The biweekly efficiency and improvement bulletin is produced by the LIFT SW Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.
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Construction Framework South West
Public sector authorities across the south west are forming a partnership to work together to secure large building contracts.
The project aims to simplify the process by which partner authorities commission large construction projects, and with it bring significant cost savings.It will operate under the banner of ‘Construction Framework South West’.
Devon County Council (as the host organisation) is leading the initiative with funding from South West RIEP.
To make the procurement process more efficient, the new initiative will allow public bodies across the south west to appoint from a set of contractors that have been thoroughly screened and have provided competitive rates to carry out works.
Download additional information from the following link:
http://www.southwestiep.gov.uk/news/latestnews/constructionframework.htm
For more information contact:
Tony Gale – tony.gale@beaufortwest.co.uk, 07894 439817
Climate Change
The South West Regional Assembly endorsed without the South West Climate Change Action Plan at their full meeting on 18 July 2008. The plan was produced thorough a core group of key regional partners and has enabled the South West to express its top ten priorities on action to tackle and adapt to climate related impacts.
The Action Plan has a direct relationship to the SW RIEP Climate Change Delivery Plan and many of the actions will be supported directly and indirectly through there resources available to the RIEP.
For more information about the Climate Change Action Plan follow this link: http://www.southwest-ra.gov.uk/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=3803&tt=swra
GO Awards 2008
South West RIEP would like to congratulate the 2008 winners of the Government Opportunity (GO) awards.The winners in the south west region are:
- GO Sustainability Award – Sustainability Innovation Group, Exeter City Council
- GO Award for Improved Delivery Through Greater Third Sector Involvement – Dorset Partnership for Older People Project, Dorset County Council
Download additional information from the following link:
http://www.goawards.co.uk/awards/categories.htm
Cleaning Supplies Contract
Do you have a contract for cleaning supplies that is open to other authorities? Weymouth and Portland Borough Council have a small spend and would like to join an existing contract.
If you can help, contact:
Leta Chalker (Weymouth and Portland Borough Council) - 01305 838484
Voice Over IP Telephony Services
Useful research undertaken on behalf of South Gloucestershire Council to determine whether there are any telephony Voice over IP contracts in operation or in process across the UK has been made available to all authorities.
Download the research from the following link:
http://www.southwestiep.gov.uk/workstreams/procurement/contractevaluationservice.htm
Procuring temporary staff best practice guide
The best practice guide on Transforming the Procurement of Temporary, Agency and Interim Staff entitled ‘Your Toolkit for Success’ has been produced by the London Borough of Havering and the London Centre of Excellence.
Download the guide from the following link:
http://www.ogc.gov.uk/temporarystaff_7133.asp
A Providers Guide to Housing Care Procurement
A Sitra publication designed to ease the process of procuring services for those working within the housing care and support sector was launched by Baroness Andrew at the NHF Housing Care and Support conference. The guide funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government offers readers a step-by-step analysis of the procurement process and offers helpful suggestions, insights and case histories from organisations who have tendered for services.
Download the guide from the following link:
http://www.sitra.org.uk/fileadmin/sitra_user/TEMP/A_Provider_s_Guide_to_
Procurement_for_website.pdf
Political Support Staff – Leadership Academy Programme
As more councils appoint political support staff to work with their Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Independent councillors, different ways of doing the job are emerging.
This new programme for political support staff is designed to discuss, encourage and share best practice in a supportive cross-party environment.
Download additional information from the following link:
http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=8017197
Place Survey Manual 2008-09
The Place Survey Technical Manual aims to provide Local Authorities with all the information they will require to run the survey in their localities, including a timetable for the survey, sampling methods and the sampling frame, options for running the survey in two tier areas, and how to submit survey results to the Audit Commission. The manual also provides advice on the strategies local authorities can use in order to maximise response rates.
Download additional information from the following link:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/placesurveymanual0809
Managing Your Grey Fleet
Grey Fleet travel refers to mileage in employee-owned vehicles - a grey area, where millions of hidden miles are travelled each year and often overlooked by employers and employees alike.
In the public sector, evidence indicates that grey fleet makes up around 57% of total road mileage. This means that if you are a public sector organisation looking to make cost savings, reduce environmental impact, or better manage the risks related to driving for work, grey fleet is an important place to focus your attention.
Do you know how many grey fleet miles your employees travel each year?Many public sector organisations have been surprised to uncover the extent of the mileage covered in grey fleet vehicles.
Download additional information about grey fleet, the ways you can better manage it, and the potential benefits of better management from the following link:
http://www.ogc.gov.uk/commodities_procurement_fleet_7117.asp
Improvement Express July 08
Download the latest edition of IDeA’s Improvement Express from the following link:
http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=8595499
