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 The annual report and forward plan for the North West Centre
of Excellence has now been published.
Chief Executives and Executive Leaders will - postal strike
permitting - receive their copies of the document next week and the report
will also be available on the NWCE website.
The report outlines the work achieved by the centre and its
local authority partners, so far, and also details the programme of
projects that are to be tackled in the future to help councils in the
region fulfil their commitments to CSR07 and the transformation agenda.
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 The latest edition of Procurement Progress, the bi-monthly
newsletter from the NWCE procurement prorgramme
board, is now available.
The Autumn 2007
issue includes information about the delivery of the standards project, the
award of the postal framework and the soft launch of the regional
procurement portal.
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Difuse the
confusion of CSR07
 The NWCE Procurement Programme have issued a document that attempts to summarise the recent announcements
and paper around the Corporate Spending Review 2007 (CSR07) and the impact
on local government procurement. Further work is being carried out to
fully understand the impact of these announcements for north west local authorities.
View
the briefing note here.
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 THE NWCE is about to launch a detailed study of the
advantages to be gained by collaboration on public sector health transport.
The centre has
been working closely with the Department of Transport and the Department of
Health on the paper which will be launched soon.
The paper
contains a number of revealing case studies on successful public sector
partnerships that are delivering health transport effectively and
efficiently, along with some powerful recommendations.
Project director
Garth Goddard commented: "Public sector transport is a significant spend for many local authorities and this paper
recommends highly that councils look at creating partnerships to procure
and deliver this service."
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eProcurement
excellence in Cumbria
 Cumbria County Council, along with five Cumbrian district
councils, have adopted a new system for their eProcurement shared service.
The system, IDeA:marketplace,
is designed and managed by EGS Ltd and gives instant access to a range of
contracts for goods and services negotiated locally, regionally or
nationally. The venture should provide an electronic procurement
system and trading environment specifically for local government.
Alan Ratcliffe, Chair of the EPiC
(Effective Procurement in Cumbria) project board said "the EGS
Exchange will not only help us to reduce duplication, harness greater
aggregated purchasing power, but it also enables us to implement best
practice procurement."
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Better
waste-lines for builders
 Proposals to cut the 109m tonnes of waste produced annually
on construction sites in England
and Wales
have been broadly endorsed by the building sector.
Responses published this week to a Government consultation
show that 75% of respondents support the idea of legally binding Site Waste
Management Plans (SWMPs) to reduce illegal waste
disposal and improve efficiency. The views will now feed into Defra's preparation of regulations to come into force
in England
in 2008.
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 The Waste & Recycling Officers Mentoring Scheme (WROMS)
is being developed by the South East Centre of Excellence for local
authorities. This project is set to drive forward measurable
performance improvements in waste minimisation, recycling, waste management
and procurement.
Members of WROMS will be able to take part in regular,
interactive 'web events' which will enable officers to share good practice
information, download and use the free web conferencing software (Interwise) - which enables interactive on-line meetings
and events and organise on-line meetings and web event
with colleagues.
To join WROMS you first need to register on the WIN
website: www.win.org.uk
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 A government procurement service skills framework has
been produced by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC).
This document can be used in the
development of job descriptions, career development planning, and team
restructuring for procurement practitioners. It also includes a set of
guidance notes.
Download
the framework here.
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All
aboard the improvement express
 'Improvement Express' is the newsletter
from the IDea (Improvement and Development
Agency).
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Know
your placements
cut
costs without cutting corners
 Social care experts in the north west can get the low-down on a new
national care costing tool for adult social care.
The NWCE is
holding two, half-day events on October 30, at the Birchwood Centre,
Warrington, that will explain to delegates how the toolkit is being
developed, how it will work and the potential savings it can bring for
councils buying placements.
The north west project board, along with
other similar regional project boards, is being developed by a north west project
board and is due to be launched in March 2008.
Places at the event will be strictly limited to two representatives from
each local authority - attendance will enable authorities to sign up
for the pilot phase.
View the event
flyer or click
here to book your place.
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Transforming
service delivery
 THE NWCE has an exclusive offer for council representatives
who wish to know more about the impact of CSR07.
The NWCE's regional director Colin Cram is
speaking at the Transforming Service Delivery Conference to be held at the
QEII Conference Centre on October 30 and, for a limited period, two
delegates can book a place at the event for the price of one.
The conference will look at CSR07 and its effect on local government, and
will focus on the recommendations made in the Local Government White Paper
- 'Strong and Prosperous Communities' with regard to re-shaping public
services and partnership working in the challenging financial climate.
The standard rate is £195 plus vat and the 2 for 1 offer is on a first
come, first served basis.
Call Naz Malik on 0161
211 3030 or email naz.malik@govnet.co.uk
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Free
sustainability training
November
13, 2007, Wigan Investment Centre
 FREE training on sustainable procurement is being offered to
councils in the north west.
The NWCE is working with ActionSustainability to
help delegates to discover the tools and techniques of sustainable
procurement, and to identify and manage how sustainability affects
council's supply chains.
Delegates will learn how their
supply chain affects the environment , and the
event is ideal for those wanting to learn more about sustainability issues
in their organisation's supply chain.
Normally £350 per delegate, this training is free of charge to one delegate
per council if accompanied by a supplier.
For
more information click here.
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Telecoms
workshop
November
23, 2007, Wigan Investment Centre
 MANY local authorities are feeling the effect of new billing
and other charges introduced by British Telecom (BT).
This session will
look at how councils can reduce these charges and possibly reduce their
invoice values with BT.
For
more information click here.
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Sourcing
sustainable solutions - Meet the Buyers
November
21, 2007, Manchester
 THE NWCE will be supporting a sustainable procurement event
in Manchester
in November.
Sourcing Sustainable Solutions -
Meet the Buyers will provide delegates with the opportunity to meet
suppliers who can provide innovative environmental and sustainable products
and services.
A unique feature of the event will be pre-arranged meetings with suppliers,
selected according to delegates' criteria. Delegates can tell the organiser
their specific areas of interest, when booking,
and the information will be used to research and identify suppliers that
match their criteria. On the day of the event, delegates can take part in a
series of private, pre-scheduled meetings with the pre-matched suppliers.
The event on November 21 is free to attend for buyers. For further
information and/or to book a place click here.
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Sustainable
procurement conference
December
6, 2007, Sefton
Town Hall
 The NWCE is hosting a sustainable procurement conference to
consider the latest information and discuss the suppliers in this area.
Delegates will also be given the
time for discussion and debate on the way forward for the north west region.
For
more information click here.
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The
3rd Annual NwEGG Conference
New
Frontiers for Transformation
December
12, 2007, Manchester
Central
 This event will focus on the future for the transformation
agenda - a key factor in the Government's plans to reform the public
sector.
Delegates will hear from the government on its latest strategy to modernise
public services through Transformational Change, understand the need to be
customer focused, examine the key role that
technology can play in redesigning services for the benefit of both
citizens and government alike and network to share best practice and seek
answers to the challenges councils face.
There will be six seminars designed to deal with different aspects of
delivering effective change in local government.
For
further information click here.
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North West Centre of
Excellence
Room 5.15, Council
Offices, Wellington Road,
Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 6DL
www.nwce.gov.uk
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