 Out with the old, in with the
NWIEP
AS from April 1 2008, the NWCE, together with NWIN,
became North West Improvement and Efficiency
Partnership. A newsletter is available that announced
the official launch and explains who we are, what we
will be doing and how we will be doing it.
We look forward to
working with you.
View the newsletter announcing
the launch of the North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.
The first North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership
Management Board meeting takes place on May 20,
2008. |
|
 Be conscious of
the NWIEP
COUNCILS in the region who will be applying for Beacon funding
are being urged to consult with the North West Improvement and
Efficiency Partnership before making their bids.
CLG will shortly be inviting all councils awarded Beacon status
over the last three years to bid for a £2m peer support fund.
This fund is to encourage Beacons to continue to share their
expertise and knowledge to drive up performance in other councils
across the country and CLG says that it is important that the Beacon
support provided to councils is coordinated to avoid
duplication.
CLG guidance, therefore, recommends that Beacons bidding for
money from the peer support fund discuss their bid with the relevant
Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.
Contact Neil Hind, NWIEP Programme Director on 0161 342
4080. |
 Safari, so good!
THE Big 5 are about to be bagged!
The NWCE Shared Services Programme, which will
officially become the NWIEP Transformation Programme on May 12, will
be 'Bagging the Big 5' at its 'What's in it for us?' event on May 13
at Wigan Investment Centre.
The previous 'What's in it for us?' event went on
safari and 'Tracked the Big 5', hearing up-dates from each of the
five-sub-regions on the progress of their three-year transformation
strategies.
Now, on May 13, the Big 5 will be bagged - the
sub-regions will report on their finalised strategies - and the
Board will report on any resulting cluster or regional arrangements.
There will also be presentations from
transformation colleagues who have 'worn the T-shirt'.
The event is open to all who have an interest in
transformation across the region.
Register now. Click here or phone on 0161 342 3982.
For more information click
here. |
|
 On the write lines
A GROUP of
councils have negotiated significant savings for the region on the
purchase of journals, magazines and books.
The project has looked at the potential for savings on
councils' spend on non-library books and periodicals.
And an interim agreement has now been reached with a supplier
who is prepared to offer a variety of discounts on general books and
school books.
Arrangements are now being made to establish whether the
agreement can be formalised so that councils can buy under it
rather than going out to tender.
The project group is also looking at subscriptions to see
whether further savings can be gained from signing up to
these.
Said NWIEP programme manager Beatrice Fraser: "The spend on
books and journals across the region is significant. It would be
worth councils carrying out an audit of their spend to establish
what savings can be made."
|
|
 Programmes build on firm
foundations
CAPACITY
building programmes supported by the NWIEP's improvement programme,
formerly NWIN, are largely achieving their objectives.
The
Manchester Business School has evaluated the programmes that are
being delivered to members and officers and found that they have
been 'well-received, useful and effective'.
Participants' self-ratings of their capabilities with
regard to networking, knowledge management, improvement and
leadership have increased after attending the
programmes.
And
they have highlighted a range of benefits from attending
the programmes including being able to meet colleagues from
other local authorities and sharing ideas and being able to identify
the leadership and management skills they require.
|
|
 CUPID looking
for a match
THE NWIEP
Transformation Group has now sent out its survey to gather
information for its collaboration database CUPID.
The survey
has been issued to all shared services representatives in each
council in the region.
They are
being asked to supply data on past, current and future collaborative
projects that will then be used to populate CUPID and stimulate
further cross-council and sub-regional collaborative
projects.
As well as
being a knowledge-base for collaboration, CUPID which is being
developed by the NWIEP Transformation Programme will also hold a
raft of information, such as CPA scores.
Representatives have
until May 9 to provide their information for the
survey.
For further
information contact Emily Turner on 0161 342
3982. |
|
 Final line-up
The North West Improvement and Efficiency
Partnership's strategy has been now been published on the LGA
website.
The strategy, along with those of the other eight partnerships,
can be viewed here.
|
|
 Follow that
cab...
A NEW toolkit has been produced to help
councils in England get the most out of the £500m they collectively
spend every year on private hire taxi contracts.
The toolkit is the result of a project jointly developed by the
former North West Centre of Excellence (NWCE) - now the North West
Improvement and Efficiency Partnership - and Merseytravel.
The NWCE was CLG's appointed lead Regional Centre of Excellence
for transport and, as such, undertook a number of projects,
including examining private hire taxi contracts, which is designed
to encourage local authorities to look at the ways they have
traditionally worked with transport providers and procured transport
contracts.
The on-line toolkit, due to go live in May, aims to help
councils to make substantial savings on their expenditure on private
hire taxis by sharing examples of best practice and
information.
|
|
 Train to gain
COUNCILS are continuing to take advantage of
the free business process improvement training being offered by the
NWIEP Transformation Programme.
Members of the Council Tax Refund team at Preston City Council
have now competed the first phase of training and six separate
groups from South Ribble have now started theirs.
Further interest in taking up the training which amounts to
£6,600 added value per staff member taking part in the programme has
been shown from St Helens MBC and Manchester Fire &
Rescue.
Staff from Fylde, Bury, Wyre and Chorley councils will also
start their training in May.
|
|
 Uniform response
A GUIDE to buying safety equipment and
personal protection equipment ethically has been produced by the
North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.
The Procurement Programme has carried out a study of the six
leading suppliers of clothing and equipment in the north west
to see whether they have sustainability policies in place.
The suppliers were asked if they had written environmental,
sustainability and ethical manufacturing/purchasing policies and if
they were ISO 14001 accredited or working towards
accreditation.
The results revealed that most policies are inadequate, few
suppliers are looking to improve policies and there is little
awareness of ISO 14001.
A guidance has note has now been drawn up by the Procurement
Programme for councils to use when buying uniforms and personal
protection equipment.
|
|
 Share
It!
THE April 2008 issue
of Share It! the bi-monthly newsletter from the North West
Improvement and Efficiency Partnership Transformation Programme, is
now available.
This issue includes news about funding that
has been ring-fenced for the sub-regions, so that transformational
strategies can go ahead, and explains how the North West Improvement
and Efficiency Partnership Transformation Programme will take over
where the North West Shared Services Programme leaves
off.
|
|
 Procurement
Progress
The spring 2008 issue of Procurement
Progress, the newsletter from the North West Improvement and
Efficiency Partnership's Procurement Programme, is now
available.
The newsletter contains project updates,
sustainable procurement news and a comprehensive events
list.
Download Procurement Progress here. |
|
 Green
guide
THE European Commission have published "Buying Green", a handbook
on environmental public procurement.
The handbook covers the essentials of green public procurement,
including a step-by-step guide to green purchasing, the connection
between public purchasing and the environment and the potential
environmental benefits.
Download Buying Green
here. |
 Get involved
with the fleet pilot
THE Office of Government Commerce have set
up a pilot to look at how the £5bn value of public sector fleet
can be managed in the most effective way.
The pilot aims to work
closely with users, suppliers, customers and decision makers,
to improve the way the public sector procures, manages and
disposes of fleet in the future.
OGC has launched a fleet
pilot to examine fleet management; spot hire; acquisition of
commercial vehicles; vehicle standardisation; insurance; accident
management; and disposals.
The pilot has a
dedicated team who is gathering the views of council officers who
are involved in fleet management.
For further information click
here. |
|
 Strategic ending
THE final report on the National Procurement
Strategy (NPS) for Local Government 2003-2006 has been published.
The report looks back at achievements over
the three-year life of the strategy, and recommends next steps in
light of the developing policy, in particular the Comprehensive
Spending Review 2007 and the National Improvement and Efficiency
Strategy.
Download the report by clicking here. |
|
images courtesy of FreeDigitalImages.net | |
The
bi-weekly newsletter from the North West Improvement
and Efficiency
Partnership