News Update

Week Ending 7th July 2006

AES Deadlines - Latest Information

Latest information from Michael Leah at DCLG re AES Backward Look Deadlines:  As with the last couple of AES rounds, the ESD-toolkit template will remain open after the 6 July deadline for submissions.

If you are unable to get final sign-off for the statement by the 6th July, you should mark the statement "DRAFT - Subject to approval" and submit it by the deadline. Then, when approval is reached, you can amend and resubmit the statement as appropriate.

Any council that thinks it cannot submit even a draft statement by 6 July should let DCLG know first, rather than simply assume that a statement can be submitted after the deadline!

As set out in Chapter 8 (pg44) of the May guidance, the online submission facility will remain open until the end of August so that councils can amend their statements online if necessary, including in response to any queries or points raised by departments following their review of the initial statements submitted by 6th July.

Revised AES Guidance - Fire and Rescue Service

Revised AES guidance is now available and is live on the DCLG website http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1163104 

The revised guidance includes the launch of the ESD-toolkit forum for Fire and Rescue (moderated by the SW CoE) and a number of references to individual Centre's websites for further information.

Trial Template for Completing AES’s

The Regional Centres of Excellence have received an Excel template from Michael Leah at the DCLG.  This tool has been developed by colleagues at the London Borough of Sutton to ease the completion of annual efficiency statements.   The tool has not yet been tested and we fully realise that it may be a bit late for this year's AES statement.   Nevertheless, we do feel that it is worth a look and if you can give it a trial and feed back to us any comments that you have, we would be most grateful.  The template is available via this link - http://www.eastspace.net/eecpe/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=6271

North West Centre of Excellence Business Plan 2006/8

The NWCE Business Plan  and Business Framework Document are now available to download.  These can also be accessed via the NWCE website.

If you have any queries please contact the NWCE. 

NWCE Project Management Guidance and Templates 

Guidance and templates for project management are now available on the NWCE website.  Please send any feedback regarding this documentation to Beverley Brooks at the NWCE.

The Waste Information Network (WIN) is now live! 

What can it do for me?

·   Provide up-to-date waste management information to support decision making

·   Provide useful contacts and networks

·   May help improve your Annual Efficiency Statement (AES)

·   Provide procurement support for waste management contracts

Go to http://www.sece.gov.uk/page.asp?PageRef=95. If you have any questions email  WIN@sece.gov.uk

OGC.Buying Solutions - Top 50 North West Agreements

OGC.Buying Solutions have provided details of what they see as their top 50 agreements for North West authorities. Where available, it also includes independent and endorsed price benchmark figures for the 'great deals' and other offerings. The spreadsheet included hyperlinks to their website for further details but an OGC.BS login will be required to see full details.

The spreadsheet also include information on North West suppliers within those frameworks. This will be of great assistance for those with initiatives around keeping spend within the region.

If you have any feedback on any of these deals please contact NWCE. 

Role of Third Sector in Local Services Enhanced…..

The role of the third sector in local service delivery was enhanced as Local Government Minister Phil Woolas outlined measures to strengthen the sector's relationship with local government, and explore new and growth areas for the sector.

The package includes the development of regional and local networks between the two sectors. The North East Regional Centre of Excellence will be appointed as lead centre on Third Sector issues working with the IDeA and 4Ps to develop a national programme of capacity building work to improve commissioning and procurement practices. More

Business Process Architecture

The DCLG is delighted to promote the outputs of a Business Process Architecture Local Authority led initiative which has delivered a comprehensive set of processes that will provide an excellent foundation for efficiency gains work in any Authority.

This is a strategic tool that will help Council Executives gain a better understanding of their own organisations. It provides a living management tool for improvement and it will help link strategic plans to priority service and process improvements. It will enable Executives to identify opportunities for greater collaborative working and shared service provision.

For more information follow this link - http://www.rce.gov.uk/rce/core/page.do?pageId=20201 or you can contact Phil.swann@nwegg.org.uk or Nicky.jackman@communities.gsi.gov.uk

DCLG Efficiency News

The latest edition of the newsletter is available to download - Efficiency News Issue 7 (PDF, 32 pages, 439KB)

NWCE Stakeholder Event – 14th September 2006

Phil Woolas MP, Minister for Local Government, will be the keynote speaker at the NWCE’s third stakeholder event on 14th September. 

The event at the City of Manchester Stadium will also be attended by Sue Reid, Head of Modernisation and Efficiency, DCLG.

The day will include examples of good practice in procurement and shared services and workshops on a variety of subjects including the lead role of members, collaboration opportunities and ‘quick wins’ efficiency gains.

Further information on the event will be available in due course, however in the meantime if you have any queries please contact the NWCE.

eInvoicing Event – Last Places Available

There has been huge demand for this event but a number of places are still available. The NWCE is now in discussion with OGC.BuyingSolutions about eInvoicing and invoice consolidation with their framework suppliers that may also help in this area. Please email Rebecca McDevitt at NWCE to reserve a place. The full agenda is attached.

Energy Procurement and Efficiency

There are still a number of places available for the Energy Procurement workshop on 28th July. 9.30am – 1.00pm The Red Rose Hub, near Preston. The event will look at procurement methods and how efficiencies can be obtained. Please email Rebecca McDevitt to reserve a place. View the full agenda.

An update will also be given on a national event attended by the NWCE that looked at reducing the need for energy consultants, utilizing the Carbon Trust organisation and additional funding (upto £30m) now available for micro generation initiatives.

Procurement Event – 3rd October – Manchester

Advance notice on what plans to be an invaluable procurement event looking at quick wins for North West authorities. The full details are being finalized but please keep the 3rd October free. More details will be made available over the next few weeks.