Regional Roundup
Improvement and Efficiency South East (IESE) Awards Ceremony 2011
IESE hosted their annual awards ceremony on 22 March 2011. Eastbourne Borough Council was awarded Council of the Year, following their work to overhaul organisational culture and performance, resulting in service improvements and better outcomes for the area. Awards in other areas were given to Waverley Borough Council for delivering efficiency and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead for progress through transparency.
Commercial Relationship Programme (CRP) for Waste Services
IESE have launched a Commercial Relationship Programme to bring together local authorities and suppliers to negotiate value for money, without compromising on service quality. The region's lead on waste, Michael Coughlin, Chief Executive of Reading Borough Council, has written to chief executives in the area to explain the principles behind the CRP. Councils are being targeted if they have at least three years left on their contract and their supplier has more than four current long term contracts in the region.
Funding Received for Work to Review Transport for Children's Services
IESE and the South East Directors of Children's Services have secured funding from the Department of Transport to work with providers of Special Educational Needs transport. A regional workshop was organised by Bracknell Forest Council to review current best practice and to assess how resources can be best allocated and where service improvements can be made.
Surrey Construction Framework Plans Underway
The Surrey local authorities have agreed the first stage sign off for their three construction procurement frameworks:
- Consultancy framework for projects up to £3million
- Construction framework for construction or refurbishment projects up to £3million
- Maintenance/facilities management framework.
Detailed proposals will be considered and consulted upon, with a view to issuing an OJEU notice.