News Summary of Collaboration and Shared Services from 13th January 2016

Welcome back to your weekly collaboration and shared service working update. In 2015, this SSA newsletter linked you to 370 collaborative news articles and 230 shared service or collaborative working jobs postings. Also you can see examples of the project work SSA delivered in 2015 by clicking here.

What are your 2016 predictions for collaborative transformation and shared service work? Email me your wildest suggestions and we can see if they happen!

We’ve got a smug smile already! Over two years ago we predicted that police and fire would be merged into a single first responder service. That has now begun, with the announcement that Home Office are now in charge of both police and fire services (see below).
So my first prediction for 2016 is that we will see a number of established shared services beginning to be unpicked and closed, because the current partners fall outside new boundary lines drawn by combined authorities and city deals. Rob Neill (SSA) wrote a really helpful article on closing down a shared service, in the current edition of Collaborative Transformation Magazine which is well worth reading and storing in your Highway Code.

My second prediction for 2016 is that we will see more major project problems in Health & Social Care activity in 2016. Not because of underfunding, but because of a lack of collaboration skills training for those thrust into working on it. They need more people like you working in that sector.

So email me with your predictions for the year and we will publish them anonymously.

Here is your relevant collaboration and shared service news from the last two weeks…

 

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Devolution

Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire launch 'North Midlands' devolution deal

Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire's joint bid to secure extra powers is now called the North Midlands, rather than the East Midlands, devolution deal. Read more >>>

Devolution is as much about sharing power as gaining it

There seems little doubt that devolution will be the chief driver of public service reform in 2016. Local leaders are enthusiastically negotiating devolution deals as a means to bring decisions about public spending closer to themselves and the public they represent. Read more >>>

South entrance ‘helps make case for city region devolution deal’

West Yorkshire Combined Authority chairman Peter Box pointed to the new Leeds station entrance as an example of why more Government powers should be devolved to the region. Read more >>>

'Let's get on with it' Chancellor sets a March deadline for signing off Cardiff City Deal  

George Osborne said he believes the City Deal can transform Cardiff in the same way the development around Cardiff Bay did and has set a deadline of March for it to be signed. Read more >>>

************ Local Government

Chief executive stands aside as rival takes top job in merger of council services

A council chief executive will leave her job in March after her post is merged with a neighbouring authority. Jenny Rowlands will leave Lewes District Council after deciding against applying for a new merged role with Eastbourne Borough Council. Read more >>>

Staffordshire's £7.2bn budget must work even harder, declares county leader in new year message

The biggest single challenge facing the public sector in Staffordshire in 2016 will be making its £7.2 billion budget 'work even better and even harder' than it is now, according to the county council's leader. Read more >>>

************ Blue Light Transformation

DCLG hands over fire and rescue authorities to Home Office

The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) will hand over responsibility for fire and rescue authorities to the Home Office to support the “radical transformation” of how these services can collaborate with the police. Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed that this transfer will see the Home Office’s Mike Penning MP become minister for policing, fire, criminal justice and victims. Read more >>>

Mixed views over shared-use station

Fire union bosses have expressed concerns about plans for a purpose-built station with the ambulance service in Wigan. Read more >>>

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Central Government

Companies House and Intellectual Property Office save £1.5 million with shared solution

Companies House, the Government agency for incorporating and dissolving limited companies, and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the body responsible for intellectual property rights, will save £1.5 million supported by a shared finance system from Advanced Business Solutions. Read more >>>

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