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Featured News -
Shared Services
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 Free
gift!
GIVE yourself the
Christmas gift of a new qualification, and your council the gift of £6,000
a year - all free, courtesy of the North West Shared Services Programme.
Free places are
still available on the business process improvement training, which can save
councils around £6,600 a year for every member of staff, takes 12 to 16
weeks to complete, and is delivered on-site. There is no limit to the
number of places that each council can book and those who do undertake the
training gain an NVQ level 2.
To register
interest, simply contact Rosemary Cowgill.
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 Tracking
the Big 5
THE next shared
services What's in it for us? event - Tracking the
Big 5 - is to be held on January 23, 2008 at Wigan Investment Centre. At
the last event, representatives from each sub-region updated the
group on their planned activity and, this time, they have been asked
back to track their progress since then.
The event
will also train delegates sights on the regional improvement and
efficiency partnership - there'll be an update on the bid for funding that
should, by January, have been issued.
Download the
agenda and book your place here.
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 Project
gets the green light
SOUTH Ribble and Chorley
Borough Councils have completed a feasibility study looking at the
options, potential benefits, challenges and risks of collaborating over
their financial, asset management, internal audit and related services.
Approval has now been granted by both councils to proceed to
the next stage, implementation planning and the appointment of two,
key, new roles. The feasibility study, prepared by the councils and
Price Waterhouse Cooper, will be available on the NWCE website in January
2008 and the case study will be available at the "What's in it
for us?" event on January 23, 2008.
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 Time
for action!
CHESHIRE'S shared
services sub-regional group is putting the next phase of its work into
action.
It's looking for a Shared Services Programme Director to
manage the three-year shared services project that has been funded, in
part, by North West Shared Services Programme funding.
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 Share
It!
THE December 2007 issue of Share It! the bi-monthly
north west shared services programme newsletter, which provides information
on the North West Shared Services Programme is now available.
This issue includes news about the national improvement and
efficiency strategy. the effect of EU procurement
on the ability of authorities to share services, and a question and answer
slot about the free BPI training, featured at the beginning of the
newsletter.
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 Sixth
sense savings
A SIXTH council
has joined the NWCE's project that will consider
jointly buying and maintaining crematoria equipment.
Tameside Council has joined the other five councils from the
region who are looking to establish current spend figures for the purchase
and maintenance of crematoria equipment to determine what efficiencies
could be gained by a joint purchasing programme.
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 Race
is on to tap into cash
UNITED Utilities have agreed to consider claims from
councils who may be eligible for retrospective refunds as a result of
changes in the methods of charging for water.
Councils wishing to make claims need to act now if they are
to stand a chance of the refunds.
A group of AGMA authorities are working together to
make their claims and expect to achieve refunds of £100,000 to
£300,000 per council. Some councils in the region
may be able to achieve more.
All claims have to be submitted by January 11, 2008.
The AGMA authorities have appointed the Hanover Partnership to calculate
refunds. Their fee is based on a percentage of the actual
savings achieved and they have agreed to reduce this to 17.5%.
Any councils interested in taking
advantage of this potential for making huge savings should contact Rahela Aziz by the end of Monday December 17,
2007.
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 Procurement
Progress
THE NWCE's latest Procurement
Progress newsletter has been issued.
It contains project updates, sustainable procurement news
and a comprehensive events list.
The update
is available here.
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 Focus
on a framework
It's
good to talk... together
THE NWCE's 'focus on a framework'
highlights key frameworks or agreements that councils can use.
Talking savings? This agreement can help councils save money for
teleconferencing software.
It offers pre-tendered arrangements, allowing customers to
call-off requirements instantly, avoiding associated procurement costs, and
the application is compatible with all switches so it doesn't matter what
telephone systems are currently in place.
This offer is only available until January 31, 2008.
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 Members'
News is out
THE eleventh
edition of the NWCE's Members' News has been
published.
The newsletter, published every other month, aims to keep
Members updated on the work of the NWCE and their local authorities.
This edition has news about the NWCE's
new post contract and also offers Members an exclusive discount on places
at the fourth National Public Sector Procurement Conference that takes
place in February (see events section of newsletter).
Click here for the Members' News.
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 New
chair for task group
JOYCE Redfearn, Chief Executive of
Wigan Council, is the new chair of the Chief Executives' Task Group, local
government's lead officer body to drive improvement and efficiency among
councils.
The Task Group is made up of the chief executive leads of
each of the regional improvement and efficiency partnerships, the lead
change agents for local government.
Ms Redfearn (pictured) said:
"It is an honour to be offered this position at a time when local
government is facing a hugely challenging agenda. I am determined that the
Chief Executives' Task Group, working with its partners, will provide real
drive to the improvement and efficiency agenda as well as representing
local authorities' interests at a national level.
"Local government can be proud of its achievements but
there is still much to do. I believe that with the right culture and
structures in place, it can look to the future with confidence."
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 Changing
limits
The OGC have given advance information on the financial
thresholds to apply from January 1, 2008. These are draft, subject to
scrutiny by the European Parliament, but no changes are expected.
The revised thresholds show a small reduction over those
currently in force, due to changes in exchange rates.
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 Standards group meeting
January
11, 2008, Dukinfield
Town Hall
The agenda for the next meeting of the NWCE standards group is
now available.
The agenda will cover updates of all the standards projects,
including clarification about EU rules in respect of shared services,
training information for suppliers and a sustainable procurement
policy, which has been drafted by the NWCE.
The group will also agree the way forward for a north west online
procurement process map.
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 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 CSRO7
4th National Public Sector
Procurement Conference
February 7, 2008, City of Manchester Stadium
PLACES for the conference are being snapped up - already
almost 300 people have signed up.
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.
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