urging them to submit their suggestions for delivering better services for less money. Ideas can be submitted online anonymously. Individual ideas won’t appear online but every submission will be looked at. The website was open primarily for public sector workers until 8 July, after which the process was opened up to the wider public.
People are encouraged to either visit the "HM Treasury - Spending Challenge" website and "Submit an idea" or make a Comment on someone elses idea. Or visit the "Democracy UK on Facebook" channel and make a Comment on the "Chancellor launches Spending Challenge website" posting. The Spending Challenge is part of the commitment to 'trust the people'.
data.gov.uk is part of the Government's Transparency programme for the UK public sector as a whole. Working with Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Professor Nigel Shadbolt and Tom Steinberg and other members of the Cabinet Office Minister's new Public Sector Transparency Board, the website seeks to give a way into the wealth of government data becoming available.
Improving Public Sector Efficiency: Good practice checklist for public bodies
Audit Scotland, the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Wales Audit Office have drawn on their combined knowledge and experience to develop this good practice checklist. It is intended that the checklist promotes improvement and facilitates detailed review, reflection and self-assessment by audited bodies. It is hoped that by setting out the key principles that apply to public bodies in all of the devolved administrations, there will be a consistent tool to help you assess your own approach to efficiency during these challenging times.
Plymouth City Council was one of many councils celebrating success at the Municipal Journal Awards recently. Further awards were made for a variety of achievements in public service delivery to councils across the country. See the MJ Awards website for further details.
Local Authority 'Value for Money' Toolkit
CIPFA and the LGA have announced that a new, easy-to-use 'Value for Money' tool for local authorities in England is being launched by CIPFA and the LGA Group this September. The tool will enable councils to track the costs and performance of their services, compare that to their peers, and provide access to data early enough to be useful in planning budgets and identifying efficiencies for the coming year.
The Value for Money (VfM) Toolkit was originally developed by Somerset County Council on behalf of the Society of County Treasurers, but has now been expanded to include district and unitary functions as well as becoming a fully interactive online service.
Authorities have been actively encouraged to take part in the free service by completing a VfM questionnaire by 19 July 2010. Lookout for updates in September.
Bristol City Council Housing and Council Tax Benefits Business Analysis Exercise
In 2009 Bristol City Council completed a business analysis exercise on its Housing and Council Tax Benefits service. Resources from Bristol City Council kindly shared from this exercise have been published here and include a powerpoint presentation covering the business analysis exercise, along with "To Be" design documents and process models.
New East of England Local Government Association
The East of England Local Government Association (LGA) is a new voluntary association set up by the 52 local authorities in the region following the abolition of the East of England Regional Assembly. It will concentrate its work in areas where, by working together, the LGA can add value for its member councils and will speak up for the people and communities it represents, ensuring that local government has an effective voice in its dealings with GO-EAST, EEDA, Westminster, Whitehall and elsewhere. Under current legislation the East of England LGA will also undertake the work required of a regional “Leaders’ Board”. Visit the new EELGA website.
Total Place: a whole area approach to public services Report
The final Total Place report has been published by CLG and the Treasury. The evidence base from the pilots outlined in this report provides a strong platform to take radical, but also practical, steps for the future. It sets out the case for change, at local level and on a national scale, which can deliver true transformation in public services across the country. It shows that real savings can be made through the Total Place approach. It also makes clear the need for strong local leadership, with local authorities playing a pivotal role in delivering radical improvements in services, with their partners, through the single offer, innovative policy offer and a range of other initiatives that build on the pilots' findings. Download the Total Place Report from the HM Treasury website.
The North East IEP Customer Insight and Customer Service Excellence projects are now complete. Highlights include:
- The business case for Insight
- Insight Mapping across the region
- A comprehensive resource directory
- Good practice examples from around the region
- Recommendations for phase two projects
Download the Customer Service report from the NE IEP website.
NE IEP Customer Access Channels Report
The North East IEP Customer Access Channels project has produced a final report. The project aimed to:
- Explore the relationships between customer access channels in local authorities and with partners
- Map partner solutions in operation now, and being developed
- Identify where good practice and standards should be applied
- Propose appropriate channel management strategies and tactics (including channel migration)
- Address how failure demand (through, for example National Indicator 14) impacts on channel design and management
Download the Access Channels report from the NE IEP website.
Spotlight on Swansea Programme & Project Management Methodology
City and County of Swansea Council have developed a methodology created in conjunction with the structured Prince2 and MSP methods. It covers the areas of Strategic, Programme and Project Management. In particular, you may wish to review Swansea's e-learning tutorial website which gives the user full access to the many processes, tools and templates that are used to successfully complete any Programme or Project.
Putting the Frontline First: Meeting the local government challenge
In response to tightening local authority budgets, the Secretary of State asked Sir Richard Leese and Sir Steve Bullock to lead a Task Force to quickly develop proposals to identify how councils can be made more efficient without affecting high quality frontline services.
This Report by the Task Force challenges local authorities to take a strategic approach to managing their budgets and to take urgent and radical action to transform services. In doing so, the Report sets out strategic questions for local authorities to evaluate themselves against, and a framework of actions, tools and resources to help councils protect frontline services.
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