November 2011

Essex Councils to share ICT services

Braintree, Castle Point, Colchester and Rochford councils have signed a shared service agreement with Capita which will save around £7m over the next five years, and cut their ICT costs by more than 45% over the life of the contract.

Capita will provide shared ICT support services to the councils, these services include a mix of service, asset, security and network infrastructure management, desktop support, server and data storage and consultancy , all coordinated through a dedicated Capita service desk.

Chris Siddall, cabinet member for efficiency and resources at Braintree council, said: "We believe our innovative approach will be keenly studied by other UK councils, all of whom are under intense pressure to make substantial cost savings whilst maintaining vital services to local people."

The councils received £96,000 from Improvement East to pay for the specialist legal and IT advice required to set up the joint deal.

Seminar highlights opportunities for funding

The EU Connects service, which helps public and voluntary sector partners to secure EU funding and was launched by EELGA in August, has registered its first successes.

Our first seminar was held on 25 October at Dacorum Borough Council and highlighted opportunities for funding under the £7 billion Life Long Learning Programme comprising: Comenius (schools); Erasmus (higher education); Leonardo (vocational education and training); and Grundtvig (adult education).

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East of England Renewable Energy Capacity Study

The study, available on the Sustainability East website, provides a broad assessment of the potential for the generation of on-shore renewable and low carbon energy in the region. This will enable Local Authorities and others to understand the potential within their areas to contribute to meeting the targets for carbon reduction and renewable energy generation set by the European Union and the UK Government.

The report can help inform consistent and proactive policy frameworks, allowing local authorities to start to assess what is technically feasible so that they can then focus on both what technologies are appropriate for their area and how they want to communicate their level of ambition to potential investors.

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New partnership launches to create social enterprises of the future

Public sector leaders in the East of England are facing significant challenges when it comes to the spinning off of public sector services. Developing, growing and leading a successful and sustainable social enterprise requires a huge amount of determination, drive and support, along with a significant amount of specialist skills and knowledge.

In response to this, the School for Social Entrepreneurs East and Improvement East have come together to create an intensive social enterprise programme, providing practical and bespoke support to senior level staff making the transition from public sector employee to social entrepreneur and market-shaper.

This eight-day programme will take place in three block sessions over a period of three months, and will cover a number of essential key knowledge areas. Attendees will gain exposure to experts their experiences and the knowledge gained on their journey to success.

Places are free of charge but limited in number. All participants should have direct responsibility for the transition of one or more significant public sector services into an independent enterprise, and they need to be fully committed to attending for the duration of the course.

London 2012 Local Leaders Programme

The Local Leader programme is an opportunity for people in communities across the UK to celebrate the Games in their local areas. A Local Leader is someone that gets stuff done. They organise, they pull people together. They have a passion for the Games and want to celebrate. Local Leaders will get friends, family and neighbours ready to celebrate. From Gardening for the Games to planning a Sports Quiz or an Opening Night In. When they sign up they will get hints and tips to help them plan their celebrations, plus get access to exclusive toolkits as we get closer to the Games. We want the whole of the UK to get involved and celebrate the Games together. It is the Local Leaders who will make this happen.

Nations and Regions East are asking Local Authorities to spread the word and promote the sign up of the Local Leader programme to your residents, community groups and networks at www.london2012.com/localleaders.

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Public Health and Wellbeing in the East

The East of England Public Health and Social Care Directorate produces a regular short newsletter on public health issues, "Public Health and Wellbeing in the East". The latest edition focuses on the links between work and health and also summarises the ongoing changes to public health, and is aimed at leaders in health, local government, public services, business, and voluntary organisations across the region. The newsletter includes lots of useful information about sickness absence, ways to improve staff health and wellbeing, and mental health, and should be interesting to leaders, managers and staff in human resources.

The publication can be accessed at http://www.eoe.nhs.uk/page.php?page_id=2170

EVENTS & LEARNING:

Insight to Action - PPMA and East of England LGA

Date: 8th - 9th December 2011
Venue: Cambridge Belfry Hotel, Cambourne, Cambridge CB23 6BW

Our time is at a premium and there is no way we can better add value in our organisation than taking time to think, reflect and plan. The 2011 'Insight to Action' will offer the opportunity to reflect on how we rise to the many challenges we are facing, to focus on today's key issues in people management, to share experiences and extend networks.

Chair - Mike Burton, Editor of the MJ

Speakers for 2011 include:

Caroline Tapster, Chief Executive, Hertfordshire County Council & Chair of East of England LGA
Martin Rayson, Divisional Director, Human Resources & Organisational Development at London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
David Billingham, Human Resources Director - Serco Local Government & Commercial
Julie Towers, Managing Director, Recruitment Solutions - Penna

Find out more and book a place...

EU Connects: Introduction to European Funding - Identifying the most appropriate funding for you

Date: 13th December 2011, 09:30am - 12:30pm
Venue: Government Offices, Eastbrook, Shaftsbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2DF

This seminar will provide participants with:

An overview of the European funding landscape at the present time,
An understanding of how your organisational objectives can be delivered with the additional benefits of leveraging in additional European funds to support your work
European programme "fit" - identifying the programme for you?
Key considerations in European project development and partnership working
Project development surgery (optional)

There will be ample opportunity for you to raise questions with experienced EU Connects European Funding Advisors and hear from the first-hand experience of those active and successful in seeking European funds.

Find out more and book a place...

Procurement Series: Turning third party expenditure information into cashable savings

Date: 9th February 2012, 9:30am - 1:00pm
Venue: Homerton College, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PH

Improvement East's series of procurement events is back for 2012!

Improvement East presents the new Procurement Series - a monthly series of events throughout 2012, covering a range of procurement topics, at locations across the East of England.

Find out how you can update your skills and knowledge to get the most out of your procurement processes and deliver those efficiency savings by attending one or all of these FREE events.

This session will cover:

The core data elements needed for basic expenditure analysis
The importance of data quality and the correct use of controlled classification and coding
The key data required for searching and what trends and clues to look for
Expenditure forensics - working off line with other data
Using expenditure data for category management, supplier relationship development, collaboration, improved negotiation and other strategic procurement approaches
Sharing information with other local authorities
Setting priorities and understanding resource implications

Find out more and book a place...

Visit the events page on the Improvement East website to see the full series of events.

Portfolio-Holder Networks

The Portfolio-Holder Networks enable councils, through their political leadership, the opportunity to collaborate on a number of important areas of policy. Further details on the range, purpose and operation of these network can be found here.

These meetings are exclusively for councillors with a responsibility for the particular area of focus and there is no charge for attendance.

Dates and details of future network events can be found here.

Training

We run a range of training opportunities for elected members and for officers on key skills and issues, such as change management, performance management, equalities, member appeal panels and bullying and harassment.

Our regular training programme can be found here.

USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT THE EAST OF ENGLAND LGA:

East of England Brussels Office
The European Team, based in Brussels, helps councils and other partners engage with Europe, signposting potential partnership opportunities, providing key information and obtaining increased access to European funding. To find out more visit: www.east-of-england.eu

Employers' Services
Employers' Services provides a range of tailored human resources, learning and development and organisational development support to local councils and the wider public and voluntary sector. To find out more visit: www.eelga.gov.uk or contact: valerie.seaman@eelga.gov.uk

Improvement East
Improvement East is the Improvement and Efficiency Partnership for all 58 local and fire and rescue authorities in the East of England to help deliver better services for local people as efficiently as possible. To find out more visit: www.improvementeast.gov.uk

Strategic Support
Strategic Support works to maintain and improve the liaison between member councils and Government Departments/agencies and facilitates engagement in the transition processes of key policy areas (for example sector self regulation, economic development or public health). There are also a range of externally funded campaigns and projects which sit within this function of the Association. To find out more visit: www.eelga.gov.uk

Feedback
The East of England LGA would like to hear from you. Please contact info@eelga.gov.uk with comments or suggestions on any aspect of our work.

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