News Summary of Collaboration and Shared Services from 1st October 2014

Not unexpectedly, the public sector is being prepared for the next round of cuts. If you have been following the party conferences there is no suggestion that the cuts will stop, other than in the NHS. Many would argue that if English local government has suffered over 30% cuts already and the perceived quality of their services has risen, maybe the NHS should have a dose of cuts too…

Worst austerity still to come, public sector warned

Public sector austerity is set to continue for another five years, outgoing civil service Chief, Sir Bob Kerslake has warned. Read more >>>

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Local Government

However, the collaborative transformation that the cuts are forcing into place, is evidencing results across the public sector and even the Welsh Councils are beginning to move…

Welsh authorities tender for shared public protection framework

19 local authorities formally commit to supporting framework to facilitate shared code and tools for developing public protection services. Read more >>>

Welsh councils urged to push ahead with voluntary mergers

Local authorities in Wales have been urged to agree voluntary mergers to end uncertainty for staff and service users, by Minister For Public Services Leighton Andrews. Read more >>>

Last week I provided you with examples of how councils are telling their collaborative working stories to residents, through the local press. We have pride in the progress of this project, announced through the local press, as it is led by one of our SSAs, who completed the Canterbury Christ Church University Postgraduate Certificate in Shared Services a couple of years ago and has put other members of her team through the Shared Service Practitioner Programme...

Councils bank £775,000 shared service windfall

A grant totalling over three quarters of a million pounds has been shared between Stratford District Council and neighbouring local authorities in recognition of their ongoing efforts to reduce spending through the sharing of services. Read more >>>

Housing

I was in Leeds yesterday, delivering a teaching slot at a National Housing Federation meeting. The audience were 11 chief execs of smaller housing associations in Yorkshire. What struck me was the passion that they felt for the wellbeing of their residents. That same passion is captured in this set of case studies of how Welsh HAs have changed residents’ lives. If you can weave this kind of passion into your shared vision documents it will massively increase your potential for success…

How the housing sector in Wales is working in their communities

We have always said that housing associations provide so much more than bricks and mortar, we invest in communities and change lives. Read more >>>

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News Summary of Collaboration and Shared Services from 24th September 2014

Whenever I mention that women are better at collaborative working than men, I get smiles and scowls (guess which belongs to which). My theory is supported by this article so I am all smiles…

Superman style leaders are alienating women: why can't we solve this?

A recent Aspire survey found over 40% of women identify themselves with a “collaborative” leadership style: working with others to achieve results rather than being a solo manager who leads from the front. Read more >>>

 

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Local Government

It has been quiet on the collaboration newswires this week. However, the announcement of the Transformation Challenge Fund pay-outs last week has galvanised a number of partnerships to move forward with their shared service projects. Here are the stories they are telling their residents…

A welcome boost of £970,000 for a shared ICT service

A shared ICT service across three councils in Devon, expected to be up and running by November, has just received a £970,000 boost from the government. Read more >>>

Councils bank £775,000 shared service windfall

A grant totalling over three quarters of a million pounds has been shared between Stratford District Council and neighbouring local authorities in recognition of their ongoing efforts to reduce spending through the sharing of services. Read more >>>

With those projects in mind, there is still time to apply to join the six-month Postgraduate Certificate in Shared Services from Canterbury Christ Church University. The formal programme starts on 8^th October in London. Click here for more details.

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Health

This is an interesting joint-venture between BUPA (half-year income £4.8bn for 2014) and the mutual Community Services Enterprise (NHS) Surrey to deliver a service for a third organisation. Is this commissioning in action…?

NHS Coastal West Sussex to provide faster, co-ordinated musculoskeletal treatment

The NHS Coastal West Sussex Commissioning Group (CCG) will sign a £235 million integrated musculoskeletal services contract with Bupa and local community services enterprise NHS Surrey. The joint venture between Bupa and NHS Surrey will hold responsibility for providing joined up musculoskeletal services that will speed up treatment delivery and curb the bureaucracy previously seen under trusts.  Patients will be able to access physiotherapy, Musculoskeletal Assessment Triage Treatment team (MATT) care, Extended Scope Physiotherapy (ESP) and podiatry and rheumatology, as well as chronic pain clinics. Read more >>>

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News Summary of Collaboration and Shared Services from 17th September 2014

There has been a mix of good and not so good collaborative news this week. I promise to try not to mention the Scottish vote tomorrow…

 

Local Government

A bit of good news is that £9m of new money has been lavished on councils to develop shared services. (Contact me if you feel skills development would be helpful!)…

Winning councils named for £9m shared services fund

A £9m Government fund has been divided between 80 councils to support joint service improvements, including three districts set to share a chief executive. Read more >>>

The bit of bad news is that they are going to need the money…and if the Scots get the kind of support promised by the party leaders if there is a NO vote, then it’s most likely to be councils who will have that additional cost deducted from their budgets, as outlined in this article…

Day-to-day public services to bear brunt of government spending cuts

Day-to-day public services will bear the brunt of swinging spending cuts as the government returns Britain to its first budget surplus for 18 years, according to analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Read more >>>

This article on Joint CEOs confirms that, when times get tough, many cabinets would prefer to have their own senior executive within their building. Is that sensible or just a failure to change, by the councillors, to a new way of working?…

Barking and Dagenham to stop sharing chief exec with Thurrock

“Very difficult” times lie ahead for Barking and Dagenham Council, its leader has said, with plans revealed today to replace the chief executive it shares with Thurrock and recruit a full-time skipper to navigate the choppy waters. Read more >>>

Welsh Local Government

The discussions on a new structure for councils in Wales, continues to simmer. However they may be eclipsed by the vote in Scotland tomorrow. If it’s “No” and the Scots get the funding of the “VOW” that appeared in the Daily Record yesterday, Wales is likely to demand the same. If it’s “YES” the focus is likely to move to the overall impact on Wales and new powers that the Assembly will want over taxation, etc…

Denbighshire to explore merger with Conway

Councillors at Denbighshire County Council have voted to explore the possibility of a voluntary merger with Conwy County Borough Council. Read more >>>

Four new 'super councils' proposed by Welsh Local Government Association as alternative to mergers

Four “super councils” like Greater Manchester’s regional authority should be created in Wales, a report from the body that represents the nation’s councils has suggested. Read more >>>

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Health & Housing

Health and Housing is an emerging collaborative working area and the language that is being used suggests they need people like you to step in and lubricate some of the discussions to improve their effectiveness. For example, the language in this helpful document seems to be about how housing can take money off health – not a particularly collaborative approach. However it is a good document and worth reading…

Prescription for Success - a guide to the health economy

Prescription for Success is a new guide which aims to transform housing associations’ offer to health, enabling them to build a robust business case to commissioners and become a crucial part of the future of the NHS. Read more >>>

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Blue Light Collaborations

Maybe the Scots could potentially teach us a thing or two about integrated Blue Light Working. They have been working on integration and single police and fire services for a number of years and we should track their success, or stumbles, closely…

Police, ambulance and fire services 'need integrating'

Police, ambulance and fire services in England and Wales need to be "integrated" to save money, the Home Secretary Theresa May has said. Read more >>>

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A Wall-poster For Your Office

Only our cousins in the USA would consider producing this wall poster on the ABCs of integration. Personally the Morecambe and Wise song “A: you’re adorable, B: you’re so beautiful…” would be preferable…

Collaboration Is as Easy as Knowing Your ABCs

Sadly, many leaders and employees simply don't know how to be collaborative. They'd rather hoard documents on their hard drive, take credit for ideas, close their office door and pretend no one else is around or complete an action without ever asking anyone for input or advice. Read more >>>

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