Government Business 22.5

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

WATER MANAGEMENT

COMMUNITY

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk | VOLUME 22.5

Business Information for Local and Central Government ENERGY

STORING UP ON ENERGY Will energy storage provide a breakthrough for the energy sector?

WASTE MANAGEMENT

DOING MORE WITH LESS

The best ways to create a more resource efficient society

URBAN REGENERATION

PLACE MAKING

Constructing greener, more sustainable areas

ation Inform and g sharin st GT te the la n p72 o news

PLUS: FINANCE | RISK MANAGEMENT | SALTEX | CCS FRAMEWORKS

32 MILE ELECTRIC RANGE

Compare the tax savings of running a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV as your company car against these market leaders.

148 MPG

510 MILE COMBINED RANGE

LOW COMPANY CAR TAX

OUTLANDER PHEV GX4H AUTO

HONDA CR-V EX AUTO

BMW X3 XDRIVE 30D SE AUTO

AUDI Q5 S-LINE PLUS AUTO

MERCEDES E-CLASS E250 CDI SE AUTO

COST OF THE CAR - P11D VALUE

£37,8997

£31,535

£39,860

£38,945

£37,365

GOVERNMENT GRANT REDUCTION

£5,000

£0

£0

£0

£0

ADJUSTED FINAL PRICE

£32,899

£31,535

£39,860

£38,945

£37,365

CO2 EMISSIONS G/KM

44

179

156

157

129

BENEFIT IN KIND RATE

5%

30%

29%

29%

23%

VEHICLE BENEFIT CHARGE WITHOUT FUEL PROVIDED

£758

£3,784

£4,624

£4,518

£3,438

THE EXTRA TAX YOU PAY VS PHEV (40% TAXPAYER)

–

£3,026

£3,866

£3,760

£2,680

£1,200

£6,436

£7,187

£7,081

£5,471

–

£5,236

£5,987

£5,881

£4,271

VEHICLE BENEFIT CHARGE WITH FUEL PROVIDED THE EXTRA TAX YOU PAY VS PHEV (40% TAXPAYER)

Discover how. Search PHEV. Visit: mitsubishi-cars.co.uk to find your nearest dealer

WE HAVEN’T JUST MADE HISTORY

WE’RE MAKING IT CHEAPER TO COMMUTE IN A LUXURY 5 SEAT 4WD SUV The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is cutting costs across the country - and now you can save £1,000s a year on your commute1. This intelligent hybrid decides when it’s more efficient to use petrol or electricity, giving it the ability to deliver a staggering 148mpg2 and creates a fraction of the CO2 emissions of a conventional car. Business users only pay 5% Benefit in Kind rather than the 25%+ that most pay, plus it’s exempt from road tax and the London Congestion Charge3. In full electric mode it has a range of up to 32 miles, so it easily tackles the UK’s average daily commute on a single charge, meaning petrol consumption is minimal. Its battery can be charged in just a few hours via a domestic plug socket4, a low-cost home Charge Point5 or one of over 7,500 Charge Points found across the UK. For longer journeys the 2.0 litre petrol engine helps out, giving you a combined range of over 510 miles6.

There’s even £5,000 off the list price through the Government Plug-in Car Grant, which means an Outlander PHEV will cost you from just £28,2497, the same price as the Outlander Diesel – and it comes with a 5 year warranty8.

We’ve made history, you just need to make time to find out how we can save you £1,000s. We call this Intelligent Motion.

Compare the corporation tax savings of a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV against a typical company car.

PROFIT BEFORE TAX (PBT) TAX RATE

9

LIST PRICE OF VEHICLE CAPITAL ALLOWANCE

TYPICAL VEHICLE

OUTLANDER PHEV

£100,000

£100,000

20%

20%

£33,000

£32,899

8%

100%

CAPITAL ALLOWANCE (£)

£2,640

£32,899

TAXABLE PROFIT (ON £100,000 PBT)

£97,360

£67,101

CORPORATION TAX (NO VEHICLE PURCHASE)

£20,000

£20,000

CORPORATION TAX (WITH VEHICLE PURCHASE)

£19,472

£13,420

£528

£6,580

SAVING DUE TO CAPITAL ALLOWANCE

THE UK’s FAVOURITE PLUG-IN HYBRID

BUYING A PHEV WILL SAVE YOU A TOTAL OF £6,052 IN CORPORATION TAX (YEAR 1)

1. Outlander PHEV GX4h compared with Honda CR-V, BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Mercedes E-Class – average saving £5,555pa for a 40% taxpayer. The savings for business drivers with a company fuel card are higher. 2. Official EU MPG test figure shown as a guide for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving results. 3. Congestion Charge application required, subject to administrative fee. 4. Domestic plug charge: 5 hours, 16 Amp home charge point: 3.5 hours, 80% rapid charge: 30mins. 5. Government subsidised charge points are available from a number of suppliers for a small fee - ask your dealer for more information. 6. 32 mile EV range achieved with full battery charge. 510 miles achieved with combined full battery and petrol tank. Actual range may vary depending on driving style and road conditions. 7. Prices shown include the Government Plug-in Car Grant and VAT (at 20%), but exclude First Registration Fee. Model shown is an Outlander PHEV GX4h at £33,399 including the Government Plug-in Car Grant and metallic paint. On The Road prices range from £28,304 to £40,054 and include VED, First Registration Fee and the Government Plug-in Car Grant. Metallic/pearlescent paint extra. Prices correct at time of going to print. For more information about the Government Plug-in Car Grant please visit www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants. The Government Plug in Car Grant is subject to change at any time, without prior notice. 8. All new Outlander PHEV variants come with a 5 year/62,500 mile warranty (whichever occurs first), for more information please visit www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/warranty. 9. From 1st April 2015.

Outlander PHEV range fuel consumption in mpg (ltrs/100km): Full Battery Charge: no fuel used, Depleted Battery Charge: 48mpg (5.9), Weighted Average: 148mpg (1.9), CO2 Emissions: 44 g/km.

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Contents

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

CONTENTS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS 22.5 07 GB NEWS

11

Devolution deal deadline reached; Funding cut warning; Public transport reviews; and Rotherham Council action

11 FINANCE

Simon Goldie of the Finance & Leasing Association explores the challenge posed by growing demands and tighter budgets

15 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Design Thinking can be applied to FM through strategic and operational delivery. The British Institute of Facilities Management puts it to the test

21 ENERGY

The Renewable Energy Association analyse the role of energy storage in light of the latest KPMG report

24 WASTE MANAGEMENT Steve Lee, of the Chartered Institiute of Waste Management says waste and recycling should be more of a consideration for local authorities

27 WATER MANAGEMENT

Alastair Moselely of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management discusses the importance of creating more sustainable environments

21 42

32 RISK MANAGEMENT

Peter Andrews asks what is good risk management, answering using data collected from public service organisations over the last five years

35 ROAD EXPO SCOTLAND Road Expo 2015 is Scotland’s largest traffic management and highway maintenance event, taking place on 4-5 November at the Royal Highland Centre

39 URBAN REGENERATION

Urban regeneration is important in creating more sustainable places. Juliana O’Rourke at RUDI looks at regeneration for public benefit in towns and councils

42 COMMUNITY FIRST

The Community Development Foundation discusses the First Steps programme and how its community-led focus is helping to turn policies into action

45 SALTEX 2015 75

The UK’s national event for grounds care, sports, amenities, estates and green space management moves from an outdoor venue to the halls of the NEC Birmingham on 4-5 November

Government Business

48 DEVELOPMENT

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development examines how the evolution development can adapt to the modern workplace

51 WORLD OF LEARNING

Global public affair learning and development professionals are to provide insight at this year’s World of Learning Conference & Exhibition at the NEC

55 THE OFFICE SHOW

Combining a world-class training programme and sophisticated exhibition, the Office Show takes place at Olympia, London on 13-14 October 2015

58 EMERGENCY SERVICES

The Emergency Services Show returns to the NEC on 23-24 September with thousands of visitors expected to attend from across the emergency service sector

61 LUXLIVE 2015

Local authorities are coming together with suppliers and funders of LED lighting to map out the future at LuxLive on 18-19 November

67 CONFERENCES & EVENTS Manchester can accommodate all events, meetings and conferences. Visit Manchester analyses its success story

70 IFSEC INTERNATIONAL

IFSEC enjoyed another successful year in 2015. Government Business reviews Europe’s largest security event

75 INFO TECHNOLOGY

Phil Gibson discusses Innopsis’s plans to further facilitate safe information sharing for more efficient and effective public services

79 IP EXPO 2015

IP Expo returns to the ExCeL on 7-8 October to showcase the latest IT innovations

83 ENTERPRISES John Allen, of the Federation of Small Businesses, questions what do we really mean when we talk about working with SMEs?

89 FRAMEWORKS

ISS

Turn to UE 13.5 p latest age 72 for t g h techno overnment e logy ne ws

Government Business analyses the latest Crown Commercial Service Frameworks for public spending

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

5

FUNDING

Councils face £10 billion extra costs by 2020, LGA warns

Councils across England and Wales cannot cope with further funding cuts and are facing a shortfall of £10 billion, The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.

In a comprehensive submission to the Treasury ahead of the November Spending Review, the LGA has warned Chancellor George Osborne to fully consider the effect on services if funding is cut further.

Council funding has been cut by 40 per cent since 2010 and the LGA fears that the Spending Review will not take into account the added pressures councils are facing.

The LGA’s analysis claims that government policies introduced over the next five years will cost councils £6.3 billion, on top of £3.6 billion ‘business as usual’ costs.

It claims the ‘business as usual’ costs account for pressures to maintain services at their current level due to demand-led and inflation pressures. The added costs will come from new policies such as: Exempting house builders from Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy payments; Reducing rents paid by social housing tenants by one per cent a year, which will cost councils £2.6 billion; Increased National Insurance contributions of £797 million

a year following the end of state pension contracted out arrangements in 2016; and setting aside £1.75 billion to cover the high volume of business rate appeals expected when the 2017 revaluation is introduced.

LGA Chairman Gary Porter said: “November’s Spending Review will be critical for the future of our public services over the next decade. Our new analysis shows the significant spending pressures facing councils over the next few years even before the possibility of further funding reductions.

“Leaving councils to pick up the bill for new national policies while being handed further spending reductions cannot be an option.

“Enormous pressure will be heaped on already stretched local services if the government fails to fully assess the impact of these unfunded cost burdens when making its spending decisions for the next five years. Vital services, such as caring for the elderly, protecting children, collecting bins, filling potholes and maintaining our parks and green spaces, will simply struggle to continue at current levels.”

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/ne4r97t

ROAD SAFETY

Safer Lorry Scheme launched in the Capital

GB News

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

All HGVs that do not have basic safety equipment designed to protect and keep safe cyclists and pedestrians will be banned or fined under London’s ‘Safer Lorry Scheme’.

Drivers could face fines of up to £1,000 if they enter Greater London without sideguards and class V and class VI wide-angle mirrors.

London Mayor Boris Johnson hopes to improve the scheme further by requiring HGVs to have bigger mirrors fitted to the lower side of the cab door, in a bid to ensure drivers have a clear view of cyclists alongside them.

Johnson said: “We are ahead of any other part of the UK in closing the legal loopholes that allowed many HGVs to operate without basic safety equipment, and I am delighted that over the 18 months since we announced the safer lorry scheme the vast majority of operators have got the message and fitted safety equipment to their vehicles in anticipation of the ban.

“This big step forward is only one element of my work to protect cyclists and pedestrians from lorries. I propose to require further safety modifications to all HGVs in London, including the retrofitting of bigger side windows to further reduce the driver blind spots that contribute to so many tragic accidents.”

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/qypdaas

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Combined Authority to review public transport

COUNCIL HOUSES

Council criticised for not informing homeowners of restrictions on ex-council homes South Oxfordshire Council has been criticised by the Local Government Ombudsman Dr Jane Martin for not giving home owners the full information regarding restrictions on selling their property.

Two homeowners struggled to sell their homes as they were not aware of restrictions under Section 157 that meant the properties could only be sold to people from specific areas.

The Ombudsman also said that the council had not checked if the owners

had been entitled to purchase the property originally, which had been bought under the Right to Buy scheme.

The homeowners argued that they would not have bought their properties had they known about the restrictions, while the Council has said it is the homeowner’s solicitors job to check the full details of restrictions on property.

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/orker2v

The North East Combined Authority is conducting a review of public transport across the region.

The authority’s overview and scrutiny committee will also consider what alternative transport could be provided to support people into permanent employment. The review, which will publish its findings in March next year, will look at the accessibility and availability of public transport in the area, and will call on the public to report any problems they face in travelling to work or education.

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/oa3s5ud

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

7

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DEVOLUTION

Devolution deals near deadline Councils have been submitting their plans to the government ahead of the Treasury’s 4 September deadline for devolution proposals.

City and county areas have been encouraged in recent months to look into devolution benefits, and many are expected to make their case for greater powers, whether that be through financial freedoms or greater control over services such as health, transport and housing.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has advised that at least £60 billion of central government spending in the next five years should be devolved to local areas.

LGA chairman Gary Porter said: “It is time to spend smarter on infrastructure to get maximum value from every public pound. This starts with a much more effective and efficient approach to investing in local growth and regeneration. With devolved decision making and funding, local areas can also better gear the skills system to tackle unemployment and underemployment and close skills gaps.

“Devolution is not an end in itself. If our public services are to survive the next five years, councils also need fairer funding alongside the freedom to pay for them.”

Of those bids already submitted, Gloucestershire is calling for control of all health care budgets, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire have made their case for a 10-year transport settlement and fully devolved housing investment, while the Liverpool city region is proposing to retain 100 per cent of business rates.

Elsewhere, West Yorkshire council leaders have announced that a devolution bid will be launched for the Leeds City Region. The

Gary Porter, chairman, Local Government Association

bid will outline plans for devolved economic powers, including new powers to generate income for infrastructure projects.

Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield, Craven, Harrogate, Selby and the City of York are all involved in the bid, and council leaders have said they would be willing to introduce an elected metro-mayor.

Councillor Peter Box, leader of Wakefield Council, said: “Today we had a constructive meeting with leaders of neighbouring councils and Lord O’Neill ahead of us submitting to government an ambitious devolution proposal that will mean better infrastructure, jobs and housing.”

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/o2j8z9y

LITTER

Councils should use more innovation to keep streets clean, says report The government has said full powers will not be returned to Rotherham Council until 2019, following a sexual abuse scandal in 2014.

Full powers were revoked from the Council after a report from Professor Alexis Jay estimated 1,400 girls had been sexually abused in the region from 1997 to 2013, prompting Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to formally intervene. Council functions will be gradually returned between now and March 2019, with the improvement board installed last year remaining in place, as well as new measures to ensure there can be no cover ups across local government.

The government response to the Communities and Local Government select committee’s report on child sexual exploitation in Rotherham said: “All functions are expected to be returned to the council within four years. The terms of the intervention will remain in force until 31 March 2019, unless amended or revoked at an earlier date.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

GB News

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Full powers will not be returned to Rotherham until 2019 The government has said full powers will not be returned to Rotherham Council until 2019, following a sexual abuse scandal in 2014.

Full powers were revoked from the Council after a report from Professor Alexis Jay estimated 1,400 girls had been sexually abused in the region from 1997 to 2013, prompting Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to formally intervene.

Council functions will be gradually returned between now and March 2019, with the improvement board installed last year remaining in place, as well as new measures to ensure there can be no cover ups across local government.

The government response to the Communities and Local Government select committee’s report on child sexual exploitation in Rotherham said: “All functions are expected to be returned to the council within four years. The terms of the intervention will remain in force until 31 March 2019, unless amended or revoked at an earlier date.”

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/py36l8h

£1bn deal put forward

by Scottish Councils Edinburgh and South East Scotland have submitted proposals for a £1 billion funding deal. The move aims to boost the local economy by building on the areas’ strengths.

Councils involved in the bid are East Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian.

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/nk42sem

Think tank calls for more investment in northern powerhouse New guidance will also be published with safeguarding responsibilities, which will include: “a new expectation that all organisations that have safeguarding responsibilities must have internal whistleblowing policies in place, which are then integrated into training and codes of conduct.”

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/p2fcfcw

IPPR North has called on the government to commit to more investment in the northern powerhouse in the upcoming Spending Review. The think tank claims that underperformance in the North is not inevitable, and that the rate of job creation in the North equals the national average.

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/o33v7kp

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

9

LEASING OPTIONS

Written by Simon Goldie, Head of Asset Finance, Finance & Leasing Association

Recognising the benefits of leasing

Finance

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

For many years, UK public services have faced the twin challenges of greater demand and tight budgets. Simon Goldie of the Finance & Leasing Association explores the situation ‘More with less’ is a common refrain across all government departments, but the problem is particularly acute in health and education, where too much pressure on finances could have a very real effect on patient care or children’s schooling.

Smart procurement can go a long way to maintaining quality of service in a budget-constrained environment, which is why the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has been speaking to the government and public sector about the benefits of leasing.

Paying for the use of equipment over an agreed period avoids the need to buy outright, making this type of finance suitable for even the most stringent budgets. In fact, a vast range of items can be leased, including anything from basic office furniture to the most specialised medical equipment.

In addition, finance agreements can often be tailored to the customer’s needs, with flexibility on both the terms and

repayment schedule to help with cash flow or other expenditure constraints.

RESEARCHING OPTIONS There are two main types of lease – operating and finance. An operating lease would generally be used if the customer only wants the equipment for a certain period – so it would be a good choice for leasing items that need to be updated regularly, like IT equipment in schools, or where a hospital needs to ensure it has the latest scanners.

Alternatively, a finance lease might be more appropriate if the asset is to be used for all, or nearly all, of its working life – for example, basic telephony or office equipment.

With any financial undertaking, it’s important to research the options to decide which offers the best value.

Unfortunately, current guidance from the Department for Education limits schools to using operating leases only, because it views finance leases as the ‘equivalent to

Smart can ment procureng way to go a lo ing quality n maintai service of getin a budined constra ment environ

committing the school to a loan’, requiring permission from the Secretary of State. We would like to see the government rethink its current stance, so as to give schools the freedom to lease in the most efficient way.

In 2014, our members provided £26 billion of finance to the business sector and public services, representing almost 28 per cent of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software.

Leasing is becoming much more prominent in the government’s schemes to boost lending for businesses, and we know it can play a greater role in helping public services meet the challenge of greater demand. If you’re considering leasing, the FLA’s basic checklist for Successful Leasing in Schools provides good tips that could even be applied to NHS leasing. Do also get some expert advice from your local authority (LA), the National Association of School Business Management (NASBM) or your NHS adviser.

STARTING TO THINK ABOUT LEASING Before starting to consider leasing, schools will go through their normal commissioning process for the equipment, involving a pre-purchasing review to identify the need, preparing a specification, preparing evaluation 

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

11

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

InnoVent

A 21st Century IT Leasing Company How to deliver “more ICT, IT and technology for less”

InnoVent Leasing 32 Ludgate Hill London EC4M 7DR

InnoVent provides a “fresh” approach to funding ICT and technology assets.

InnoVent is a specialist ICT and IT asset and leasing company that focuses on reducing the cost of technology asset ownership by providing subsidised rental solutions.

InnoVent’s proposition is unique because when their clients have finished using their IT/ICT, InnoVent recycles and upcycles the equipment to provide affordable computing in the developing nations in Africa. A genuine “Win-Win” for all parties involved.

InnoVent’s funding solutions also helps their clients to take care of the environment and give something back to the developing world through the safe and ethical rental and re-rental of technology.

Telephone: 020 7123 4570 Website: www.innovent.co.uk

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

LEASING OPTIONS  criteria and obtaining quotes. As part of the usual commissioning process for equipment compare the cost of leasing with the cost of buying. Make sure you are comparing like with like e.g. include maintenance if appropriate. The most competitive quotes for buying the equipment might come from a supplier that doesn’t offer leasing.

Knowing the finance company is very important. Many businesses offering leasing arrangements to schools are equipment suppliers rather than finance companies themselves. Some large equipment manufacturers supply both the equipment and the finance.

Check whether the company you are speaking to is only an equipment supplier.

If so ask who the finance company would be. Most finance companies are members of the FLA. FLA members follow the FLA’s Business Finance Code which sets out standards for providing information, customer service and complaints procedure.

This is the shortest period for which the school will have to make rental payments for equipment. The period is fixed regardless of other factors, such as the equipment becoming less reliable, changes in the school’s needs or changes in technology.

policies vary depending on the type of school. The school may need to seek local authority or central government approval if it wishes to enter into a finance lease.

Maintained schools must comply with their local authority’s scheme for financing schools and associated financial procedure rules; many schemes require schools to seek approval from their LA before entering leasing arrangements. The lease agreement will sometimes include a maintenance or service arrangement, so if the equipment needs servicing there wouldn’t be an extra charge.

Make sure it’s clear whether maintenance is included or excluded. If it is included, check who would provide it. If you are leasing direct from an equipment manufacturer the maintenance might well be provided from the same company.

Otherwise it is likely to be provided by a separate company to the leasing company.

Check what would happen if the company providing the maintenance went out of business as you could have to continue making rental payments throughout the minimum lease period even if the equipment doesn’t work. Additionally, check what level of service you will get and check the maintenance charges and whether a similar level of service could be obtained from a

Maintained schools must comply with their local authority’s scheme for financing schools and associated financial procedure rules; many schemes require schools to seek approval from their LA before entering leasing arrangements The shorter the minimum lease period, the less likely it is that you could have to continue making rental payments when it is no longer suitable. So consider how long the school has tended to keep similar equipment in the past or speak to other schools with similar equipment.

TYPE OF LEASE A lease is an agreement to rent equipment, not to buy. The school will not own the equipment after the minimum lease period.

Instead, there will usually be the choice of returning the equipment after the minimum lease period, extending the rental period, or purchasing the equipment.

Check what options would be available at the end of the minimum lease period.

If the rental period is extended would the rental payments change? What would it cost to buy the equipment? Note that the option taken at the end of a lease could have a retrospective effect on the type of lease it is – operating or finance.

For accounting purposes, there are different types of leases, referred to as operating leases and finance leases. Check the school’s finance manual. Detailed

different supplier at lower cost. Check whether the maintenance is actually a separate agreement to the lease. If it is, check whether the length of the two agreements is the same and whether notice can be given SUPPLIES AND UPGRADES The lease agreement will sometimes include the provision of supplies, such as paper, bulbs, etc. It is important to check: what would be provided and who would provide it; what would happen if the company providing the supplies went out of business; check whether it would be better value to buy the supplies separately over time as they are needed.

During the minimum lease period an equipment supplier may approach the school and suggest that you change or ‘upgrade’ your existing equipment.

Always consult experts before upgrading, such as the local authority, NASBM or other professional associations.

Keeping the equipment you have and waiting until the end of the minimum lease period will almost always be less expensive than upgrading. Remember the minimum lease period for the existing equipment is fixed, so an upgrade could

Finance

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

leave you paying for two pieces of equipment when you are only using one.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST Used with care, leasing can be a useful way of paying for equipment over the period it will be used, avoiding a large one-off payment, and potentially saving money. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, so get another quote. Incentives to lease, such as ‘cash-backs, ‘subsidised rentals’, offers of the school being used for marketing purposes are all clues that a better deal might be available elsewhere.

Ensure with the supplier that the equipment is new, or if not that you are content that used or refurbished equipment is suitable, and that the minimum period of hire is no longer than your expectation of the working life of the equipment.

Always ensure that the completed contract corresponds with any verbal or written quotation, and that the equipment description accurately reflects what you are agreeing to pay for including any maintenance or services included in the repayments. Ensure that the supplier of any equipment involved is reputable and an accredited supplier of the equipment involved. Make it clear within your own organisation who can sign such agreements.

Read your business finance agreement carefully before signing it and ensure it is correct, particularly in respect of the rental amount and the period of hire.

Never sign a business finance agreement which is not fully completed.

Check the name of the leasing company, and its parent company if relevant, on the page of the lease agreement which you sign and see whether this company is a member of the FLA. Make sure you understand and agree with all terms and conditions of the business finance agreement and, if you are unsure, seek advice.

Make sure you understand the costs involved and whether the business finance agreement allows for any automatic increases in charges.

Check the period of hire, any notice period required for its termination and the settlement terms to be applied on early termination.

Check whether the business finance agreement includes any supply of services and whether this will continue after the minimum or initial period of hire. If you are entering into a separate contract for the provision of service you should check its terms carefully.

If any amendments are made to your contract, or a further contract is required to replace an existing agreement, do not sign it until you have made the same checks as you did for the original agreement. If a new business finance agreement includes an element of refinancing from a previous agreement with a different provider, check that the settlement figure provided by the former provider matches the refinancing figure used by the new provider.  FURTHER INFORMATION www.fla.org.uk

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

13

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DESIGN THINKING

Facilities Management

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Written by Richard Harris, British Institute of Facilities Management

Applying Design Thinking to facilities management Design Thinking can be applied to Facilities Management through strategic, tactical and operational delivery. Richard Harris of the British Institute of Facilities Management puts it to the test No longer is design just for architects, constructors and designers within the built environment, now we can all input design into Facilities Management (FM). With the right knowledge, training, tools, Design Thinking - if done with enthusiasm and commitment - can be the main change catalyst for facilities management. The future of the workplace is personal, and Design Thinking can make it personal.

David Kelley, a professor at Stanford University’s School of Engineering, is one of the pioneering Design Thinking gurus who founded IDEO, the award winning international design and consulting company.

Kelley’s philosophy is that anyone can think like a designer and apply Design Thinking, not to just design products but also services, processes and even business strategy, starting

from the people prospective to what is seen as technologically and commercially practicable.

DESIGN THINKING Google and Apple are the well known examples of businesses that have used Design Thinking. In the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) has developed a people centric innovation work process using Design Thinking as the enabler.

Design Thinking is now viewed as an innovative business method to solve problems

and aid transformation to achieve outstanding results in the business world. Recently the multinational management, consulting firm McKinsey & Company made its first acquisition of a design firm, to accelerate design within the business world.

A clear sign that Design Thinking is fast becoming a valuable part of business.

The facilities management industry has moved forward at a frantic pace over the last decade and evolved over time from the traditional building and service activities to become a complex management discipline. Owners, architects, designers, constructors, FM service 

Desig Thinkin n an inno g is busines vative solve p s method to aid tranroblems and s for out formation stan results ding

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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DESIGN THINKING î † providers, corporate real estate, in-house FM departments and occupiers can all benefit from Design Thinking. Managing contractors, suppliers, clients, inter-departmental working and various projects and programmes can be complex to control for facilities management professionals and the best results may not be achieved without Design Thinking.

Facilities management companies around the world are now more than ever looking for ways to differentiate themselves from competitors through innovation, technology and new ways of applying facilities management.

Anywhere facilities management has its footprint, Design Thinking can be applied through the whole spectrum from strategic, tactical and onto operational delivery. Facilities management professionals worldwide are involved with soft landings of new constructions, refurbishment projects, alteration of buildings, organisational change and delivery of services, providing ample opportunities to apply Design Thinking and make an impact.

Facilities Management

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

INITIATING ACTION The core component of Design Thinking is not about thinking but more about action, solving a FM issue for the user. The commitment, substantial time and effort of thinking through a problem or work issue then researching and investigating a practicable solution is surprisingly not seen as a critical element of facilities management. When a company has no design thinkers capable of looking at all facilities management angles, it could be a costly and detrimental oversight.

There is confusion between analytical thinking, design thinking, scientific thinking, service design and design process. This can be overcome by simply adopting and embracing elements from all approaches for the betterment of design. The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, known informally as the d.School at Stanford University has developed a trusted Design Thinking process that consists of five main steps - Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test.

THE FIVE STEPS To fully empathise, FM professionals need to observe the current user experience, which can be achieved through interacting and absorbing the whole user experience from start to finish.

Now is the time to define what has been discovered during the empathy process and determine the user standpoint that will be brought forward for FM design.

Take time to probe and research for a selection of viable solutions, exploring beyond your normal FM knowledge boundaries.

Take this opportunity to acquire more knowledge through interaction with the user and streamline the FM design looking for both perfection and scalability.

Time to test the FM design with the aim of understanding the user standpoint on the design, and if required make amendments based on feedback from observations.

There is a vast amount of design thinking tools and training available along with a growing amount of literature on the subject of design thinking which is widely available to support facilities management professionals, some of which is free.

THE BENEFITS There are clear and significant benefits of applying Design Thinking within Facilities Management. Design Thinking allows for differentiation from competitors in the FM marketplace, which ultimately creates value.

Design Thinking can be applied to support innovation, as well as being able to promote communication and collaboration. It is a proven problem solving technique, as it combines critical and creative thinking. Additionally, this can then be applied to strategy development and organisational change, as well as being applied to management, services, and products. Design Thinking is human centered which helps create a great user experience. î Œ FURTHER INFORMATION www.bifm.org.uk

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Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Advertisement Feature

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CAR PORTS

Nottingham taking the lead in solar carports Solar carports are the next hot topic in the solar industry, set to transform carparks into ‘energy hubs’ that generate cheap, green electricity for buildings and electric vehicles. Nottingham City Council is leading the way and has built the UK’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) carport, covering 40 car parking spaces capable of delivering 65kWp – enough to power 20 homes Nottingham hope to generate over £8000 revenue per year from the project through reduced costs of purchasing electricity.

This is just the beginning for Nottingham, which has plans for two more 1MWp (MegaWatt peak) carports powering 479 homes a year while also generating around £216,000 annually for the council and saving 600 tonnes of carbon annually.

Solar carports deliver something missing in the solar industry since the government cut the Feed-in Tariffs on solar farms – scale. Nottingham City Council have installed only 250kWp (kiloWatt peak) of commercial rooftop PV to date, but solar carport projects are set to increase installed capacity by over 400 per cent.

THE BUSINESS CASE At the core of any sound business case is a revenue stream that delivers a stable income over a planned asset lifetime. Typical internal rates of return (IRR) on solar carport projects are between 9-12 per cent with pay-backs from 7 years. Nottingham calculated the income from Feed-in Tariffs, Export tariffs and the reduction in national grid energy costs made solar carports more than viable.

Additional benefits brought by solar carports add to the project value. Electric Vehicle (EV) charging can be installed into the canopy structure, achieving substantial project cost savings by subsidising the laying of electrical cable and other infrastructure.

Another factor high on council scorecards is carbon emissions. With most councils targeting a 30 per cent reduction in 2005 levels of CO2, large scale renewable projects are seen as vital to deliver such ambitious goals.

For the private sector, where payback periods of less than five years are often required, other revenue streams can be considered.

Recent data from Germany shows that solar carports dramatically increase footfall because of the convenience of parking under a canopy. Increased land values,

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

premium rental and improved customer experience are quantifiable benefits that can be financially modelled.

Recent s ow data sh arports ar c that sol ally increase ic dramat ll because of footfa venience of Programme Delivery Unit (PDU). the con g under a Payback of the parkin opy investment is n a c guaranteed and the

SOURCES OF FUNDING Local Authorities (LA) have access to the government financing of infrastructure projects. Public Works Loan Board exists in order to allow LAs to access the UK’s low cost of borrowing and offer interest only payments on the principle borrowed. Currently repayment rates are at three per cent, meaning that even the lowest of solar carport IRR of nine per cent can create net positive cash positions from day one.

The RE:FiT framework is an initiative to reduce carbon emissions for the entire public sector. Over 180 public sector bodies use the framework to roll out energy reduction measures with the help of private sector expertise and funding.

Institutional investors, the Green Bank and EU funding are all available to finance the capital cost of solar carports.

For the private sector, solar carports can be a viable solution. Large users of power or long term lease holders can form business cases for solar carports. The private sector should also consider that the solar carport is an asset and can be sold. Recently, the largest solar farm in the UK, a 33MWp plant in Leicestershire, was sold by Hazel Capital Solar for £43.7 million to institutional investor Foresight Solar Fund.

PROCUREMENT For the public sector, an OJEU compliant tendering process is required for projects exceeding the current threshold of £111,676.

Nottingham chose a trial site beneath the threshold in order to foster innovation and new products in their supply chain.

If a council operates under a RE:FIT framework then the solar carport project should be identified as an Energy Saving Measure (ESM) and brought to the attention of the RE:FiT

risk is transferred to a private sector Energy Services Company (ESCo). Fortunately, the RE:FiT framework is OJEU compliant and avoids the need for a solar carport provider to be an existing member of your organisation’s procurement framework. “The money for a RE:FIT Project is in your budget – it is currently being spent on wasted energy” Robert McKinnon Business Development and Engagement Lead at Local Partnerships urges.

A new route to procuring innovative solutions in the PV sector is Public Power Solutions’ Dynamic Purchasing System, currently used by the Crown Estates to procure a pipeline of over 2.5MWp of carport systems. John Nangle of Crown Commercial Services describes the service as “an excellent way to procure rapidly for new-to-market PV products”.

Large private sector organisations often have delivery partners for facilities management, construction and more specifically commercial rooftop PV systems.

Although there are a dearth of firms that offer commercial rooftop systems, the experience of these companies does not transfer to the planning permissions, civil works and complex project management skills required in solar carport installation.

Consider where possible turnkey providers of solar carports, but the reality is that often

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large multisite corporations have exclusive hard FM contractors who will have to subcontract much of the solar carport design and delivery to specialist manufacturers.

SOLAR CARPORT DESIGN AND COST Experienced solar carport developers can add substantial value to your system and your business case. However, many terms and metrics are obscure to non-PV professionals so look for a bottom line interpretation of design specifications. For example, optimising the PV panel arrangement and orientation within an existing carpark layout can add one per cent to the project IRR. Those with a portfolio of sites should expect advice on site selection. Large energy consumers who use all the energy produced by solar carports can add 4.5 per cent to their planned IRR. Feed-in Tariffs descrease with system size in steps, so choosing the correct system size to maximise tariff revenue can add up to three per cent to IRR. Despite the scrapping of Feed-in Tariffs, large energy consumers can develop robut businesses cases with solar carports.

Systems should be able to offer 2kW per car parking bay. The cost of a solar carport system is reaching parity with commercial rooftop PV systems. Commercial rooftop PV typically cost £800-£1200/kWp whereas solar carports cost £900-£1400/kWp. The size of your solar carport system, the chosen design and the site will all determine the final project cost.  FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01480 498 297 info@flexi-solar.com www.flexi-solar.com

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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ENERGY STORAGE

Energy

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

The route to subsidy-free renewable energy The deployment of renewable energy in the UK has grown rapidly in the past few years across a whole range of technologies. New challenges have emerged as the electricity system has had to adapt to variable, decentralised generation. There are now solutions emerging to these challenges and a continued cost reduction trajectory that will see solar energy compete on price against traditional, polluting fossil fuel power within the next few years – a truly exciting breakthrough but one that can only be secured with the right framework in place.

Solar has been one of the fastest growing technologies and it is estimated that over 8GW has been installed in the UK. It is one of the most flexible technologies and has proved popular from the smaller domestic rooftop systems right through to larger solar farms. The costs of installing solar in the UK have fallen by around 70 per cent in the last five years and could fall by another 35 per cent by 2020. As costs come down for solar the opportunities have increased and projects that would not previously have been financially viable have been able to be developed.

Falling costs have meant that the need for subsidies has been questioned, and ultimately the goal of the industry is to operate without them. However, as the REA/KPMG report demonstrates, the majority of the industry is not there yet. The report highlights that a transition period is needed to allow business models to be adapted and for costs to fall further, which is necessary to prevent the industry from reaching a cliff edge shortly before it is in a position to operate without support.

SUPPORT MECHANISMS The solar industry benefits the UK economy, not least because of the 35,000 people employed in it. The aim of the industry is to create a sustainable sector without major peaks and troughs in installations. In order for this to happen solar must be considered as an integral part of the energy mix, and with new technologies such as energy storage allowing for ever more installations and applications, the need for this will become even clearer.

The support mechanisms for solar - the Feed-in Tariff (FiT), Renewables Obligation (RO) and Contracts for Difference (CfDs) - are funded through the Levy Control Framework (LCF). The government now forecasts the available budget has been exceeded (although the basis for this projection has not been made public and doubts remain as to how this has been calculated) and DECC is currently trying to reduce spending. This is the rationale behind the recent consultations on closing the RO for solar and ending the option of pre-accreditation under the FiT. The government’s challenge is to achieve energy security and value for money while reducing carbon emissions. As one of the lowest cost renewables, solar is ideally placed to provide locally sourced, low cost, low carbon electricity.

ENERGY STORAGE Solar and other renewable technologies will increasingly be combined with energy storage systems to provide the equivalent of stable, baseload power that is highly ‘dispatchable’ and can respond to demand from the grid at very short notice. This will tackle the challenges posed by the variable nature of solar power production.

As the report makes clear, solar power and energy storage is a potentially revolutionary combination and with prices of combined 

Written by Frank Gordon, Lauren Cook, Renewable Energy Association

A new KPMG report discusses the significant place that solar and energy storage holds in government policy. In light of this, The Renewable Energy Association analyses the role of energy storage and national grid solutions as a breakthrough in the energy sector

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Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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If the result is more than the sum of its parts, that‘s typically Wilo. Maximum energy efficiency is provided by the interplay between EC motors and High Efficiency Drive with highly efficient pump hydraulics. It creates a constant system pressure in a system with pressure loss optimisation. The Smart Controller and red-button technology permit simple operation and complete transparency of the operating status. Wilo makes the difference!

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Wilo-SiBoost Smart Helix EXCEL, ƒ Maximum energy savings due to EC motor, High Efficiency Drive and highly efficient pump hydraulics ƒ Long service life and high operating reliability due to corrosion-resistant stainless steel and integrated dry-running detection ƒ Simple operation and transparency about the operating status thanks to redbutton technology and Smart Control ƒ BUS interface for intelligent incorporation into building management systems

ENERGY STORAGE  solar and battery storage systems falling by as much as 75 per cent in the past four years, the combination looks set to rapidly take off globally. More recently Tesla’s entrance into domestic energy storage has added much pizazz and excitement, with reports of over $1 billion of sales in the first few months alone (although it is important to note that these are advance orders at this point as the first units won’t be delivered until 2016).

What many don’t realise is just how

integration of renewable energy, it reduces and in some cases removes entirely, the need for expensive grid network upgrades – meaning fewer overhead power lines. Energy storage technologies also provide a series of technical benefits to grid operators, from voltage optimisation to frequency control, which are essential for the smooth running of our power system on an everyday basis.

But why would a family or large energy customer like a public sector organisation

Solar and other renewable technologies will increasingly be combined with energy storage systems to provide stable, baseload power that is highly ‘dispatchable’ and can respond to demand from the grid at short notice close to widespread commercial uptake energy storage is (indeed some forms, such as pumped hydro, have been operating successfully for over 70 years). There are numerous demonstration projects around the country, including a 6MW lithiumion battery in the Midlands, and smaller domestic batteries in homes and offices, all operating successfully and using technology that is capable of being rolled out widely.

Energy storage not only allows for the better

be interested in energy storage? The answer is that when combined with solar or other renewable sources, storage systems allow an individual or organisation to be ‘independent’ of the grid and of imported power, therefore saving money and offering energy security, while large organisations can save money by optimising their consumption of imported power and benefiting from a range of payments from grid operators as a result of their flexibility.

Energy

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

SOLAR POWER This nascent industry needs support and nurturing, but a new Feed-in Tariff type of support is not necessarily required. There are changes to the existing regulations for grid operators and the UK’s Capacity Market that would help create the required conditions at no additional cost, while a high-level government roadmap and changes to the tax regime would incentivise the market. The huge benefits energy storage can provide are within reach but do need a push to be delivered, the good news for Government is that this shouldn’t necessarily mean a costly one.

This brings us back to solar power. The REA/KPMG report sets out how large scale forms of solar can reach ‘socket parity’ within two years, again providing some form of support is required in this transitionary period, through the existing regime, or through new innovative routes such as the tax system. Without this the fantastic achievement of generating clean, green power at a lower cost than dirty, polluting oil and coal plants will not materialise.

As we lead up to the crucial Paris climate change talks in December and look to create jobs and investment to fuel the economic recovery that is an opportunity we simply cannot afford to miss.  FURTHER INFORMATION www.r-e-a.net

Intelligent systems that can be remotely monitored from the bioenergy specialists Shaw Renewables As a country we spend £32 billion a year on heating, which accounts for around a third of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. We can often think that reducing one of these costs has to be at the expense of the other, but heating networks (or district heating) are disproving this idea and local authorities such as Sheffield, Leicester, Nottingham, Bristol and Brighton are benefitting from investments in the sustainable heat networks model.

A heat network connects central sources of heat to multiple users, via a network of underground and over ground pipe work, delivering heat and domestic hot water to industrial, commercial and domestic heat users. Heat networks can be used to provide cooling alongside heating.

Shaw Renewables works throughout the UK with customers who want to reduce heating costs and carbon emissions as well as gain control of their fuel expenses. The company’s intelligently designed systems can be remotely monitored via smart software, ensuring your system is operating at a sustainable and profitable rate.

Heating doesn’t have to cost the earth,

which is why Shaw Renewables uses smart, sustainable technology that works for your heating needs and finances.

Shaw Renewables offers a range of heat source options for its heating plants - heat recovery, CHP units, highly efficient gas fired condensing boilers and biomass boilers.

Emitting 90 per cent less carbon than natural gas throughout its life and processing,

wood biomass is an excellent fossil fuel alternative for heat networks. The sourcing of local wood fuels can boost local economies and reduce carbon emissions further.

CHP units (combined heat and power), produce electricity through the burning of a fuel, such as biomethane, emitting heat during the process, this is called waste heat. This ‘waste’ heat can be utilised through a heat network.

Hospitals, universities, leisure centres, sheltered accommodation, offices and many more can all have their heating systems consolidated into one efficient heating plant. A centralised plant reduces carbon emissions, heat waste, fuel costs and maintenance expenses.

These cost reductions can be passed on to the end user; individuals can be charged competitive prices for the heat they use, measured by heat exchangers within buildings or single spaces such as offices and flats.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0151 424 1433 info@shawrenewables.co.uk www.shawrenewables.co.uk

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Waste Management Written by Steve Lee, Chartered Institute of Waste Management

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

RECYCLING TARGETS

Why our recycling policy shouldn’t go to waste With ‘doing more with less’ likely to remain the dominant headline for public sector spending over the next few years, Steve Lee, of the Chartered Institiute of Waste Management, advises that the policy landscape for waste and recycling should be a major consideration for local authorities Just a matter of weeks ago, the Local Government Association (LGA) revealed that detailed analysis ahead of the Spending Review shows that councils face almost £10 billion of cost pressures by 2020. In the accompanying press release, LGA chair Gary Porter said: “Vital services, such as caring for the elderly, protecting children, collecting bins, filling potholes and maintaining our parks and green spaces, will simply struggle to continue at current levels.” In this context, and given that waste is the third largest area of budget spend, recent developments and trends in waste and recycling merit a closer look.

cleansing services. The research found a range of innovative approaches being taken by councils across the UK and Ireland to deliver efficiency improvements and savings, including partnership working, smarter IT, and a variety of operational measures such as route optimisation and extending vehicle and equipment life.

However, there are now some storm clouds on the horizon. Recycling rates in England are flatlining, so much so that there is now genuine concern that the UK may not reach the 50 per cent EU recycling targets by 2020. Granted, our performance is certainly being helped by the strong progress being made in Wales – which announced a 56 per cent recycling rate for 2014/15 recently – and the potential for Scotland to follow suit as its Zero Waste Plan policies take full effect.

Complacency, however, is not an option for two reasons; the first is that Wales and Scotland are proactively driving recycling through robust policy measures and (some) targeted funding, two drivers that are lacking in England; the second is that high performance by other UK countries is unlikely to be enough to compensate for the slump in the recycling rate in England.

Part of the problem is that we have picked

Local s tie authori ade have m ented d unpreceth regards wi strides aste and to w g in the n i l c y c e r years last 15

A SYSTEM UNDER STRAIN It must be said upfront that local authorities have made unprecedented strides with regards to waste and recycling in the last 15 years – helping the UK to achieve the fastest progress in Europe during that time. As a nation with significant landfill capability, we may have started at the back but the fourfold increase in recycling is a public sector success story. Even in the tough times since 2007, councils have worked hard to keep up the momentum and sustain the same levels of service through efficiency saving measures.

This resilience is evident in a report published in February by the Chartered Institute of Waste Management (CIWM) and waste consultancy Ricardo-AEA, which assessed the impact of austerity on local authority waste collection and

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

all the low hanging fruit. Pushing beyond the current recycling levels means tackling more difficult challenges such as recycling provision in high density housing, and hard-toreach and transient audiences. It also means addressing some of the barriers - perceived or real - that limit the recycling behaviour of even the most committed householders, result in high levels of contamination, or constrain the markets for secondary materials.

This is leading to some difficult but important discussions among stakeholders in the recycling chain, particularly around the value chain for recycling and how further improvements are ultimately going to be paid for. Waste arisings in England are on the rise again after a few years in decline. Flytipping has risen by 16 per cent in the last two years according to a Press Association Freedom of Information request. Litter and the expense of clearing it up remains a challenge even after years of national campaigns – so much so that a 23 strong group of organisations has just written to the government urging it to set up an Advisory Committee on litter to provide leadership and co-ordination.

All these add up to a challenging set of conditions for councils; the need to do more with less, on a frontline service that is close to the hearts of residents, at a time when support from Whitehall is at its lowest and market conditions are unpropitious.

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY So how do these pressures and constraints play out in the context of the more ambitious policy landscape being explored by the EU as it seeks to develop a revised Circular

Economy (CE) package, the first iteration having been revoked because it lacked ambition? Well, it could make things significantly more challenging or it could kick start a smarter, more holistic approach that genuinely moves us towards a more resource efficient future.

As a concept, CIWM believes that the pursuit of more circular economic practices and models is desirable as a concrete way of addressing longer term societal issues such as sustainable economic growth, climate change, resource scarcity and security. It is not only about the environment, it offers increasingly tangible benefits in terms of economic growth, competitiveness, and jobs. The European Commission has a responsibility to provide the leadership and overarching framework to allow Member States to progress towards a more circular economy.

It not only has a powerful role to play in driving the appropriate economic thinking and behaviour, but also in tackling market obstacles and ‘failures’ that can only be addressed at a pan-European level.

CIWM has warned the Commission that it should be under no illusions about the ability of municipal authorities to shoulder significant additional responsibility for waste. Challenging economic conditions over the past few years have put significant pressure on public sector spending across the EU and if we want to up the ante we must recognise that municipal authorities are by and large no longer in a position to shoulder the full burden and costs of collecting and recycling waste to facilitate the return of secondary raw materials into the production loop. They are also not in a position to significantly influence the waste streams which they have to manage - and hence CIWM has strongly urged the Commission to ensure that responsibility is properly shared across the whole product supply chain.

To do this, the CE package must focus on the big picture, linking different areas of policy and legislation to create smart, synergistic ‘push’ mechanisms at the end-of-pipe in terms of waste and ‘pull’ mechanisms to encourage change at the beginning of the product cycle through a fundamental review of the role of product design, standards, procurement and consumption models. The ‘push’ mechanisms might be landfill bans, smarter recycling targets for municipal waste that don’t focus solely on volume but on environmental impact, a re-use target to support this important part of the waste hierarchy. We could even flip the grid completely and opt for a residual target for municipal waste that shifts the focus towards overall consumption and waste generation.

SHIFT IN FOCUS The pull mechanisms might include a shift in the focus of taxation to cover resource use; at the very least, the Commission could explore the role of differential VAT rates to support both the recovery and use of secondary raw materials. Essential in the package, meanwhile, will be supply chain interventions, right from product design (recyclability, recycled content, disassembly) through the point of purchase and use phase (clear labelling and user guidance on environmental performance) to the point of discard (re-use and repair incentives, Extended Producer Responsibility schemes).

Ultimately, CIWM believes that a stronger focus on product stewardship through the existing Producer Responsibility regime and Extended Producer Responsibility approaches is the single most effective mechanism that could be deployed in the CE Package. Waste is ultimately a market failure, with the burden of managing and paying for this failure currently sitting largely with consumers and municipal authorities. While this approach has brought us a certain distance on the path towards more sustainable practices, it is not fit for purpose to deliver the CE aspirations now being formulated, and should better reflect the requirements of the Polluter Pays Principle set out in the EU Waste Framework Directive.

Local authorities have been successful in meeting public policy objectives regarding waste and recycling, delivering significant improvements in performance over a decade and a half despite the tighter economic conditions of the last few years. But there is more to do and the next few months will be important in shaping the future landscape. In doing this, the critical role that local authorities can and should play in creating a more resource efficient society must not be ignored or underrated. 

Waste best practice is a balancing act

Waste Management

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

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Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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SUSTAINABILITY

Written by Alistair Moseley, Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management

Converging journeys to make space for water

Water Management

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Alastair Moselely of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management discusses water management systems and their importance in creating more sustainable environments Sometimes when you are on a long journey, it is easy to forget where you have come from and where you are aiming for.

This is particularly so in the case of the journey - or rather, journeys - to provide clean water for all to drink and protect our communities and countryside from the crippling effects of flooding.

The route to achieving sustainable water management systems in the UK is characterised by the convergence of two journeys – one for the sustainable management of surface water, and one for the sustainable provision of clean water and sanitation.

It is this convergence that I believe gives us possibly the greatest opportunity we have seen in many generations to transform the way we shape both our urban and rural landscapes for the benefit of society and the environment together.

Looking first at our journey to achieving sustainable surface water management - or flood risk management as it is better known.

This can be traced back over many decades,

but the most significant and recent part of that journey starts with the severe floods causing devastation to our towns, cities and countryside in 2000. These and the ensuing major flood and drought events of the ‘noughties’ led to the instigation of a number of government initiatives including studies, reports, consultations and legislation to address the unacceptable disruption to society that was occurring.

ns Our towies and cit rgely la are still nt on the e dependn approach Victoria provision to the ter and of wa tion sanita

MAKING SPACE FOR WATER Arguably the first and most influential of these was the Defra ‘Making Space for Water’ initiative which started in 2004, running to 2008/9. A core component was a series of 15 ‘Integrated Urban Drainage Pilot Studies’ in England which clearly demonstrated how communities, local government and scientists could work together to create sustainable flood risk management outcomes.

They showed how the creation of surface

water management plans, as well as the use of SUDS and above-ground flood routing, could control the flow of water in urban environments more naturally.

The practical experience of these pilots coupled with the legislation to deliver more effective, community based projects to prevent flooding has given us a practical and proven way of addressing flood risk at a macro and micro level.

THE REFORM OF WATER SUPPLY Turning now to our second journey, the reform of our water supply and sewerage infrastructure.

This has its origins over three decades ago with the creation of regional water authorities to manage the water supply and sewage disposal in our towns and cities. Privatisation of the water authorities in 1989 started a heavily regulated journey of asset creation and renewal to redress the endemic neglect of the water supply and sewage disposal infrastructure that existed prior to privatisation.

However, for the first ten years or so this was done largely in isolation from the wider urban and surface water collection infrastructure and it was only from 2000 that the water company investment programmes (AMPs) began to take notice of the interaction between water 

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SUSTAINABILITY  company assets and the communities and urban infrastructure that they served.

AMPs 4 and 5, spanning 2005 to 2015, in particular saw the water companies promote asset investment and maintenance programmes that were much more customer and environment facing. With the drive for greater innovation and efficiency called for by the water regulator, Ofwat, we are now seeing asset creation programmes that are often reliant upon delivery through partnerships with stakeholders, collaboration with the supply chain and outcome based.

GREATER BENEFITS The result has been lower cost capital investment delivering far greater benefits for the customer and environment alike than were achieved in the early years of privatisation.

Typically now, a sewerage scheme will no longer simply be the replacement of a sewer or sewer network, but rather a blend of surface water management, separation of foul and surface water flows, public realm enhancements and community engagement.

This holistic approach to managing water flows in a wide area is now commonly promoted as ‘Catchment Management’, a term previously more associated with water resource and land management. However, it offers up great opportunities to integrate water asset planning with urban and

environmental planning and huge potential to transform the way that we design and build our urban infrastructure and create inspirational places to live whilst enhancing the environment and protecting the most precious resource that we have – water!

These two journeys are therefore clearly converging and through the common approach of catchment management and community engagement we now have the opportunity to completely integrate the way we manage flood risk, with water supply,

to the provision of water and sanitation, characterised by centralised collection, treatment and distribution of drinking water, followed by collection, treatment and discharge of sewage combined with rainwater. This relies on vast networks of pipes to distribute water and collect sewage, all running beneath our roads and transport routes, and all subject to aging, deterioration and damage.

Of course there was nothing wrong with the Victorian model and it has served us well

Water Management

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Powerful computer models are enabling us to process the many strands needed to design and create a built environment with water at its heart sewage disposal and creating greener, more pleasant environments in which to live and work, sustainably. The term ‘Making Space for Water’ clearly was quite visionary, because by making space for water in our communities through catchment management, or rather integrated water management approaches, we can realise huge benefits for society.

POTENTIAL UK CONVERGENCE At present, our towns and cities are still largely dependent on the Victorian approach

for 100 years and more – but with increasing populations, 24/7 lifestyles and climate change leading to more intense rainfall coupled with prolonged dry periods, this infrastructure is increasingly unable to provide the levels of service that our developing society needs – and it leads to the waste of water that flows away to rivers at a time when the demands on our finite water resources are increasing.

The convergence of the two journeys may well therefore be Water Sensitive Urban Design. This is becoming a reality through 

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BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

SUSTAINABILITY  the new technologies and materials that we are able to use. Powerful computer models are enabling us to process the many strands needed to design and create a built environment with water at its heart.

Communication technologies are enabling us to introduce computer activated controls into our water management systems. The Building Information Management (BIM) revolution that we are seeing in the building industry has a key part to play in this, coupled

off using storage, comes the opportunity to harvest the stored water for reuse at source – rather than importing vast quantities of water from one catchment, using it and then shipping it off to another, at huge cost both financially and in terms of the energy use.

sensitive urban design approaches to new development, and the water companies are also becoming more interested in the decentralised approach to water management that is a core component of this. However, case studies in the UK are still hard to find although there are many examples of this approach in Europe, America and Australia.

The Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), through our Urban Drainage Group and our Rivers and Coastal Group, is actively promoting this new sustainable approach to water management and urban design and has promoted several conferences in recent years in partnership with the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA). CIRIA has recently published a guide to Water Sensitive Urban Design in the UK and together with CIWEM is providing the focus for water engineers, architects and planners alike to achieve the vision of putting water at the heart of our towns and cities. 

WATER SENSITIVE URBAN DESIGN This approach of collecting water locally and treating it to a standard appropriate for use is being increasingly known as

Off Grid Water offers real opportunities to make the most of the water that we have, at a time when the need to conserve water and protect the environment in parallel is becoming ever more necessary with advances in water system modelling of flows both in pipes and overland.

Sustainable drainage systems, often the dream of environmentalists and scourge of water companies, are at last being seen as a viable way of draining urban environments, slowing down run-off flows and reducing flooding whilst at the same time creating greener and more pleasant environments to live in. And with the slowing down of run-

‘Decentralised Water Management’ or ‘Off Grid Water’. Whilst it might at first seem to be a radical move away from what we know as water supply and sewerage, it offers real opportunities to make the most of the water that we have, at a time when the need to conserve water and protect the environment in parallel is becoming ever more necessary.

There are many initiatives emerging all around the country to adopt water

Water Management

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Alastair Moseley is a water and environmental management consultant and director of H2O WEM Ltd. He is an Honorary Vice President of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management.

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Risk Management Written by Peter Andrews, Alarm

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

PERFORMANCE MODEL

What is good risk management?

Peter Andrews, Director at Alarm, attempts to answer the question of what is good risk management, using data collected from public service organisations over the last five years 2015 represents somewhat of a watershed for public services in the UK. With public finances continuing to be constricted and the need to transform pubic service delivery to fit new fiscal norms, there’s never been a greater need to ensure that risks are well managed. As the pace of change accelerates, so does the level of uncertainty; risks become more complex, more interdependent and their impact more critical.

Alarm is a vibrant community of over 1,100 risk professionals from over 500 organisations, including local authorities, housing associations, fire, police and government agencies. In 2009 Alarm launched its National Performance Model that answered the question ‘What does good risk management look like in a public service organisation?’

When it introduced the National Performance Model and the associated Benchmarking annual assessment, Alarm’s aim was to increase the overall level of performance across the public sector in risk management and to raise the levels of consistency in the practice and performance of organisations. Alarm’s recently published report ‘The risk success story: improving performance in risk management’ shows that Alarm has succeeded in this.

Alarm has been running an annual benchmarking exercise in conjunction with CIPFA Information Services for five years. This has provided Alarm with a unique set of data that depicts how risk management has developed during a period of unprecedented change for public services.

THE NATIONAL PERFORMANCE MODEL The idea that we could create a tool that could be used to measure the progress of our risk management arrangements in our employing organisations and then share those results with colleagues across the country had been in the minds of a number of Alarm members for a good many years. We wanted to define, in detail, what really good risk management in a public sector organisation actually looked like and what it would look like during the journey to achieving embedded risk management.

Most importantly we wanted those definitions to be driven, and controlled, by practitioners in the field - people who make risk management work, rather than theorists.

Using the HM Treasury Self Assessment

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

Framework as a basis, Alarm risk managers developed clear definitions of what they would expect to see at differing levels of maturity in a public service organisation when it came to formal risk management arrangements.

The Assessment Framework of the Alarm National Performance Model breaks down risk management activity into seven strands.

The Model then tests the extent to which risk management is making a positive effect on the organisation. Risk management maturity is assessed in five levels from risk management is engaging with the organisation to risk management is driving the organisation.

In the best organisations senior management uses consideration of risk to drive excellence through the business, with strong support and reward for well-managed risk-taking. Additionally, risk management capability in policy and strategy making helps to drive organisational excellence, allowing all staff to be empowered as responsible for risk management. There is clear evidence of improved partnership delivery through risk management.

Management of risk and uncertainty is well-integrated with all key business processes and shown to be a driver in business success and there is clear evidence that risks are being effectively managed throughout the organisation, ensuring that risk management arrangements are clearly acting as a driver for change.

SHARING INFORMATION A number of public service organisations have been sharing the results of a performance assessment of their risk management arrangements in the safe environment of a benchmarking exercise organised by Alarm and CIPFA. These are mostly local authorities, but the benchmarking exercise is open to any public service organisation.

The performance assessment takes place annually, in the form of a questionnaire.

Around 40 questions focus on what resources are available for risk management, levels of compliance and, most importantly, the results that risk management efforts deliver for the organisation. In that sense, it’s a balanced scorecard approach. It’s a self assessment process that focuses on what conclusions can be drawn for future improvement, rather than counting what’s happened in

the past. It is evidence based and so can be tested by the organisations audit service, in fact, a number of Club Members use their questionnaire submissions as the basis for their internal audit on risk management.

Other Club Members use the findings from the Club as the basis for their Annual Governance Statement, reporting to their Audit committee, as well as obtaining advice from fellow Club Members. After five years of the Benchmarking Club there are some real successes, with a number of risk managers using the annual findings to identify the strengths and weaknesses to management, build their risk management plans, drive improvement, and above all, gain credibility within their employing organisations.

As one member put it: “Benchmarking has been invaluable in proving my/my team’s worth over the past five years as each year we have steadily improved as our risk strategy became better embedded. My Audit and Risk Committee love this and the data it provides.

They present it to full Council each year to prove the effectiveness of risk management.”

KEY CONCLUSIONS FOR 2015 Having run an annual benchmarking exercise for the last five years, this has provided Alarm with a unique set of data that outlines the changing face of risk management across the public sector. However, with most members of the Benchmarking exercise representing local authorities, we have limited our conclusions to this sector, but

Risk Management

the results will resonate with managers across other public service organisations.

The story the data tells is a remarkable one. Although risk managers often feel like an endangered species in a hostile and uncertain environment, the overall story is of success. The data shows that, in general, public service organisations have more mature arrangements in place to manage risk now than in 2010. The picture is not the same everywhere, but overall performance standards are higher. This is despite reduced resources, combined with ever more complex risks.

However, Alarm is also sounding a warning. Having more mature risk management arrangements in place will be vital if organisations are to deliver the transformation that will be needed to public services over the next five years. The number of specialist risk management resources has dramatically reduced across the public sector according to Alarm. The danger is that public service organisations are being tempted to reduce their expertise just as the risk environment becomes more complex.

The message from the report is clear, those organisations that invest in competency and capacity in risk management are those that manage uncertainty the most successfully. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.alarm-uk.org

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EVENT PREVIEW

The event for Scottish road professionals

demonstration area - there will be plenty for you to see. Make sure you don’t miss anything by looking in advance at the exhibitor list and the Transport Scotland and SCOTS seminar programme to decide what you want to see and when.

Road Expo 2015 is Scotland’s largest traffic management and highway maintenance event with over 1,000 visitors expected to attend. Taking place on 4-5 November at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, the Expo is one not to be missed Road Expo, Scotland’s only event focused on traffic management and highway maintenance, will return for its latest instalment on 4-5 November 2015 at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh.

Road Expo is the largest event of its kind in Scotland and is the ultimate destination north of the border for road professionals looking to source and learn about the latest technology, as well as industry best practice and know how. The 2015 show will be packed with features offering visitors the opportunity to network with peers, learn from experts, exchange ideas and discover ways to increase efficiency and reduce costs.

Whether you want to hear from government speakers in the Transport Scotland Conference, view the latest products and services on the exhibition floor or network with peers old and

new over lunch, Road Expo 2015 guarantees your time will be time well spent.

Almost all of Scotland’s local authorities will be attending, so it will be a unique opportunity to meet the right people and make new contacts. Bring plenty of business cards and don’t be afraid to get some face to face time with colleagues, peers, and even competitors.

LEADING SUPPLIERS Over 100 leading suppliers will showcase their latest products and services in the exhibition hall and live

Road Expo Scotland

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

CONFERENCE Road Expo 2015 will once again play host to the Transport Scotland and Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) conference – a free feature that proves extremely popular with visitors. This informative conference will get to grips with what’s hot and topical in Scottish traffic management and highway maintenance – invaluable for all practitioners wishing to learn about the future of highways and transportation, key developments, cutting edge technology and pressing matters faced by transport users and planners today.

All Road Expo seminars are free to attend and are CPD certified.

Last year, Cllr Stephen Hagan, member of Orkney Islands Council and spokeperson for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) opened the conference. Hagan was followed by speakers such as Scott Allan, vice chair of SCOTS; Graham Edmond, head of Network Maintenance at Transport Scotland; Martin Reid, director of the Road Haulage Association; and Hugh Gillies, head of 

The 2015 sh will be ow p with fe acked a ture offering visitors s opportu the learn fr nity to om experts the

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Road Expo Scotland

EVENT PREVIEW  Transport Scotland’s 2014 team. This year’s speakers and conference agenda is being finalised and will be available shortly.

SCOTS The Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) was founded in 1996. It is a strategic body comprising of transportation professionals from all the 32 councils and the seven regional transport partnerships. The society’s work involves improving performance and innovation in the design, delivery and maintenance of transportation systems.

This is done by actively influencing important aspects of transportation at the highest levels in Scottish Government by responding to consultations from government, providing advice on legislation as it is developed or implemented, advising COSLA, local authorities and stakeholders.

SCOTS is also involved in research in key areas which affect local authorities through working with stakeholders such as Transport Scotland. An important role is to encourage networking and sharing of information amongst members and stakeholders.

TRANSPORT SCOTLAND Transport Scotland is the national transport agency for Scotland. Through the development of transport projects and policies, it supports businesses, communities and services, connecting people across Scotland and beyond.

An agency of the Scottish Government, its purpose is to increase sustainable economic growth through the development of national transport projects and policies.

Since 2012, the Scottish Government has allocated a £5.4 billion investment in transport infrastructure and services.

Transport Scotland’s priorities for this investment are to connect Scotland and improving reliability and journey times in order to maximise opportunities for employment, business, leisure and tourism.

Transport Scotland is focusing on transition to a low carbon economy through low carbon technology and infrastructure, reducing emissions, tackling climate change and improving air quality.

Together, SCOTS and Transport Scotland will be holding a topical conference at Road Expo Scotland, covering the latest transport issues affecting Scotland.

WHO VISITS? Road Expo attracts a broad range of visitors from both the private and public sector.

Last years event was attended by 96 per cent of Scotland’s local authorities.

Anyone in the private or public sector involved in highway maintenance and traffic management will benefit from a visit.

This includes engineers; architects; road safety; civil engineers; parking; utilities; emergency services; contractors; surveyors; asset management; transport planners;

Over 100 leading suppliers will showcase their latest products and services in the exhibition hall and live demonstration area – there will be plenty for you to see contractors; construction; consultants health and safety; and landscapers.

Commenting on last years Expo, Dean Cobb, buyer and category manager at Amey, said: “The Expo was my first roads experience and covered all areas of the highways sector, a show that definitely punches above its weight.”

organisers are not sending out badges.

You will be able to collect your badge upon arrival at the show in the registration area. Print out your confirmation email including your barcode to use the self-service terminals or go to one of the registration desks where your badge will be printed for you. 

REGISTER FOR A FREE LUNCH You can register for Road Expo Scotland on the website (details below) or in the registration area during show open hours.

Entry to the show is free, irrespective of whether you register online or on the day, however, registering in advance will save you time on the day of your visit and will entitle you to a free lunch at the show.

For environmental reasons the event

Road Expo Scotland 2015, takes place on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 November 2015 at the Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Wednesday 4th November: 9:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 5th November: 9:30am - 3:30pm FURTHER INFORMATION www.road-expo.com

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Advertisement Feature

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

URBAN REGENERATION

Changing the face of Council communications Suffolk and Symology are working together to deliver a customer service channel-shift solution.

Mark Burgess, customer service operations manager at Suffolk County Council explains the solution Suffolk County Council has transformed how it enables customers to report highway concerns.

The Council uses the information to assist with ordering repairs. The new system provides a web based mapping tool for customers to create reports which then automatically connects to Suffolk County Council’s key business software Insight. The Insight software, the online highways reporting tool and the interface was developed by Symology in close partnership with the Council.

Constantly changing local requirements, changes in customer behaviour and expectations and increasing pressure to make savings is driving Local Authorities to provide more effective services with fewer resources.

Suffolk County Council (SCC) is implementing a digital strategy which includes making more services available online.

The online highways reporting tool has enabled us to implement a new public facing solution to process customer service requests. This has completely transformed how customer service requests are received, processed and actioned. The new system enables customers to report problems online and provides visibility of previously reported problems and defects identified by SCC’s own highways inspectors. This was a logical and necessary step that will lead to an enhanced service for our residents, businesses and visitors.

staff to work more efficiently, because they receive work much quicker.

Long-term, we expect the online solution to facilitate a reduction in operating costs and an increase in efficiency as well as improvements to our customer service. Benefits include a single online reporting form with built in intelligence.

Compatibility with touch-enabled smartphone and tablet devices allows customers to report problems whilst on-site, 24/7, at locations convenient to them. The reporting tool includes ‘hint’ text indicating the type of information we need to respond as swiftly as possible. It also redirects customers if the problem is not an SCC responsibility and identifies when emergency defects need to be telephoned through to us.

We have empowered the general public in new ways. Reporters can plot the location of the defect on a map and upload a photograph of the defect.

This leads to better location information.

Previously reported defects will be visible via the SCC website. Reporters are also able to check progress of their reports, and will receive automated email updates when action is taken. Contact details for regular users of the new web portal are ‘remembered’ by the system, for quicker and easier online reporting.

The transition to the Insight driven highways reporting tool, proved to be a fairly simple process. We undertook a three month phased implementation which involved our Customer Service team and our Area highway offices using the new reporting tool and Insight Customer Service Module to manage customer contacts. We re-engineered our endto-end business processes and implemented these alongside the new tool and Insight Customer Service Module before officially launching to the public in February 2015.

Suffolk ncil Cou County enting a m is implel strategy digita ncludes which i g more makin vailable a servicesnline o

STREAMLINING THE SOLUTION Symology’s Insight system is an expandable base for the council’s highways activities. It is flexible and can adapt and develop to future asset management strategies. The benefits of using the integrated solution were immediate.

Our old customer solution suffered from many issues, i.e. no mapping element, no ability to upload attachments or photos, and no way for customers to check progress online.

Also, the online report was not compatible with mobile and tablet devices. The new reporting tool includes a single online portal for reporting all highway defects and requests for improvements, with GPS-enabled mapping and photo-upload facilities, with auto-directing of reports to the relevant person. This enables technical

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

TRAINING AND USER EXPERIENCE The new online reporting tool delivers the majority of SCC’s initial requirements.

Work is now underway to define and agree requirements and delivery timescales for

future improvements, i.e. adding more asset management capability allowing the public to also report things like street lighting faults.

The project team developing the solution and Insight Customer Service Module included champions from our Customer Service and Area Highways teams. We held a half day ‘train the trainer’ session and the champions then trained their colleagues.

We have developed user guides for each of our processes which are available from the Insight desktop. These are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect any changes.

The new reporting tool is intelligently designed, enabling both staff and customers to actively assist each other in ensuring our operations run smoothly. Implementation of mobile devices will enable defect reports to be sent directly to handheld devices, allowing our staff to work on the go. The new system provides accurate and upto-date information to customers, shows the progress of reports, and ensures that duplicate reports are much reduced. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.symology.co.uk

Urban regeneration holds vital importance in creating greener, more sustainable places. Juliana O’Rourke at RUDI takes a stance on regeneration for public benefit in towns and local councils Both the policy and geographical context in which urban regeneration takes place across the UK has changed considerably over the past five years. Increasingly, local authority planning professionals are kept busy by the need to deliver local plans within the current Local Development Framework processes.

Most are struggling to meet suggested housing targets, despite the policies of the so-called Localism Agenda, and many are merging into combined authorities to shore themelves against cuts and increase efficiency.

Local Enterprise Partnerships are directing ecomonic growth, often across spatially incongrous regions. Alongside these initiatives, each transport authority is required to produce a Local Transport Plan (LTP) in which they set out their objectives and plans for developing transport in their area. This latter piece of strategic planning policy has more resonance to urban regeneration than seems likely; increasing evidence shows that a key issue for sustainable urban regeneration is the relationship between mobilty options and economically viable land use planning.

Misguided investment in transport can prioritise development dependent on the car for access to daily amenities and, despite long-terms moves to integrate land use

and transport planning, the move away from ‘land use’ to ‘spatial planning’ has made this vital, yet elusive, policy aim much more complex. Even initiatives such as the 2007 eco-towns programme, planned to create affordable housing and achieve high standards of sustainable living with green space, renewable energy sources and sustainable transport solutions, have been heavility criticised for their lack of progress on delivering sustainable mobility solutions.

BETTER CONNECTED PLACES Work undertaken at Space Syntax in recent years has identified many strong correlations between the way space is planned and its economic impact, for example on property taxation and rental income. Good urban design increases investment potential.

Indeed, argues Space Syntax’s Tim Stonor, it is possible to argue that it is only through good urban design that property value can be truly realised. But value, of course, can be expressed in social and cultural as well as economic terms. Successful placemaking, at the heart of all good urban regeneration projects, is the sum of all these impacts.

Stoner said: “The everyday activity of people in places is influenced by the way that spatial layout design makes it easier, or more difficult, for them to move around.”

The more accessible a place is, the more movement it experiences.

Movement leads to sustainable land use, and so spatial layout is intimately linked to social and economic indicators, such as the viability of retail and commercial activity.

The importance of urban layout for new development and retrofit is beyond question, although older, wellunderstood guidelines such as PPS1, PPS3, PPS12, By Design and Safer Places have been consolidated into the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and a handful of design ‘guidelines’. The issue for many urban planners has been that there is tangible value in good urban design when planning regeneration.

Their goal has been to show exactly how this ‘place value’ can be measured through the analysis of key urban design components such as connectivity and local movement 

Written by Juliana O’Rourke, Resource for Urban Development International

The importance of place and movement

Urban Regeneration

STRATEGIC PLANNING

a lack of consensus and narrative about how, when and why infrastructure, the building blocks of regeneration, should be delivered in the UK. In agreement, research from Campaign for Better Transport demonstrates the benefits of bringing land use and transport planning together, as new developments generate less traffic while benefiting the economy, the environment and public health.

Stephen Joseph, chief executive at Campaign for Better Transport said: “You can tackle housing shortages and support new development without resorting to more sprawling suburbs, acres of car parks and big new roads. Our research shows that across the country new housing and retail development planned around public transport is successfully creating better, more economically productive places. There is clear evidence that when people are offered high quality public transport, a lot of them use it. National government, local authorities and developers urgently need the vision, skills and support to make this kind of development the norm.”

Ak issue fo ey regener r urban relation ation is the mobilty ship between op economtions and viable l ically and plannin use g

URBAN REGENERATION, LAND USE AND TRANSPORT The Coalition’s Localism Agenda placed new emphasis on planning for economic viability. The challenge for urban regeneration professionals has been to demonstrate how the twin ‘must-haves’ of quality spatial planning – quality of place and connectivity generate demonstrable economic and social value. Evidence from across the UK points to

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STRATEGIC PLANNING  networks, spatial layout geometry, land use distribution and density – and how these factors lead to economic spend and viability.

MEASURE AND MANAGE The characteristics of any place, along with its accessibility and connectivity, determine how likely it is to be popular and economically viable. Whilst many aspects of design such as street widths, building heights or construction materials are directly measurable, the ‘magic mix’ of a great place is much less tangible. Urban layout, and especially its effects on social, cultural and economic aspects of community, is one such intangible asset; very difficult to visualise and measure during the planning process. To help overcome this problem, methods to quantify and measure the relational properties of urban layout within its context have been developed by academic researchers.

One big step forward has been the development of tools and processes that measure the complex matrix of urban design value.

The prevalence of ‘big data’ and related scenario-testing tools, increasingly available to local authorities, mean that planners can now support the decision-making process. Potential developers have difficult choices to make; by building wider stakeholder opinion and introducing urban design characteristics into real estate financial modelling, all parties can begin to speak a common language.

These new tools reveal the crucial contribution of local movement networks to sustainable regeneration. Stoner suggests that they show that it is not, and never has been, all about major roads and big infrastructure, but nor is it only about local streets and squares.

Instead, research indicates that what matters is the way places connect at all scales: macro, meso and micro. It is about how largerscale movement converts into, and interacts with smaller-scale movement to generate the interactions that lead to social and economic transactions. This balance has been lost in recent decades, usually with too much of an emphasis on the macro as witnessed by extensive road building, but very little positive place-making.

The challenge for urban regeneration professionals should be to show politicians and investors, along with the readily-funded transport sector, how multi-scale activity rooted in quality of place generates real, economic value. But this argument has often been lost, either because urban designers have focused too much on local placemaking (and therefore too little on the planning of towns at every scale) or because their analytic methods have been too few and too weak in the face of road-oriented transport planning scenarios.

It is only in the past few years that the very real threats of air pollution and associated public health challenges, linked conclusively to nonactive and unhealthy sedentary lifestyles, have alerted government to the need to pay serious attention to ‘designing in’ activity when planning either large-scale regeneration or new communities.

CREATIVE FUNDING Part of the problem is the routes by which funding can be channelled, and the lack of links between options for delivering transport and regeneration schemes in tandem. Researchers have long sought the ‘Holy Grail’ of evidence linking transport schemes to successful development initiatives, and there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that good transport links increase land and property values.

But London’s Crossrail scheme, which has been partly funded by innovative business rate levies, is one of the first major schemes to demonstrate the added-value link. Crossrail has attracted impressive levels of property development along the route of the new £14.8bn east-west line, with nearly half of developers citing improved mobility as a motive for construction in 2013. Between 2008 and 2013, an average of 41 per cent of planning applications within a kilometre of stations cited the route as a justification for going ahead with construction, rising to 48 per cent in the first half of 2013, according to research by property consultancy GVA. In buoyant centres such as London, even the once-poverty stricken East End can demonstrate such urban regeneration successes, largely credited to improved transport links. However, recent work from UCL’s Dr Chia-Lin Chen has shown that it remains difficult to either prove

and substantiate the effects of transport investment in the short term.

Importantly, transport infrastructure seems to have a generative effect in less developed economies, and a redistributive impact in more developed ones. It is also difficult to isolate observed effects from other indispensable factors. Yet Dr Chen finds that impacts of transport systems can be broadly divided into two main groups: direct and indirect.

Direct impacts tend to indicate immediate consequences of transport services and operation, for example time saving, ridership, or modal shift. Indirect impacts indicate a much wider spectrum of impacts associated with land use, townscape, image, urban spatial structure, land/property value capture, business operation and consumer services, labour market and employment, agglomeration effects, and rebalancing effects (reducing spatial inequality).

The importance of these indirect impacts cannot be over-estimated.

Over the past five years, there have been moves, led by government, to re-balance the way major infrastructure schemes are funded by including a keener focus on both wider econmic impacts, and on the broader ‘strategic’ case for making better places in social and environmental terms. Sadly, the strategic case is, as yet, unspecified and requires further development work before it impacts funding flows.

But it is clear that transport infrastructure is no longer is regarded merely as a means with which to connect people and places. Connectivity is an important component of successful urban regeneration and place-making: local and global mobility functions enhance a city’s image and quality of life, and set the stage for densification and agglomeration economies. 

Urban Regeneration

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Juliana O’Rourke is the editorial director at Resource for Urban Development International (RUDI), Europe’s leading resource dedicated to urban design, development and placemaking.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.rudi.net

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41

Community Development Written by Alison Seabrooke, Chief Executive, Community Development Foundation

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

MY COMMUNITY

Taking the first steps to people centred policies Alison Seabrooke of the Community Development Foundation discusses the First Steps programme and how its community-led activity is turning policies into action The first 100 days of the new Parliament passed by quietly in mid-August. In this short time, the new government has generated a variety of policy updates that have hit the headlines. From reforming the NHS, improving social care and shaking up the justice system; these policies all have one thing in common: the solutions must be people-centred and responsive to need.

In and amongst this narrative, there is a clear role for community-led activity to turn these policies into action. Community groups are experts about their areas; trusted by locals and committed to the individuals they serve. Put simply, they make life better because they are able to quickly and flexibly

Steps, which we are delivering here at the Community Development Foundation (CDF).

We are very proud to be delivering this programme, giving more communities a chance to shape their local area. CDF is passionate about helping communities to drive change locally and have seen how a community-centred approach can help reduce inequality and deprivation, encourage social cohesion and reduce the strain on public services.

THE FIRST STEPS PROGRAMME The First Steps programme was launched on 1 April 2015 and is helping 115 communities to identify important local issues that matter to

Community groups are experts about their areas; trusted by locals and committed to the individuals they serve. Put simply, they make life better because they are able to quickly and flexibly respond to the needs of the people who need them respond to the needs of the people who need them. So now, more than ever before, the public sector must work alongside individuals and communities to deliver public services across the policy spectrum.

COMMUNITY CONTROL One innovative way that the government is enabling this to happen is through My Community. This is a package of support that is helping communities to take control over their land and buildings, services, planning and local economies through the Community Rights, introduced in the Localism Act 2011. My Community comprises several programmes: Our Place, Community Ownership and Management of Assets (COMA) and Neighbourhood Planning, which are delivered by Locality; Community Economic Development (CED), which is delivered by Co-operatives UK; and First

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

them. It is designed to give small community groups the freedom to develop a community action plan to improve their neighbourhood and participants tend to be just starting along the path of community action. To support this activity, each area receives a grant of £2,500 towards resources to help write their community action plan, as well as training sessions and online learning materials.

Each project has a dedicated community development professional called a Relationship Manager to help guide the group, offering advice on their plan and helping them chose the best type of support from the package - in much the same way that a consultant would help a new start-up write its business plan. So far, the Relationship Managers tell us that they are enjoying the programme because it gives them a unique opportunity to mentor and support a lot of people who are new to community activity.

MY COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES First Steps and Our Place sit side by side in the suite of programmes on offer through My Community. First Steps complements and broadens the activity of the Our Place programme to different types of communities, using a similar programme structure. The Our Place approach began as the Neighbourhood Community Budgets (NCB) programme, which ran in 12 pilot areas in 2012-13. It was then extended to 118 areas for the Our Place programme in 2014-15 and is running again this year with a further 64 areas.

To enable learning, discussion and sharing of best practice across the programmes, CDF also runs the My Community Network on the Just Act website to give anyone involved in their community a place where they can chat to experts, access support and get in touch with others who are passionate about their community. All content is publically visible,

with users needing to create an account to be able to contribute to discussions.

It is the perfect place for public sector employees to dip in to see the variety of projects involved in the programmes and the types of activities that are taking place.

MEET THE FIRST STEPS PROJECTS First Steps projects are working across a variety of policy areas, such as getting people back into work, reducing social isolation, providing activities for children and young people and preventing crime and anti-social behaviour. They are an incredible example of the passion and will of community groups to improve people’s lives and society as a whole.

This ability of community groups to selfmobilise and address local issues was the key finding of our research, published in October last year, ‘Tailor-made: how community groups improve people’s lives’, which centred around

the activities of small community groups, many of which were running on income of less than £2,000 a year. The research was called ‘Tailor-made’ because that’s exactly what community groups are; they evolve out of community needs, are led by local people and serve the people on their doorsteps. As a result, they provide services and activities that are a perfect fit for their communities and are delivering the people-centred approach to which so many service providers aspire.

For example in Newcastle, the First Steps project Surface Area Dance Theatre Community Interest Company (CIC) is hoping to diversify their activities by consulting with the local deaf community to inform what future activities should take place.

Nicole Vivien Watson from the organisation said: “We are aiming to change the perception of disability. Our participants have an abundance of creativity and

Community Development

we aim to change the landscape of our community by unveiling the talents and the visibility of disabled arts practitioners, activists and talents of the future.”

Whereas the ‘Bringing Words To Life’ project in Blaydon-on-Tyne, Co. Durham is all about creating a space for the community creativity – in turn helping to spark growth to the local economy. They are looking to set up a community hub to provide literacy workshops for all ages and affordable office space for local social enterprises; complete with a community café.

Melanie Cornish from the project said: “We are a relatively new organisation so this programme allows us to test the waters with our ideas to see if what we want to do is appealing to our community. The First Steps training on offer tackles some of the issues we may come up against and not to be involved in the programme would really have been a bad strategic move on our part”.

Lastly the ‘A Team’ project in Haringey, North London is aiming to develop a dynamic Mental Health Community Network for vulnerable young people and adults.

Yasnie Rolston from the project said: “First Steps is an excellent opportunity for us to engage with members of our local community who are experiencing mental ill health. For many, the support they receive is inadequate leading to erratic access to health and social care services and lack of participation in social activities.

“Therefore the aim of our Mental Health Matters Project is to reach out to vulnerable people living with mental ill health who are facing social isolation, disconnect, acute loneliness and fragmented support to find out what matters to them and how their experiences can be improved.”

THE OUTLOOK At the half-way point of this programme, we can already see how First Steps is giving a new wave of communities the confidence and support they need to take action and improve their local areas. The projects are from across all nine regions and cover a plethora of policy areas – showing that there is real engagement and desire in communities to step up and make a change.

By working in partnership with these groups, the public sector is likely to find a welcome ally in turning the government’s reforms into successful services that work for individuals and improve people’s lives. 

CDF runs the First Steps programme and the My Community Network, which are both part of the My Community package run by Locality. These support programmes and network are funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

FURTHER INFORMATION www.cdf.org.uk www.mycommunity.org.uk

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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EVENT PREVIEW

SALTEX 2015

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Pitching new ideas at SALTEX 2015 The UK’s national event for grounds care, sports, amenities, estates and green space management moves from an outdoor venue to the halls of the NEC Birmingham on 4-5 November The new look Sports, Amenities, Landscaping Trade Exhibition (SALTEX) will fill the NEC Birmingham on 4 and 5 November to mark the 70th anniversary of the show. The exhibition will feature a comprehensive programme of free educational seminars and will, for the first time, combine with the Institute of Groundsmanship’s (IOG) annual Industry Awards dinner.

This year’s Learning Live education programme will offer grounds and open space practitioners across all disciplines, volunteer as well as professional, a large selection of knowledge-gathering sessions.

Visitors can attend any of the 47 educational seminars on the show floor, hosted by partner associations and industry experts, within the two-day Learning Live programme – many of which have CPD points connected to them.

SPORTS SURFACES The seminar theatre next to the IOG Hub will feature sports turf management panel debates with high-profile industry

professionals taking centre stage. Mark Saggers, journalist and radio presenter on talkSPORT will host the ‘Gaining Ground’ turf management debates. The former Sky News and BBC Sports correspondent is a regular IOG conference and Awards host and visitors to SALTEX 2015 will be pleased to see him reprising his role. The Gaining Ground theatre will be of particular interest to those with interests in fine turf and a variety of sports surfaces. Visitors to this theatre will be able to choose from a range of informative seminar sessions presented by some of the industry’s national and international experts.

Lee Metcalfe and Roy Rigby, of Manchester City FC, will host a case study of the Manchester City Academy, discussing the challenges in moving from old to new and producing the best quality surfaces. Adam King, of Radley College, will also host a case study entitled ‘Multiple Sports = Multiple Demands’, which will highlight a year in the life of a team managing the diverse needs of summer and winter sports at an independent school, including rugby, football, hockey, cricket and golf, on natural and artificial surfaces.

Additionally, there will also be a discussion entitled ‘Turf Management in Professional 

Visitors can attend any of the 47 educational seminars on the show floor, hosted by partner associations and industry experts, within the two-day Learning Live programme – many of which have CPD points connected to them Young Board of Directors at Saltex 2014

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Groundsman two and four wheel drive Turf Cutters cut sod down to 7cm thick and from 30cm-60cm widths. Blades are available that can work down to 13cm depth including a Trench Blade, Sub-soil De-compactor, Mole-drain and a Cable-pulling Blade. The TMC26 is the general purpose model in the range. It is extremely capable in all types of grass surfaces and soil conditions, manoeuvrable in work, portable and easy to operate with the lowest hand-arm vibration levels (HAV) on the market.

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EVENT PREVIEW

Mark Saggers, journalist and radio presenter on talkSPORT

 Sport – the next 5 years’, which will focus on how to get the best from pitches at all levels of the professional sport pyramid.

Other industry experts to feature include: Mark Pover, national facilities manager at the FA; Chris Wood, pitch consultant for the ECB; and Simon Winman, head of club development at Rugby Football Union.

Other professional bodies supporting the show and contributing to the Learning Live programme include: The Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA), The British and International Golf Greenkeepers’ Association (BIGGA), The Amenity Forum, The Institute for Occupational Health, and Safety (IOSH), British Agricultural & Garden Machinery Association (BAGMA) and the Sports and Play Construction Association (SAPCA). The Chartered Institute of Horticulture (IOH) will also host its annual conference at SALTEX.

Mark , Saggersand ist journal senter on re radio p RT will host talkSPOning Ground’ i the ‘Ga anagement turf m bates de

PARKS AND OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENTS Two further theatres will feature dedicated seminars relevant to those working in the school, play, amenity, parks, arboriculture and forestry environments.

The ‘Standards for Outdoor Sports Equipment’ presentation will give an expert view of how standards will affect the purchasing of sports equipment and advice to ensure the equipment is maintained and used correctly, with Mark Harrod, SAPCA/BSI Technical Committee for sports equipment. A case study entitled ‘A Walk in the Park’ will look at how Birmingham City Council has concentrated on providing opportunities to increase activity levels in its communities, working with partners to deliver a wide range of activities, as well as what the programme has delivered, what worked vs what didn’t, and how the council intends to develop initiatives for the future.

There will also be a discussion on ‘The Control of Pests, Weeds & Diseases – challenges, threats & opportunities’ that will see an invited panel answer questions on all matters relating to weed, pest and disease control. The panel will consist of Professor John Moverley, Amenity Forum (chair); Will Kay, Languard; Dr Ruth Mann, STRI Research Department at the Amenity Forum; David Layland, JKC; and Chris Gray of IOG Education. They will have no pre-warning of the questions and the audience will be invited to contribute to debates on any subject.

Building on this, a presentation will ask the question ‘Is There a Future for Pesticides?’, examining why an integrated approach to weed, pest and disease control should be considered best practice and why the choice of control pesticides remains a vital and effective component of the mix.

Additionally, a presentation entitled ‘Sun Exposure and Skin Cancer – practical advice

for outdoor workers’ will highlight the scale of the problem, look at people’s attitudes and behaviours to the sun, examine the causes of skin cancer and offer advice for working outdoors safely.

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE From an international perspective, the Learning Live programme will feature an in-depth look at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in New Zealand – the world’s only natural turf playing surface under a permanently fixed roof – by the STRI’s Dr Richard Gibbs. Phil Sharples, currently the director of pitches for Gabala FC in Azerbaijan, will focus on some of the challenges he has faced while working overseas. Bertrand Picard from Natural Grass will offer a French perspective on turfcare, while Ian Craig, regional agronomist for STRI, will relay the bizarre turf management experiences he encountered while working at the Africa Cup of Nations 2015.

GROUNDSMANSHIP For young people looking to advance their career in the groundscare industry, a half-day Young Groundsmen’s Conference, sponsored

by Rigby Taylor/Top Green and organised by the IOG’s Young Board of Directors, will focus on the key issues for developing young people and helping them to advance their careers.

Two discussions will take place, with the first entitled ‘What Makes You Employable’. This will feature the country’s top groundsman giving advice on what is expected from someone who wants to develop in the turf industry. The second, entitled ’How to Get Young People Involved in your Work Place’, will see top industry experts, including Tony Stones from Wembley Stadium and Lee Fortis from The Kia Oval, discuss how they engage, motivate and

SALTEX 2015

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develop those entering the industry.

There will also be a number of presentations, including ‘The Art of Good Leadership and Management’, which will see development consultant Steve Woolland discuss the secret to achieving the best results for you and your staff. Hosted on the evening of the first day (4 November), the IOG Industry Awards at the Hilton Metropole is set to be the UK’s biggest celebration in groundsmanship; with 19 awards up for grabs, Alistair McGowan providing the after dinner entertainment and talkSPORT’s Mark Saggers hosting the event.

NEW LOCATION SALTEX’s move from an outdoor environment into the halls of the NEC Birmingham has been met with tremendous support from both exhibitors and visitors alike. A packed exhibitor list containing some of the industry’s biggest names along with confirmation of new exciting features, has ensured that this year’s exhibition is set to be the biggest SALTEX to date.

The new, centrally located, national exhibition venue and the more convenient time of year has attracted more than 200 exhibitors representing forestry, play, groundscare machinery, artificial surfaces, natural turf, landscaping products, pest control, line marking, waste management, sports equipment, litter and landfill and engine fuels. This resulted in show organisers extending the show footprint by adding an extra hall to accommodate the increased interest.

The NEC has well connected transport links to the rest of the country – with more than 75 per cent of the UK’s population situated within just three hours from the venue. Additionally visitors who decide to travel by Virgin Rail can receive 25 per cent discount on their ticket fare.  FURTHER INFORMATION www.iogsaltex.com

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Learning & Development Written by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

48

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Learning the right skills for the future

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development examine how the evolution of learning and development can adapt to the modern workplace and improve organisational performance The world of work is evolving so quickly that new challenges and opportunities are emerging all the time. Changes within the public sector highlight the importance of equipping organisations and their people with the right skills for the future.

The way in which we learn at work is also changing. When the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for HR and people development, published its annual Learning and Development survey earlier this year, it found a growing shift towards creating a hands-on learning culture, with internal knowledge-sharing initiatives such as job shadowing and social learning becoming increasingly commonplace.

Coaching by line managers or peers was the method of learning most likely to grow in use over the next two years, according to almost two-thirds of respondents. E-learning was the second most favoured learning technique, indicating that many organisations are increasingly using technology to support learning and development (L&D).

The survey also found that just 7 per cent

of L&D professionals evaluate the impact of their initiatives on the wider business or society, with most limiting their focus to learner and manager feedback. A lack of effective evaluation can contribute to skills gaps being undetected, particularly in the use of innovative approaches such as new learning technologies.

It is difficult to predict the ways in which L&D will evolve over the next few years, but there are a number of key tools we have which can help shape the future, and evaluation is one of them. It is crucial that L&D professionals understand how different learning initiatives connect to people’s everyday roles and measure the impact of any L&D initiative.

New generations in the workforce will expect different things from L&D and their careers, so constant evaluation is key. In practice, a blend of methods and a range of delivery channels is important to maximise the impact of L&D on the workforce and the business as a whole.

The survey also highlights a number of L&D capability gaps (such as analytical and technological skills), which as a

A lack on ati of evalutribute can conls gaps to skil etected, nd being u larly in the particu learning use of logies techno

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

profession we need to address, says Ruth Stuart, CIPD adviser. These findings are also reflected in other CIPD research published this year (L&D: Evolving roles, enhancing skills). Many L&D practitioners report a lack of confidence in using learning technology and yet also predict growth in areas such as virtual classrooms and social learning. It’s clear that if we are to maximise the value of our investments, we need to make sure we have the right skills in place first. The importance of ‘L&D for L&D’ should not be underestimated.

With the public sector facing significant budgetary cuts, it’s even more important to ensure that the L&D investments we make are the right ones and activity is directed towards improving organisational performance. We’ve seen before that tough times can actually be the spark that fosters innovation. Therefore, it’s possible that in future years the most interesting L&D developments may emerge from the sectors currently experiencing the greatest challenge.

FUTURE-FOCUS Future-focused HR is the theme of this year’s CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition in Manchester. Thousands of HR and L&D professionals will gather at this major event, which takes place on 4-5 November. This year the event looks at the future of the profession, new developments in thinking and practice, and the drive towards greater value and impact in organisations and the economy.

Conference sessions will be geared around five key topic streams: Insights into Changing Context, which will look at understanding business change, and the external factors that are forcing the need for greater agility and innovation; HR Essentials and Learning Processes, which will look at exploring the latest issues that help maximise the capabilities and value of the HR function; Business, Commercial Insight and Analytics, which will look at progressing the agenda for people metrics and analytics to better understand business value and outcomes; Science of Human and Organisational Behaviour, which will look at getting back to our roots and applying

research from psychology, behavioural sciences and neuroscience to rethink people management and development processes; and Innovation, Digital and Technology, which will look at what’s happening in the continued push towards use of technology and digital in driving more efficient and effective HR and learning practices.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Two keynote speeches from internationally renowned thought leaders will also be delivered at the conference. Sir Cary Cooper CBE, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health and author of over 120 books, will deliver the opening keynote on bridging the productivity gap through mental capital and wellbeing at work, discussing the causes and consequences of stress in the workplace. He will also explore policies and interventions for enhancing wellbeing and reducing ill health in the workforce.

Herminia Ibarra, Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and Learning, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD and one of the world’s pre-eminent thought leaders, will give the closing keynote on acting and thinking like a leader for success. There will be two days of seminars, master classes and workshops featuring speakers from top organisations including Microsoft, Ministry of Defence, EDF Energy,

Virgin Money and L’Oreal, as well as many other recognised leaders in the HR field.

MAKING THE RIGHT CHANGES One of the case-study based sessions that explores the challenge of organisational change from an international perspective will be presented by Low Peck Kem, chief HR officer, Public Service Division, Prime Minister’sOffice, Singapore. Entitled ‘Delivering large scale-public sector transformation through effective HR’, the session will delve into HR’s role in delivering and embedding transformation across the public service. This includes strategies to remain an employer of choice that is progressive and fair, and enabling transformation by addressing skills and capability gaps in leaders and staff.

Another case-study session focusing on transformational change features speakers from HRMC and BBC Worldwide. The event will also be an opportunity to learn about, and contribute to, the CIPD’s ‘Profession for the Future’ strategy, which is focused on helping HR and L&D meet its full potential to champion better work and working lives in the rapidly changing world of work.

Peter Cheese, CIPD chief executive comments: “Advances in technology, globalisation and demographic changes mean the world of work is changing all the time. More and more organisations are

starting to question and rethink some of the most well-established HR practices to be more adaptive and fit for the demands of a changing workforce, workplace, and the changing nature of the jobs we do. With he growing debate about purpose, principles, values and creating businesses that are truly sustainable in every sense of the word, HR needs to go back to its roots and really focus on the human in human resources.”

Learning & Development

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EXHIBITION INSIGHTS The CIPD exhibition runs alongside the conference, featuring more than 200 leading HR and L&D suppliers who will be showcasing their latest innovations and solutions. They will cover the whole spectrum of HR and L&D activity including OD and change, employee benefits, talent development and L&D technologies.

Alongside on-stand activities, launches and expert advice, the exhibition has a free programme of bite-sized learning sessions and insights from suppliers, echoing key themes on the conference agenda. CIPD experts and conference speakers will also be continuing discussion and debate on future challenges and opportunities in a new Future HR Arena on the exhibition floor.  FURTHER INFORMATION www.cipd.co.uk

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and the challenges when deploying these programmes. Mark is widely recognised as the authority on experiential learning, organisational development and leadership development within the healthcare industry.

Mark explains: “We all have to work with constraints on budget, are under pressure to do more with less and to be constantly innovating. Because government structures are tighter, we are open to higher levels of external scrutiny which can ultimately limit our scope. Particularly with the NHS, external factors can obscure the long-term vision of the organisation. However, I do believe there is more that unites us than divides us. We view our L&D as an ‘In-house further education college’ where employees receive knowledge that is both internally and externally complimentary to their roles.”

EVENT PREVIEW

Driving forward learning and development

Global public affair Learning and Development professionals are to provide insight at this year’s World of Learning Conference & Exhibition on 29-30 September and Birmingham’s NEC Leading learning and development experts from the NHS, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Manchester Metropolitan University are set to share their expertise at the illustrious World of Learning Conference & Exhibition.

The world renowned event, now celebrating its 23rd year, will take place on 29-30 September at Birmingham’s NEC. Combining a comprehensive conference with an exhibition and programme of interactive workshops including the Technological Test Drive area, The Mindfulness Zone and the

Experiential Learning Zone, visitors will gain a clear understanding of universal developments affecting Learning & Development (L&D) across both the public and private sectors.

Dr Mark Cole, Head of Learning & Development at the Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust, will lead a practical and informative speaker session titled ‘Coaching in support of learning through practice’ in which he will discuss how to make learning the business of everyone in the organisation, incorporating effective coaching techniques into development strategies

World of Learning

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

MENTAL TOUGHNESS How to integrate ‘mental toughness’ within the workforce will be addressed by Peter Clough, a world-leading academic and Chair in Applied Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University. Beginning with an exploration of its origins, the idea of resilience and confidence, Peter will explain how people who display characteristics of mental toughness are generally more successful, regardless of age, gender or race.

Peter reveals: “Data shows that they are generally successful, achieving results and high ranking positions within organisations. They tend to be driven, competitive and ambitious – but not aggressive or domineering. Mental toughness applies to fundamental areas of a business such as staff development and leadership development. It is a core skill to have at hand when dealing with challenge and change in the working environment.”

Peter argues that mental toughness can be nurtured either by aspiring to be more mentally tough or by mimicking what mentally tough people do in times of pressure or stress. Regularly, the latter leads to the former as new behaviour becomes hard wired.

PROPERTY SERVICES Hesketh Emden, Head of Training, Development and Leadership at NHS Property Services, will share advice on ‘developing an effective learning strategy with a limited budget and limited resources’.

Topics that will be explored include how to create a people development strategy from scratch, successful implementation of cost effective solutions, as well as advice on implementing technology based initiatives to government backed enterprise with open source web-based appraisal, conversation, e-learning and how to effectively support learning based business online.

Formed in 2013, NHS Property Services manages, maintains and improves NHS properties and facilities, working in partnership with NHS organisations to create safe, efficient, sustainable 

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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TO REQUEST YOUR 2015 REINTEC CATALOGUE TEXT REINTEC TO 64121

reintec.com / 08456 02 82 71 Safety / Value / Availability / Support

EVENT PREVIEW

 and modern healthcare and working environments. NHS Property Services has responsibility for 4,000 buildings – worth over £3 billion – which were previously owned, leased or managed by Primary Care Trusts and strategic health authorities.

Hesketh explains: “With the creation of NHS Property Services many different roles across different locations in the UK were brought under one umbrella. This included office based staff as well as hospital‑based functions encompassing cleaners, caterers, porters, maintenance, engineers and surveyors. My role included setting up training, management development, commercial training and appraisals.

“With 3,200 staff from 161 NHS organisations where do you start? The answer is the business plan. The L&D function has to align with the business plan; this needs to be communicated to staff – so they’re aware of the reasons behind their training and the benefits to both them and the business.”

EMPLOYMENT ENGAGEMENT Ensuring consistent and sustained employee engagement from day one in the public sector is a key topic that Demelza Jackson, Learning & Development Manager, Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) will discuss in her speaker session. Through an integrated onboarding strategy between managers and HR professionals, a successful learning and development culture can be embedded into the wider corporate ethos.

Demelza gives a brief overview into the onboarding process, remarking: “Regardless of whether they work in the public or private sectors, people have to ensure they have the right skills. At DEFRA, we have to be constantly aware that the taxpayer is getting the right value for money.

“Whenever there are cuts in funding, L&D

World of Learning

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

“O confereur at the h nce is the eve eart of valuabl nt, providing e all the kinsight into facing tey issues he industr L&D y”

programmes are often the first to be discarded.

However, in every department within the wider civil service sector, there are programmes that are divided into formats such as e-learning, face to face resources offering courses on leadership, project management - all housed under one generic portal. Within the civil service, we like to say that everyone has to spend at least five days a year learning.”

Andrew Gee, senior project manager for the World of Learning explains: “Our comprehensive conference is at the heart of the World of Learning event, providing valuable insight into all the key new and existing issues facing the L&D industry, from developing resilience, talent management, gamification, the use of storytelling and ensuring L&D drives business growth.

Alongside this our exciting programme of free seminars focuses on a variety of specialist topics around the main conference themes, attendees can enjoy a packed, productive and valuable experience.”

Head of Organisational Effectiveness for Crossrail, Rob Jones, will be delivering a free seminar on ‘how to engage your team and deliver optimal performance’, while senior executives from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health will be showcasing the development of its e-learning platform.

INSPIRATION ZONES Alongside the highly respected conference and free seminars are the Inspiration Zones – immersive areas where visitors can receive interactive and effective advice on best practice and new developments.

The Technology Test Drive area and the Mindfulness Zone will enable visitors to both test the latest innovations and receive practical information in creating a growing and sustainable rise in employee productivity and engagement.

The benefits of mindfulness on health and general well-being are not only well documented, as evidenced by the latest studies in neuroscience, they are becoming increasingly employed by both private and public multinationals- indeed Transport for London have reported a 71 per cent decrease in absence rates due to work related stress. For public affairs professionals wanting to receive a bespoke programme on mental toughness, they can attend the Resilience Zone where they will receive personalised training on resilience, agility and wellbeing in the workplace.

The Experiential Learning Zone offers a collection of specialised workshops on vital areas such as learning practice in uncertain circumstances including ‘Creating a learning culture in a VUCA (Volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world’, ‘Lending and learning in the agile workplace’ and ‘Barbed wire and minefields: what’s stopping you implementing technology?’

Andrew Gee from the World of Learning concludes: “The World of Learning Conference & Exhibition is essential for anyone involved in the L&D, HR or leadership sectors. It provides a unique opportunity for visitors to become proficient in the latest trends, while networking and expanding their industry contracts.”  FURTHER INFORMATION www.learnevents.com

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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If you’re looking for somewhere that will really inspire your delegates and encourage fresh creative thinking, look no further.

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Give our sales team a call on 03448 267715, email centerparcs.events@centerparcs.co.uk or visit www.centerparcsevents.co.uk

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EVENT PREVIEW

Educating and inspiring office professionals Combining a world-class training programme and sophisticated exhibition, the Office Show will welcome 4,000 executive support professionals to Olympia, London on 13-14 October 2015 The Office Show is the must-attend exhibition and conference for the UK’s personal assistants (PAs), executive assistants (EAs), virtual assistants (VAs) and Office Managers.

The 2015 event is expecting to host thousands of attendees across its two day programme.

With its mix of innovative products and services, networking and inspiring seminars, the Office Show features everything delegates need to excel and develop in their career.

The show is the ideal place to meet new and existing suppliers, keep your skill sets up-to-date in the free seminars, hear inspirational free Keynotes, celebrate National PA Day and network with fellow PAs, EAs, VAs and Office Managers. This years show includes Keynotes from Zelda La Grange and Judith Croasdell, former Pas to Nelson Mandela and Stephen Hawking.

PANEL DEBATES AND KEYNOTES The list of registered keynotes include journalist and writer Bryony Gordon, PA Life’s editor Amelia Walker Kaval Vaseer on ‘The Art of Being Brilliant’. Additionally, barrister

and businesswoman Miranda Brawn Esq will share her own insights and highlights from her 20-year career in law and finance. This session will cover top tips to success which will help you unleash your own personal power in order to succeed. The headline keynote on day one is by Zelda La Grange.

Zelda was Nelson Mandela’s PA for 19 years and in this captivating headline keynote she shares her story working for one of the most influential leaders of our time.

On the second day the keynote theatre will host Heather White addressing ‘Developing your personal brand’. Heather is the founder of Smarter Networking which is a niche organisation specialising in teaching people ‘How to Network’ and ‘How to Create Your Personal Brand’ for career and business and success. ‘Overcoming Adversity - The Story Behind Gandys’ will be a session led by Rob Forkan, who will describe his incredible journey through trial and

error following the tsunami tragedy.

Tanya Mann Renwick, creator of STARR Principle, and Tess Alps, chief executive of Thinkbox, both lead sessions within the keynote theatre. In the second days headline keynote, Judith Croasdell, former PA to Professor Stephen Hawking. In this session Judith will share her story and provide an unrivalled insight into ‘Working with a Genius’. Judith’s ten years with Professor Hawking involved almost daily contact with the great man and thus with the world’s media, and organised Professor Hawking’s famous zero-gravity flight from Florida.

The Office Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

TUESDAY SEMINAR PROGRAMME The Office Show 2015 has over 36 seminars covering a wide range of inspirational topics allowing you to mix and match sessions to your own career development needs. The seminar programme in Office Theatre 1 opens with a discussion on ‘Social Media – No Longer a Nice to Have’, by Lucy Brazier.

Lucy is the founder of Executive Secretary Magazine and will advise on how to use social media most effectively as an assistant, how it enhance your presence online and how to turn online fans into customers.

Following the social media discussion, Capita Learning Services’ Liz Kemp hosts a seminar entitled ‘Problem Solving for the PA’. Liz will teach the four key stages to quick and effective problem solving, advise on how to best use decision making tools to select your best option, and how to communicate and evaluate your success so you get more recognition.

Immediately after Liz’s seminar in the same theatre, Carmen MacDougal, Talent Delivery Manager for Virgin Trains Talent Academy, addresses ‘The real strategy 

The 201 event is5 expecti host th ng to o of attenusands d across i ees two-da ts program y me

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w.emergencyuk.com | NEC | Birmingham | 23-24 September 2015 | www.emergencyuk.com | NEC | Birmingham | 23-24 September 2015 | www.emergencyuk.com | NEC | Birmingham | 2

Where collaboration meets innovation

A unique event for anyone who works in the emergency services Come along to the Show on 23rd and 24th September at the NEC, Birmingham to: • See and handle the latest equipment, kit, vehicles and technology • Receive training in the latest rescue and lifesaving techniques • Network with other blue light services and rescue organisations • Gain a deeper understanding of the support available from voluntary sector partners Register for free entry today at www.emergencyuk.com

IF YOU HELP OTHERS IN AN EMERGENCY YOU SHOULD BE AT THE EMERGENCY SERVICES SHOW Thanks to our Show supporters

EVENT PREVIEW  behind talent management – Get Noticed and Shape Your Future Career’.

Talent management is one of the key ways companies are now supporting their future stars, including their PAs. To become your own inner leader and execute your own talent management, this seminar will guide you to start shaping your future to give you purpose, focus and direction in order to elevate you to the next level.

Dr Nick Buckley, of Mindfulness at Work, runs a seminar titled ‘Office Calmer – How Mindfulness techniques can help you to be more effective and look after yourself’. Based on an award-winning workplace course, this session will de-mystify the word ‘Mindfulness’ that is now popping up everywhere. It will give you first-hand experience of a Mindfulness practice and it explains what you can do to find out more and get started on your own routine; what the benefits of Mindfulness are for individuals in their work and home lives; and why so many teams and larger organisations are undertaking Mindfulness training together.

A JOB WELL DONE In Office Theatre 2, Rosemary Parr of the Global PA Association, provides a session offering a fresh perspective on how to create success in your personal and business life.

The session, ‘Job Well Done! How to be Personally and Professionally effective as an

Executive PA’, will provide the tools, tips and key takeaways on how to balance the mental, emotional and physical at work and in life for peak performance in all that you do.

Succeeding Rosemary’s session, EA Trainer Practitioner Adam Fidler shares his thoughts on the role of the 21st Century PA, and why every Assistant needs to be better prepared to meet the challenges and considerations of progressive organisations who are seeking ‘transformational PAs. ‘The PA Pathway to becoming a Brand Ambassador’ is a session hosted by Victoria Darragh of the Executive & Personal Assistants Association, and will provide practical hints and tips on shaping your brand as a PA. LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT The Hemsley Fraser Theatre will hold sessions

by Ian Caldecourt on ‘Performance Matters’ and ‘Managing Difficult People Before They Manage You’. Jean Sutcliffe will also lead discussions on ‘Effective Minute Taking’ and how to ‘Be Assertive and Confident in the Workplace’.

Jean has been a learning and development consultant for 15 years, and has considerable experience in research, design and delivery of PA Professional programmes. A regular presenter at Office Professional conferences, Jean will pass on experience and knowledge through her passionate and interactive delivery.

On day two of the event in Office Theatre 3,

BMTG’s Ian Shipley will host a session on ‘The Executive Personal Assistant as a Facilitator and Leader of Service Excellence’. This interactive session will focus on how the Executive Personal Assistant can deliver service excellence to both the internal and external customers.

In the same theatre, Melba Duncan will address ‘Management, Leadership and Innovation: The Indispensable Role of Executive Support’. Melba J. Duncan is the Founder and President of The Duncan Group and aims to ensure delegates understand how vital your role is to the UK’s corporate economic revival and why the role of the EA is truly one of indispensability.

Other sessions not to miss on day two include Angela Garry’s talk on ‘A beginner’s guide to integrating the many parts of the PA’, Kevin Waters asking ‘Why do bad things happen to good event planners?’, Francis McGinty advising on ‘How you can profit from stress’ and Lindsay Taylor on ’The HELLO strategy to networking’. 

The Office Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

The entrance to Olympia Central – Level one, is on Hammersmith Road just beyond the entrance to the National Hall. Both days, 13-14 October, have opening times of 9:00am-5:00pm.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.officeshow.co.uk

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Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Emergency Services Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

EVENT PREVIEW

Technology, innovation and collaboration at The Emergency Services Show The Emergency Services Show returns to the NEC in Birmingham on 23 and 24 September with over 400 organisations exhibiting and thousands of visitors expected to attend from across the emergency services, resilience, emergency planning and voluntary sector A showcase of technical innovation, expertise, and collaborative practice with unrivalled networking opportunities, the two-day exhibition is easy to get to and free to attend.

Visitors can network with emergency services and rescue organisations and meet with government departments such as DCLG-RED, The Civil Contingencies Secretariat, The Environment Agency and Public Health England. They can also gain a deeper understanding of the support available from NGOs and charities like the British Red Cross, St John Ambulance and the Royal Life Saving Society, as well as see and handle the latest equipment, systems, vehicles and technology.

The emergency response voluntary sector has a substantial resource of trained and skilled people, vehicles, equipment and premises that provide practical and emotional support before, during and after an emergency. This allows the emergency services to concentrate on the immediate needs of a crisis, freeing up vital resource. Within the dedicated Emergency Response Zone visitors can meet organisations from across the voluntary sector.

PACKED PROGRAMME This year’s show features a packed programme of free seminars covering innovation, training and collaboration (organised with the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme and the Emergency Services Collaboration Group). Highlights of the Innovation Theatre programme include Richard Hewlett, Home Office ESMCP Deputy Programme Director, who will be leading a briefing entitled Emergency Services Network (ESN) – Making it Happen and Luana Avagliano, Head of ResilienceDirect and colleagues, who will present on Building Foundations for a Resilient Future and Keeping the UK Crisis Resilient.

Resilience organisations exhibiting include CFOA National Resilience, Institute of Civil Protection & Emergency Management,

ResilienceDirect, the Arson Prevention Forum, School of Resilience and Emergency Response and the Emergency Planning Society, as well as training providers like the Fire Training Group, Training 4 Resilience, PGI Training, Mabway and Red One. SPEAKERS

Dr Andy Carson of the West r’s Midlands Ambulance This yeatures Service is also speaking a e f show cked in the Innovation theatre on his a pa f o e m service’s Electronic m a r prog minars Patient Record free se novation, g in coverinining and tra ration collabo

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

system. In the Training theatre, Alex Ritchie and Andrew Hartley of SECAmb will present the Simbulance mobile educational concept for ambulance crews and healthcare clinicians.

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) will be showcasing its impressive mobile treatment centre. The purpose-built mobile treatment centre vehicle has treatment areas for up to eight patients at any one time, a reception and patient waiting area, toilets and showers and infection control and cleansing and staff welfare facilities.

The College of Paramedics will again be running a series of free Continual

Drone and BWV put in the spotlight Professional Development sessions with topics covered including: pain management, mental health/capacity, trauma, wound care, basic and advanced airway management, normal birth and prescribing.

Body Worn Video will also feature on both the exhibition stands and in the Innovation Seminar Theatre. Experts speaking on the topic include Ben Clark, Inspector, Metropolitan Police Service who gives an overview of the MPS BWV Project. Also in the Innovation Theatre Justin Pringle, a drone developer with Drone Ops will also give an overview of the benefits UAVs can offer the emergency services, particularly in managing ground crew risk.

Exhibitor Westbase Technology has partnered with Panasonic ProServices and Vauxhall Specialist Vehicles to deliver on-the-road connectivity and create ‘mobile police stations’ for UK forces.

The solution has enabled the deployment of automatic number plate and facial recognition technology, helping to quickly identify vehicles and suspects of interest with greater accuracy.

Volvo and Mercedes-Benz will also be profiling their latest vehicles for emergency service use at the show. Yamaha Motors will show its latest Police specification FJR1300A Motorcycle, the RNLI’s V1 WaveRunner Rescue Water Craft and an

array of ATVs, vehicles, generators and water pumps for emergency service use.

West Midlands Fire Service will be sharing how it has successfully employed technological advancements such as drones and body worn video in the Innovation Theatre and members of the West Midlands Fire Service Research and Development team will lead a panel discussion on the future of multi-agency emergency response.

FIRE AND RESCUE Visitors with an interest in fire and rescue vehicles will find leading names such as Rosenbauer and Volvo Trucks, as well as Incident Command Units and welfare units, all types of in and on-vehicle ancillary equipment, including communications and IT, from providers like Primetech and Excelerate Technology. Many protective clothing manufacturers and suppliers are launching new products including Bollé Safety, Bennett Safetywear, Magnum, Technical Absorbents and Bristol Uniforms.

The NEC is linked to Birmingham International Station and Birmingham Airport and is directly accessible from the UK motorway network. Parking for visitors and exhibitors is free of charge. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.emergencyuk.com

Emergency Services Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Body Worn Video (BWV) will be key talking points at this year’s Emergency Services Show.

Very much under the media spotlight this summer, UAVs can offer incredible benefits to the response, rescue and resilience sector. In the Innovation Theatre delegates can hear from West Midlands Fire Service, which has over 10 years’ experience of using UAVs in partnership with other category one services.

On day two Justin Pringle, a drone developer with Drone Ops will give an overview of the benefits UAVs can offer the emergency services, particularly in managing ground crew risk.

In the exhibition visitors can find out about the UAV training courses offered by Sky-Futures who can train remote pilots to fly safely and procedurally using best practice from manned aviation and its 8,500 hours of operational drone flying experience. In collaboration with the Fire Service College it has produced structured, CAA approved courses for the police, fire and rescue service, ambulance service, USAR and other emergency organisations The benefits of BWV will feature prominently on both the exhibition stands and in the Innovation Seminar Theatre. Reveal body cameras for example are already being used by 30 of the 42 police forces up and down the country.

They record high quality audio and video which gives officers an immediate and exact record of anything they are dealing with.

Additionally, unique features such as the front facing screen display footage in real time, which can have positive effects on the behaviour and conduct of subjects when they are being recorded.

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Rail to retail

and everything along the way‌ With seven subsidiary companies the Dextra Group covers all facets of the lighting industry with both standard and bespoke energy efficient lighting solutions.

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LuxLive 2015

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

EVENT PREVIEW

Be a part of Britain’s lighting revolution Local authorities are coming together with suppliers and funders of LED lighting to map out the future at LuxLive, Europe’s biggest annual lighting event, taking place on 18-19 November Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) use much less energy than traditional lighting, last longer, and provide a better colour of light.

LEDs have taken the world of lighting by storm, and have allowed local authorities to save thousands of pounds by replacing old lighting technology with new.

To understand the risks and opportunities of upgrading public lighting, representatives of local authorities and managers of lighting estates will be gathering on 18-19 November at LuxLive, the UK’s biggest lighting show, at London’s ExCeL. LuxLive will examine the latest energy-saving lighting products from 200 big-name exhibitors and discuss ways to fund upgrades and harness the latest technology successfully. The extensive programme of free talks, demos and debates has been divided into the key sectors that are feeling the effects of the LED revolution including outdoor, highways, transport, housing and education as well as financing and emergency lighting.

In each sector, sessions will look in depth at some of the best exemplar projects, drill into some of the key technologies and debate the issues in that sector in a dedicated panel discussion. All the events focusing on any one sector will be on the same day,

to create a must-attend day’s programme packed with content that’s relevant to you.

For instance, Thursday 19 November is the outdoor lighting day, when the discussion will be about the latest thinking in street lighting. LuxLive is the key event for learning about the latest in public lighting – and it’s absolutely free.

from the latest LED technology, and from funders such as the UK Green Investment Bank and Salix Finance, both of which provide low, fixed-rate loans over a period of up to 20 years, and both of which will be present at LuxLive in November.

The Green Investment Bank (GIB) has £3.8 billion of funds from the UK government to help make the economy greener and, in the case of LED streetlighting, the premise is simple – the funders provide the capital to cover the initial outlay for equipment and installation, and the loan and interest are paid off through the subsequent savings on energy bills. According to the GIB, more than 100 councils have expressed interest in LEDs. Funding will be one of the key topics up for discussion in the free conference content at LuxLive in November. There will also be debates on smart streetlighting – how the latest technology can turn streetlights into communications nodes, and how to get local 

Acro the cou ss around ntry, seven million s t r e etli clock up a cumu ghts lative electric i t y b i l l o f m o re t h a n £300 m illion

SAVING MILLIONS Every year, across the country, around seven million streetlights clock up a cumulative electricity bill of more than £300 million.

Fewer than a million of those lamps have low‑energy light sources – and that’s not to mention all the old-fashioned lighting in the UK’s public buildings, schools, hospitals and social housing. This is a big challenge for local authorities who are under more pressure than ever to get their costs down. Some have responded by switching off streetlights at night – but this has proven highly unpopular and potentially dangerous.

The good news is that help is at hand

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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EVENT PREVIEW

LuxLive 2015

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

 residents on board with your lighting upgrade. Representatives of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will also be at LuxLive, to outline the government’s latest plans for procuring outdoor lighting, and setting out what local authorities need to know. There will also be presentations on upgrading heritage lighting, and exemplar case studies of standout lighting projects at the free two-day show.

UK Green Investment Bank chief executive Shaun Kingsbury said: “Bad lighting does not come cheap, it carries an electricity bill which can be cut by up to 80 per cent with a move to low-energy LED lighting.

Making the switch saves councils money, increases community safety and dramatically reduces the UK’s carbon footprint.”

The GIB Green Loan is essentially a corporate loan that covers the setup, capital investment and installation costs of lighting upgrades to LED, with repayments being made from forecast savings. The first recipient of a ‘green loan’ was Glasgow City Council, which is in the process of converting its 70,000 streetlights to low-energy LEDs. A £6.3 million load will finance the replacement of 10,000 lanterns along Glasgow’s arterial roads.

The new lights are expected to use at least 50 per cent less energy than the incumbent versions and will cut the council’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 18,000 tonnes over the next 18 years. A further 60,000 streetlamps and their columns will be replaced in the next phase of Glasgow’s LED lighting project, which is complementary to the city centre Future Cities Demonstrator project. This incorporates intelligent lighting and focuses on the city centre.

IMMEDIATE SAVINGS Gregor Paterson-Jones, managing director of energy efficiency at the GIB, said: “Councils that make the switch to LEDs could make financial savings immediately, with their streetlighting electricity bills up to 80 per cent lower and overall energy consumption down by about 20 per cent. This would make significant contributions to financial budgets and carbon-reduction targets.

“Uptake of LED streetlighting has been slow so far, but we have spoken to more than 100 local authorities across the UK over the past year and believe one of the barriers is the impact the up-front cost of replacing bulbs with LEDs, columns and intelligent management systems would have on budgets.”

But Glasgow is not the only location that has capitalised on low-cost, green-focused funding. Salix – which provides interest‑free funding to the public sector, and will be represented at LuxLive in November – is working with Bournemouth Borough Council on a £4.3 million streetlighting project with the objective of achieving financial savings of £17 million over the life of the project. Salix is part-funding a wider project totalling £7.8 million and work is under way to replace all of Bournemouth’s 16,500 streetlights 

Volume 22.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Elegant, simple and state-of-the-art design Replace conventional HPS/CFL lanterns at extremely low cost Superior luminaire efficacy up to 100 lm / W Superior thermal management L80>100,000 hrs (1000mA, Ta = 15˚C) L90>100,000 hrs ( 750mA, Ta = 15˚C) Maximised savings on energy and maintenance costs Minimal total cost of ownership Up to S3/P3 lighting class applications Flexible and intelligent lighting control options Improved mesopic vision

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EVENT PREVIEW  to make the system more efficient.

The replacement of the lamps with new LED units is expected to prevent the emission of 71,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the life of the project. Councillor Michael Filer admits the town’s lighting network was aged and in ‘need of modernising’, adding: “This is a huge programme of improvement works that will benefit the whole town.”

Also, Blaenau Gwent embarked on a Salix-backed project last year under which it was agreed that the local authority would purchase LED light engines from Harvard Engineering. The scheme comprises the replacement of gear trays on 2,534 low-pressure sodium lanterns (those are the old-fashioned ones that glow really orange) and 1,498 high-pressure sodium lanterns.

Wakefield College has recently completed a lighting upgrade project throughout a number of campus buildings which is set to save over £2.25 million and 6,000 tonnes of carbon over the life of the project. As part of an energy use review, LED lighting was identified as a critical factor in helping the

college achieve its target of reducing its carbon footprint by 30 per cent by 2015.

Before the upgrade, Wakefield College had a mix of different kinds of fluorescent tubes that were expensive to maintain, emitted different amounts of light and were consuming over 1.4 million kilowatt-hours each year, resulting in very high running costs. With a £360,000 Salix loan, the college replaced all its lamps with LED lighting. After the upgrade, energy consumption fell by nearly a third – projected savings are over £85,000 a year.

The college is the first in Yorkshire to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard and Shane O’Donnell, Wakefield College’s energy officer, says: “It shows we have taken real action on climate change by reducing our carbon emissions ourselves, rather than just paying others to offset our carbon emissions.”

For local authorities hoping to emulate such projects, GIB has produced a route-map to help local authorities and public bodies make a business case for transitioning to low-energy streetlighting.

Fundinge of on will be topics the key scussion i up for d e free h in t ontent c e c n e confer uxLive in at L ber Novem

LuxLive 2015

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

GIB has also developed a financial model to accompany the business case and shape the loan so interest and repayments are only made from forecast savings, and standardised loan documentation, developed with Glasgow, that should save other local authorities time and money in agreeing a finance package to convert their streetlighting estates. To keep up‑to-date with the latest in lighting technology and learn how you can make the most of it, don’t miss LuxLive on 18-19 November.

NOT TO MISS There are several high quality sessions at LuxLive 2015 that are not to be missed. Miles Alexander of the Green Investment Bank will discuss how to find the funding for your LED upgrade. Sessions will also cover: How to upgrade your heritage lighting – save energy but keep the look and feel; How to upgrade your lighting without upsetting local residents; and the government’s plan for procuring public lighting – what you need to know. 

LuxLive takes place on 18-19 November 2015 at the ExCeL London, and is completely free of charge. To register, visit the website below.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.luxlive.co.uk

MHA to debut latest advances in End Lit Rod technology at LuxLive This will be one of the first opportunities for lighting buyers and specifiers to see the ruthlessly efficient technology developed

by MHA Lighting.

The new technology can be driven at a range of wattages to reduce energy and C02₂emissions, allowing MHA to install the lowest-powered fixtures on the market - and fewer fittings too, creating a multiplier effect in terms of energy savings and payback periods.

MHA Lighting managing director Tom Harrison, said: “We’re delighted to confirm that further research and development has produced even greater efficiencies than reported in 2014.

“By using acrylic rods to focus and control the light output, the number of LEDs required is reduced. This means we can use high-power LEDs, draw low currents with no

need to diffuse the output.”

MHA Lighting has a comprehensive range of internal and external LED luminaires for a host of applications including offices, schools, car parks and street lighting. By managing both the lumen output and beam angle, MHA’s LED lighting range is tuneable to the client’s precise specifications.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01942 887400 info@mhalighting.com www.mhalighting.co.uk

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40 BLOSSOM STREET, ANCOATS, MANCHESTER M4 6BF

The Museum of Science and Industry is situated on the site of the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway station.

A truly inspirational venue, the historic buildings, fascinating galleries and purpose-built Conference Centre at the Museum of Science and Industry provide a unique backdrop for corporate meetings and events.

A superb city centre location with good road and rail links and is just minutes from Manchester Airport.

Free entry to museum

Please contact MOSI conference office for details and availability:

0161 832 2244 Ext. 5 conference@mosi.org.uk

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

Hold your event at the Museum of Science and Industry and contribute to developing our future scientists.

The complete conference destination

Written by Visit Manchester

VISIT MANCHESTER

Conferences & Events

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Manchester is easily accessible to both national and international visitors and it can accommodate all events, meetings and conferences. Visit Manchester analyses why the city is on the up Recognised both for its unique historical legacy and as a growing cultural hotspot, Manchester is a vibrant city that’s grown from strength to strength in recent years.

Now in the midst of an exciting renaissance, the city is developing at a scale and pace not seen since industrial times. At the centre of this development, Manchester is seeking to progress its reputation as a leading business tourism destination, a sector that is currently worth over £823m per annum to the city-region.

This success is largely due to widespread recent investment across the region, brought about with a view to establishing Manchester as a globally competitive city. A significant amount of this investment has been put into Manchester’s Petersfield, home to the city’s flagship conference venue, Manchester Central Convention Complex, as well as over 2,500 hotel beds within a five minute walk at hotels such as The Hilton Manchester Deansgate, The Midland Hotel and The Radisson Edwardian Hotel to name a few.

retail and outdoor spaces for all to enjoy.

This commitment to developing state of the art facilities within close vicinity of each other has made Manchester city centre an appealing option for conference and event organisers, and so it’s no surprise that Manchester continues to be a regular host city for the highly coveted political party conferences. The Labour Party has visited the city every alternate year since 2006, with the Conservative Party visiting during the inbetween years, set to return later this year.

The political parties aren’t alone in choosing Manchester. The city continues to attract international conferences, with 2015 welcoming the International Commission on Illumination, the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language Conference and the International Conference of Forensic Mental Health Services.

ster Manchent city ra is a vib own from r that’s g to strength h strengt nt years. The in rece eveloping at city is d e not seen ATTRACTING a pac dustrial INDUSTRY n i since es Manchester’s historical, tim industrial and academic

NOMA REGENERATION To the north of the city is NOMA, Manchester’s newest neighbourhood and the site of ongoing regeneration across 20 acres. The area seeks to build a unique, sustainable community featuring offices, homes, hotels, shops and leisure amenities.

With the first phase of its development now complete, including the iconic One Angel Square, work has now begun on Angel Gardens which will boast 455 apartments, a 36 storey tower and new bars, restaurants,

assets are also providing the added edge in attracting scientific conferences, particularly in the city’s three key sectors; advanced manufacturing creative and digital, and life sciences.

As the world’s first modern industrial city, Manchester has a strong manufacturing legacy, with the focus now shifted from the cotton industry towards the field of advanced manufacturing, where innovative technology is used to enhance the manufacturing process. The city is now home to the £61m National Graphene Institute, which this year

played host to Graphene Week, an academic conference which brought international experts together to discuss the world’s thinnest, strongest and most conductive material in the city it was first isolated.

In life sciences, the city is home to renowned medical research institutes including Europe’s biggest cancer treatment centre and the largest clinical trials unit in the world. The Corridor, a unique business location at the heart of the city’s knowledge economy, is the largest academic campus in the UK and largest clinical campus in Europe following a billion pounds of investment. It’s credentials like this that allow Manchester to attract conferences like the 2015 International Surgical Congress in April, with the XXIV EFMC International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry coming in 2016.

Similarly, the creative and digital sectors have seen over £3.5bn of public and private sector investment in the last few years, more than any other city in Europe. Manchester now possesses some of the most advanced digital production capabilities in the continent and a wealth of independent content creators in television, gaming and mobile working alongside media giants like the BBC and ITV. Small wonder then that the city regularly plays host to FutureEverything and Manimation conferences, with the prestigious World Summit on Media for Children heading to Salford’s MediaCityUK in 2017.

The prominent role Manchester plays in hosting scientific conferences has not gone unnoticed – it is currently European City of Science, the first UK city to receive this accolade. With this designation comes the responsibility of hosting the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) in July 2016, the highlight of the European science calendar, attracting up to 4,500 delegates, with 600 speakers from over 70 countries. 

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BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Able to accommodate large group bookings, cocktail receptions and functions

Email: manchestermanager@ zoukteabar.co.uk

SPECIAL EVENTS AT THE ETIHAD STADIUM EXPERIENCE FIRST CLASS HOSPITALITY & FACILITIES… The spectacular Etihad Stadium is an exciting and unique venue with extensive and versatile facilities for conference and events

Manchester Dental Education Centre PLANNING A CONFERENCE OR MEETING? MANDEC is a modern & fully equipped conference facility ideal for conferences, symposiums, study days, presentations, training sessions & away days.

• 120 seat tiered lecture theatre with state of the art AV facilities • A multi use large seminar room with a wall partition to divide into 2 separate rooms • A light & comfortable dining area & exhibition foyer

0161 275 6645 www.mandec.co.uk mandec.admin@manchester.ac.uk » » »

Function suites for 2 – 500 guests Flexible packages

» »

Free parking for over 2500 cars Mouth-watering menus

Outstanding service

Tel: 0161 444 1894 Email: specialevents@etihadstadium.co.uk Etihad Stadium, Etihad Campus, Manchester, M11 3FF

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VISIT MANCHESTER  CONNECTING PEOPLE It’s this experience with hosting major international conferences that makes Manchester a standout choice for conference planners. However, Manchester’s infrastructure, central location within the UK and the international connectivity afforded to delegates is another of the city’s major draws.

Manchester Airport has no rival outside of London in terms of route network, capacity and facilities. With quick arrival processing times delegates can be checking in to their hotel within one hour of landing. Meanwhile the West Coast Main Line service has trains making the two hour, seven minute journey every 20 minutes at peak, bringing Manchester closer to London than ever before.

And once in the city, delegates have no problems getting around thanks to a comprehensive public transport system which includes a free Metroshuttle bus service comprised of three routes that loop around the city connecting all the main railway stations, shopping and business districts.

Manchester also has Metrolink, one of the most successful light rail (tram) systems in the UK which is the perfect mode of transport for those who require fast and frequent transport from early morning to late evening.

Culturally, the city has committed significant attention to building on its offer. At the

heart of First Street, one of Manchester’s most vibrant new neighbourhoods, sits HOME, a £25m purpose-built centre for international contemporary art, theatre, film and literature. Just next door is the recently opened INNSIDE Manchester, a fourstar hotel with 208 beds over 11 storeys, including a wellness suite, restaurant, bar and extensive conference facilities.

Away from the city centre, newly renovated gallery the Whitworth offers green space and tranquillity, and was named Museum of The Year 2015 by the Art Fund. Having made huge steps in putting Manchester on the cultural map, Manchester International Festival has also recently finished another sell-out year, set to return in 2017. Looking ahead, £110m theatre and arts venue The Factory will provide a permanent home for MIF and further cement the city as a global cultural destination when it opens in 2019.

SPORTING SUCCESS And of course the sports and industrial pedigree for which the city is renowned around the world continues to draw crowds.

Demand for hire of venues like Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, Manchester United’s ‘Theatre of Dreams’ and the newly completed Hotel Football are all impressive.

Equally, the Neo-gothic Manchester Town Hall and the award-winning Museum

Chetham’s is a unique and atmospheric location, ideal for events from seminars and meetings, to private dinners and concerts. Conveniently situated in the centre of Manchester, and close to major transport links, Chetham’s is a great location for business functions and events.

“A wonderful, unique venue”

Alex Hodby, Redeye

Simon Chaplin

Events & Operations Manager

events@chethams.com 0161 838 7259

of Science & Industry (MOSI) are two of the city’s business tourism big hitters.

Like many cities, Manchester also has an established Conference Ambassador Programme – a network of academics and business figures that help attract their industry events to the city. And with the largest student population in Europe studying at four universities across the city-region, it’s no surprise that Manchester has more than its fair share of lecturers, doctors and professors willing to step forward and help promote the city.

Manchester’s impressive business product wouldn’t be complete without its conference team who are internationally recognised as one of the UK’s leading conference and convention bureaus. They are specialised in event bidding, planning, marketing and client support. They offer a single point of contact for conference planners - meaning that a dedicated professional will be on hand from conference conception to completion.

They can also help manage every event need, including: securing key speakers and civic receptions; liaising with other city stakeholders to deliver services such as city dressing and security. All in all, they provide key services any organiser would expect from a leading convention city. 

Conferences & Events

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

FURTHER INFORMATION www.visitmanchester.com

A warm, friendly conference and meeting venue in the heart of the City Centre adjacent to the Town Hall and Library. We offer a range of well appointed meeting rooms and conferencing facilities, from an intimate space for a city centre meeting, to a conference facility in a hall that can seat 400 people with a suite of break out spaces.

Please enquire if you require a peaceful venue for your event 0161 834 5797 www.meetinghousemanchester.co.uk @FriendsMtgHouse /FriendsMeetingHouseManchester office@manchesterquakers.org.uk

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IFSEC International

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

EVENT REVIEW

Celebrating innovation and inspiration at IFSEC 2015

Following an increase in visitors and the popular co-located events, IFSEC International 2015 enjoyed another hugely successful year for Europe’s largest security event

Running from 16-18 June at London’s ExCeL, IFSEC International welcomed 23,079 visitors through its doors, witnessing an increase in attendance by two per cent from 2014, driven by UK attendees. IFSEC International benefited from the co-located events within the Protection & Management Series, attracting an additional 4,536 visitors from across the venue. This highlights the power of these show’s being located alongside each other, demonstrating that it is the go-to place for sourcing the latest products and innovations, as well as discovering expertise across security, fire, facilities, and safety.

The show continued to attract the senior decision makers from across the industry with a 14 per cent increase in end-users and a 42 per cent increase in directors and company holders, demonstrating the quality of visitors remains at an all time high. Video Surveillance, Access Control and Integrated Security remain significant areas of interest, while the ever increasing topic of Safe Cities, which was reflected by the education available on the show floor, and IT & Cyber Security received more attention than ever before.

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS As the industry becomes increasingly globalised, IFSEC International remains a truly global event as represented by 33 per cent of

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

Running from at une 16-18 J ExCeL, ’s London ernational t IFSEC In ed 23,079 welcoman increase was obvious that the , market has become visitors o per cent truly globalised, with a of tw 2014 sizeable increase in visitors travelling from other regions over

the total attendees from 112 countries, along with exhibitors coming from 45 countries. For the second year, the UKTI Events Alliance worked with the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) to bring inward missions of commercial officers and relevant buyers from target countries to meet with UK based organisations at IFSEC International.

Gerry Dunphy, event director for IFSEC & FIREX International, said: “IFSEC International once again exceeded all expectations for 2015. The atmosphere on the show floor was fantastic with plenty of innovation and industry expertise on display across the three days. We have had a great response from both our visitors and exhibitors and we look forward to returning to London in 2016 to continue to be the industry leading event showcasing the latest security technologies from across the globe.”

Exhibitors to the show were equally enthusiastic about IFSEC International.

TDSi, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of integrated access control systems, reported a 25 per cent year-on-year rise in export market visitors to its stand this year.

John Davies, managing director of TDSi, said: “IFSEC International is a great barometer of the state of the security industry and it

to see the latest and best the security industry has to offer.”

Mark Tibbenham, managing director at GJD, added: “IFSEC 2015 has been a great success. We launched an unprecedented number of product innovations and in turn we received a high number of quality leads.”

SAFE CITIES Safe Cities focuses on the protection of larger urban areas, critical national infrastructure and business continuity. Safe Cities provided visitors with high level thought leadership sessions to provide more insight into this fast growing concept.

Safe Cities utilises a multi-agency approach, led by the government to protect the population, the infrastructure and a city’s economy against the threat of terrorism, criminal activity and natural disasters.

With a focus on four key areas – the city’s infrastructure, cyber security, counter terrorism, and public order – the Safe Cities conference and exhibition provided delegates with the chance to learn from education, solution and technology

providers for global governments, public sector officials and companies, on how to secure their cities from threats and attack.

Discovering how to protect vital international cities and hubs from attack, with a key focus on business continuity and resilience, this area showcased the companies and industry pioneers who have the expertise, experience and knowledge to guide governments and industry to plan for the protection of their cities.

INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER SERIES An additional highlight at IFSEC International this year included the launch of the Inspirational Speaker Series which attracted large crowds from across the security, safety, fire, facilities management and service management industries to the 400 capacity theatre each day.

Kicking off with Baroness Karren Brady on the first day, followed by Sir Ranulph Fiennes on the second day and finishing with Sir Chris Hoy on the final day, each speaker took to the stage to share anecdotes from their own illustrious careers and offer some invaluable advice on leadership and achieving success in any field.

Another new launch for IFSEC International in 2015 was the Benchmark Innovation Arena which welcomed over 40 finalists for the annual industry awards, a series of 10 minute pitches and short Q&A sessions were hosted by leading companies including Bosch Security, Vidicore, UTC Fire & Security and

“IFSEC International once again exceeded all expectations for 2015. The atmosphere on the show floor was fantastic with plenty of innovation and industry expertise on display across the three days” Secure Logiq, to name a few. This exciting new format provided visitors to IFSEC International with a detailed look at these new products that are delivering a real benefit to end users, integrators and installers.

THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE Visitors were equally enthusiastic about IFSEC International this year. Peter Woollord, a senior IT engineer from Norland Managed Services, said: “I have enjoyed the event very much. I found that the completely right exhibitors were there and it opened my eyes to everything out there. The event is a great place to network and there was a very good crowd there. It was the first time I attended and I would definitely return.”

Peter Allsopp, security consultant for astile Kilo Management, also stated: “I enjoyed the event and attended for buying and networking reasons. I did a lot of networking with companies from China as its easier to speak with them face to face

IFSEC International

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

and a lot cheaper. I definitely think the event is a must attend and will recommend to colleagues – I am extremely happy with the event and happy to have attended.”

ABOUT IFSEC INTERNATIONAL IFSEC International is the leading event that caters for the entire security buying chain. Attracting manufacturers, distributors, consultants, specifiers, installers, integrators and end users, IFSEC International is the only event to bring the whole community together under one roof.

Providing education, networking, and the latest products, next years IFSEC International takes place from 21-23 June 2016 at ExCeL London.

IFSEC International is part of the Protection & Management Series which is made up of FIREX International, Facilities Show, Safety & Health Expo and Service Management Expo. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.ifsec.co.uk

Stannah – The experts in lift management that have been moving people and goods since 1867 As a national lift and escalator service provider Stannah deals with thousands of facilities professionals who have the responsibility for the lifts within their buildings. Where better to meet many more of them than The Facilities Show at London’s ExCeL Centre in June.

The show introduced Stannah Lift Services to many relevant contacts and gave the company a chance to offer some crucial training in just why having a responsibility for lifts can be challenging. Stannah’s training session briefly covered the company’s most frequently asked question - ‘Are the Standards and Regulations law?’ - and looked at what happens if you ignore the advice of statutory guidelines. Stannah’s handy downloadable booklet ‘Lifts - your questioned answered’ is a very useful reference.

As lift manufacturers, installers, refurbishers and maintainers who look after more than 88,000 lift products right across the UK, Stannah knows they can help. The British, family-owned lift company looks after all types of lifts from all manufacturers, not just Stannah lifts. The Stannah local authority portfolio certainly reflects a whole range of lift equipment; from traditional passenger lifts in public buildings, to space-saving platform

lifts in housing projects and even goods and service lifts in catering areas, they are relied on to keep everything working 24/7.

Of course government buildings come in a vast variety of designs, conditions, positions - all with their own unique accessibility challenges and all needed every day. Stannah has over 360 local service engineers who are never far away as they work from a national network of local service branches. So, wherever you are in the UK, Stannah has you covered.

Lift refurbishment is sometimes necessary, in order to keep equipment working efficiently, maintain safety and meet the requirements of current regulations.

When this work is required Stannah works closely with the premises team to ensure installation and servicing is planned carefully to ensure access is maintained.

Of course, Stannah is known to local authorities as stairlift suppliers and manages thousands of domestic lifts for councils across the UK. Stannah also manages local authority portfolios that includes step lifts, platform lifts, passenger lifts, goods lifts and service lifts. Stannah provides local service and 150 years of lift expertise, for ultimate peace of mind.

For more information about how Stannah can help you manage your lift stock simply contact the company via the details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01322 299800 liftservices@stannah.co.uk www.stannahlifts.co.uk

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GT News

IT & COMPUTING FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR – www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

IP EXPO

SECURITY

Edward Snowden to speak at IP Expo Europe

Cyber security changes proposed for digital marketplace The government is to consult on changes aiming to assure public sector customers that cyber security suppliers appointed through the Digital Marketplace framework meet newly revised national certification standards.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has confirmed that it is working on the project with CESG, the National Technical Authority for Information Assurance.

A statement from the CCS said: “Through these new solutions it is intended that customers will be able to evaluate, select and award to CESG certified cyber security service providers using the Digital Marketplace.”

The new ‘procurement solutions’ would cover certified cyber security services and specialist certified cyber security contingent labour from CESG certified professionals.

All applications to join CCSG will undergo two assessments, the first against the Professional Cyber Services Framework, and the second against the Certified Cyber Security Consultancy Standard. The planned date for tender is October 2015 with availability for customers to use the solutions from early next year.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/ousxp9t

DRIVING TECHNOLOGY

Google files patent for new pothole-detecting system Tech giant Google has been granted a patent to develop new technology that will enable vehicles to detect potholes in the road.

The proposed system will aim to utilise a vehicles’ GPS in conjunction with a device with a vertical bump sensor. The GPS would then submit this information back to Google, who would produce a road quality database.

If successful, the database could raise problems to local authorities concerning which roads need reparations, and could help motorists avoid certain pothole heavy routes.

The patent said: “The signals from the sensors are monitored by the amount of vertical vibration that is encountered. This data, together with the vehicle’s location, may be transmitted through a mobile

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network to a central server for distribution in road quality reports and to improve driving directions in mapping software.”

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/nzy8fks

Former CIA employeeturned-whistleblower Edward Snowden is confirmed as a keynote speaker at IP EXPO Europe 2015, which takes place on 7 October at the ExCeL Centre, London.

Snowden will speak to the audience live by satellite from an undisclosed location (believed to be somewhere in Russia) and interviewed on stage by journalist and broadcaster Andrew Neil.

In 2013, Snowden leaked a large number of classified National Security Agency documents to journalists and is wanted by the US Department of Justice to face charges including two counts of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property.

Snowden’s disclosures have fuelled debates over mass surveillance, government secrecy, and the balance between national security and information privacy.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/nfkcv39

BROADBAND

Superfast Broadband Scheme hits three million milestone The government’s aim to reach 95 per cent of the UK by 2017 has received a boost with the latest figures revealing that over three million homes and businesses now have access to internet speeds greater than 24 Mbps.

The £1.7 billion funding scheme, in partnership with BT, has hit the three million milestone just six months after reaching the two million mark. The government is therefore confident of reaching 90 per cent superfast broadband coverage by the end of 2015, and 95 per cent by 2017.

Culture secretary John Whittingdale commented: “Reaching three million properties is a huge achievement. Our rollout of superfast broadband is transforming lives up and down the country as every day thousands more homes and businesses are gaining access to superfast speeds.”

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/pkl3b4t

G-CLOUD 7

Consultancy clarification in G-Cloud 7 tender

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has clarified the criteria for suppliers providing consultancy services under lot four of the G-Cloud framework.

The tender for G-Cloud 7, believed to be worth £200m, was published on the Official Journal of the EU, ten months after the G-Cloud 6 tender was unveiled.

Services offered under lot four will now need to fall under the remit of: Business Analysis; Legacy to cloud rationalisation;

Design/Consultation; Transition Management; and Service Management.

The framework is clear that colocation, non-cloud related and bespoke digital project build services will be excluded from the framework.

The deadline for bids for a place on the framework has been set for 6 October.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/oqxj4x8

CONTRACTS

Oxford City Council ICT contract for SSC

GT News

IT & COMPUTNG FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR– www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

Specialist Computer Centres (SCC) has won a multi-million pound contract to provide ICT infrastructure services to Oxford City Council.

The council, which launched a tender earlier this year, has decided to appoint SCC for the entirety of its services in a 10 year deal which will begin in April 2016.

A spokesman for the council said: “The council currently has all its ICT infrastructure provided by Oxfordshire County Council under a partnership agreement which will come to an end on 31 March 2016. The successful organisations will therefore be required to be able to manage the transition of the service.”

The contract covers data centre hosting, server and storage capacity, server technical support, database administration, network security infrastructure and support, ICT service management and IT service desk operations.

Oxford City Council did not reveal how much it was paying for the service, but said that the lowest offer from bidders was £6 million, with the highest coming in at £13.5 million.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/p2qyg83

SHARED SERVICES

ICT service for two London Councils set to merge DIGITAL SERVICE

Government Digital Service receives timely support from Hancock Former Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Matthew Hancock has assured that he is a ‘huge supporter’ of the Government Digital Service (GDS), and promised a continuing role for it to drive government transformation.

Following the departure of the head of GDS Mick Bracken, as well as deputy director Tom Loosemore, design director Ben Terrett, strategy director Russell Davies and user research head Leisa Reichelt, concerns have spread regarding a ‘drastic downsize’ of the department.

Despite not addressing the exodus, Hancock reassured that ‘ the right people’ were in place to deliver ‘the next phase of GDS’.

He said: “There is so much more to do, and I look forward to leading it at Ministerial level, and driving the transformation across government that our citizens expect.”

Hancock also paid tribute to departing GDS boss Mike Bracken.

He said: “With Mike at the helm the UK has become a world leader in digital government and we’ve recruited a host of extremely talented people, who will continue the work of digital transformation. I wish him well in the future.”

Bracken joined the civil service in 2011 after a stint as digital development director for publisher Guardian News and Media. During his four years in Whitehall, Bracken oversaw the launch of GDS, unifiying departmental websites under the single GOV.UK platform while also attempting to overhaul the way the civil service deals with big IT suppliers.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/q5kea7v

Islington and Camden Councils have announced plans to launch a shared ICT service, via proposals predicted to save £4 million a year.

The Councils, who collectively employ 300 ICT staff, aim to launch the service by April 2016 to help share best practice and provide a more responsive and integrated service.

Cllr Andy Hull of Islington Council said: “Islington and Camden are coming together to harness digital technology so that we can deliver services in a way that both suits local people and saves us precious money at a time when the government continues to cut inner-city councils to the bone.

“It’s a good example of how, in the face of unprecedented challenges, we are innovating and coming up with genuinely transformative solutions.”

Islington and Camden Councils already share public health and internal audit services, and will vote on the new plans later this month.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/qzyfcjm

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Advertisement Feature

IT & COMPUTING FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR – www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

DIGITAL PUBLIC SERVICES

Frameworks: Delivering digital innovation to the public sector

The next generation of frameworks offer an open catalogue through which suppliers can offer innovative ideas. O2’s No.10 Tariff and Blue Light Managed Mobility has helped councils reduce their costs and reliance on fixed infrastructure whilst maintaining their services Public sector buyers face a constant challenge in supporting the delivery of digital services. They have to provide flexibility, agility and innovation, whilst at the same time demonstrating value for money and complying with procurement regulations. Traditional procurement methods can deliver cost effective services, but they can take a long time to execute and often result in inflexible contracts.

Frameworks allow the purchase of new goods and services quickly and easily whilst assuring that they still comply with procurement regulations. All frameworks provide customers with the opportunity to adopt digital services throughout their organisation as well as digitally enabling their workforce. These savings were identified in

The Network Services Framework (NSF) which has recently been awarded, applies a similar concept to the procurement of telecommunications. NSF has been designed to replace the Public Sector Telecommunication Services (PSTS), Public Services Network Connectivity (PSNC) and Public Services Network Services (PSNS) frameworks. It has the potential to revolutionise the way buyers’ access information about network services, whilst delivering savings of at least £59m compared to the previous setup, says the CCS.3 The new framework means that buyers can see a full range of offers across all types of network service, such as O2’s No.10 Tariff. Buyers can then easily identify whether they are suitable, and quickly move on to contract and delivery whilst being confident

The principle of digital public service delivery has become embedded right across the public sector, and as citizens become more accustomed to using cheap, mobile, technology in their personal lives, there is a real need amongst public sector organisations and suppliers to meet the needs of digitally engaged citizens the Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) first Annual Report released in July, which showed that the CCS supported the delivery of £5.9 billion savings for the taxpayer in 2014/2015.1

THE NEXT GENERATION The next generation of frameworks, exemplified by G-Cloud, offer an open catalogue through which suppliers can offer innovative ideas and buyers can quickly and easily evaluate and select the solution that best meets their needs. It’s taken some time for buyers to adopt this approach, as they become familiar with the new process and start to see the benefits that it offers. But the results are now clear to see as spend under G-Cloud has risen from £25m per quarter in 2014 to around £100m per quarter today.2

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that all the Terms & Conditions are in line with the CCS’s best practice guidelines.

For suppliers, the new framework means that they have greater flexibility to introduce innovative products and services, delivering greater savings and productivity improvements along the way.

CHALLENGES O2 appreciates the challenges of the public sector as a whole, especially in these times of austerity where making cost savings without sacrificing quality is essential.

That’s why frameworks should be viewed as the opportunity for suppliers to stimulate innovation, by bringing new ideas and at the same time helping public sector organisations become more efficient and generate higher

value. O2 has done so by creating unique propositions such as the No.10 Tariff or Blue Light Managed Mobility services as well as becoming the first UK mobile network to achieve CAS(T) certification. Not only through propositions, but through work with public sector organisations such as East Renfrewshire Council, where O2 has helped reduce their costs and reliance on fixed infrastructure whilst maintaining services, all so they could meet an urgent Public Services Network (PSN) compliance deadline.

Catalogue based frameworks provide unique benefits for both the buyer and the supplier. Suppliers can offer a full spectrum of products whilst offering customers full visibility of product descriptions, terms and conditions and pricing. Buyers can evaluate and enter into contracts easily whilst complying with the procurement regulations.

All with the aim to provide the best end value for public sector organisations.

The principle of digital public service delivery has become embedded right across the public sector, and as citizens become more accustomed to using cheap, mobile, technology in their personal lives, there is a real need amongst public sector organisations and suppliers to meet the needs of digitally engaged citizens. While frameworks form only part of the solution to meeting these needs, they are a key component in ensuring the delivery of great service through innovative technology.  FURTHER INFORMATION www.o2.co.uk/publicsector

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ ccs-delivers-59-billion-savings-in-201415 2 Source: http://www.govspend.org.uk 3 http://www.computerweekly.com/ news/4500250061/Delayed-Network-ServicesFramework-goes-live-across-public-sector 1

INFORMATION SHARING

Discovering the department of you George Osborne is clearly determined to meet his election pledge of clearing the deficit by 2020. In the July Spending Review he ordered government departments to find ways to cut up to 40 per cent or around £20bn, from their budgets over the next five years. This is on top of the £17bn of welfare cuts and tax changes announced in the budget just a few weeks earlier.

The Chancellor said that the government must ‘take a step back and think about the shape of the state’, finding ways to ‘deliver more with less’. The clock is ticking – cabinet ministers need to set out proposals for cuts to their departments in October and the detailed review will be published on 25 November.

Right across the public sector, the sound of squeaking pips has been heard for some time now, most noticeably in local government where it is accompanied by cries of ‘services are bound to be affected’.

The NHS is trying to achieve £22 billion of productivity savings by 2020, the fire service is facing a predicted gap in funding of £17.5 million by the end of the decade and central

government funding to police and crime commissioners - who receive and allocate police funds – was reduced by £2.3bn between 2010-11 and 2015-16, according to a report from the National Audit Office.

INFORMATION SHARING But there is a choice for the beleaguered public sector - either make more cuts or fundamentally reinvent the way it works.

No organisation can survive by repeatedly ‘slicing the salami’. Definitely not when it has a contract to deliver a service to a customer base, which it is obliged to serve. The core of the problem is the fact that the structure of the public sector is fundamentally unchanged over 50 years but our needs, and crucially the technology available to serve those needs, have changed beyond recognition.

It seems that politicians recognise that services must be delivered in different ways, such as integrated health and social care, but why is the

underlying structure not being addressed?

Some constitutional change is happening, such as the Manchester region, with a £6bn shared health and social care budget. More devolved regional administrations are planned but where is the information sharing strategy to underpin these changes? The fact is we are saddled with a disparate fragmented public sector consisting of thousands of autonomous organisations desperately trying to get joined up around the citizen, with the information they need to share locked up in multiple silos, and with data owners too afraid to hand over the key.

Undoubtedly, the biggest blocker to the modernisation of public services is information sharing, or the lack of it. The problem can be broken down into three areas; Culture, Information Governance and Technology.

Looking at culture first, people are reluctant to make the data they ‘own’ available to other teams for many reasons but often because their objectives are different – protect the 

Written by Phil Gibson, Chairman, Innopsis

Phil Gibson discusses the previous progress of the PSNGB and Innopsis’s plans to further facilitate safe information sharing for more efficient and effective public services

Information Technology

IT & COMPUTNG FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR– www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

The biggest the to blocker isation modern services ic of publ rmation is info , or the sharing of it lack

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Information Technology

INFORMATION SHARING  family unit versus preventing a crime from taking place, for instance. It is vital that CEOs of the respective authorities, trusts, and government departments recognise the issue and take responsibility. To shift cultural barriers we need to build trust between central government and local authorities, health, the police and of course the private and voluntary sector partners.

INFORMATION GOVERNANCE One of the few organisations to have seen an increase in spending is the Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing. With support from most of the ‘citizen facing’ departments it’s a useful initiative but its remit is only to help local areas find better ways of working within teams. One great initiative that is making ground across the country are the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH). However, when the agencies come together, literally around the table, there is a huge reluctance to share what they know, mostly because of the threat that data sharing legislation represents when the rules are not properly understood.

There are around 40 laws that govern the way we are expected to handle information but the issue is much more complex than simple compliance and adherence to the rules. Applying information governance in the delivery of care on the front line involves a balanced approach, which meets the needs of the individual first and foremost, the organisation, and relevant laws on a proportional basis. Applied literally the rules that govern information sharing would probably make it impossible to achieve a joined up approach to care across local areas so guidance that allows practitioners to make sensible qualified decisions is vital.

It is vital that individual organisations ensure that their people are well trained and equipped to meet the increasingly complex information sharing challenges. The

policy that can be applied in an integrated way across all areas of the public sector.

Moving to technology, we can at last claim some real progress. The Public Services Network (PSN) – one of government’s main technology success stories of the last few years – has delivered a trusted, safe and reliable network platform for data sharing between the agencies. The long awaited replacement for N3 is finally being specified although procurement still seems a long way off. This Health and Social

Huge improvements to contact centre software and the ability of our networks to route calls, means that we can very cleverly and quickly find the subject matter expert, even in the largest organisation in the world – the UK public sector Information Governance Assurance Framework (IGAF) for health and social care is formed by elements of law and policy from which applicable information sharing standards are derived. It describes the activities and roles that individually and collectively ensure that people working in these areas can balance the challenges of their roles with the need to safeguard the privacy of the person under their care. However, this is an NHS document and does not address the pressing requirement for a consistent

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Care Network will integrate with PSN at the network level but we are still left with the challenge of a common information assurance policy that everyone understands and can easily use in their day-to-day roles.

PROBLEM SOLVING So where is the leadership on this issue from the centre? Innopsis, the industry association for companies working in the communications and information sharing sector, has been highlighting the need for

the Government Digital Service to take a lead. Innopsis believes a ‘framework’ is needed, into which information sharing solutions can be integrated in the same way that PSN has allowed an open and competitive market of network services to thrive. There are some great technologies and applications out there in this field but time and time again suppliers hear that ‘it won’t work with the system we already use’.

Huge improvements to contact centre software and the ability of our networks to intelligently route calls, means that we can very cleverly and quickly find the subject matter expert, even in the largest organisation in the world – the UK public sector. Indeed the greatest resource the public sector has is its people. Around four million highly skilled workers representing a fantastic problem solving engine if only we knew how to get that knowledge in front of the citizen at the point of need. How to share expert skills rather than recreate them time and time again across different organisations. The benefits of doing this are manifest – think about the effectiveness of a team of 1,000 dementia support experts that were available universally across the UK in an integrated health and social care network. Outcomes would be transformed.

What’s more, these people could work when and where they wanted, reducing housing costs, child-care costs, increasing options for people with disabilities or those moving closer towards retirement. The benefits are

FURTHER INFORMATION www.innopsis.org

Government Business_125x178_aw_Layout 1 20/08/2015 11:20 Page 1

Introducing the New Face of Unified Communications Freedom launches Skype for Business at Exclusive Event at Microsoft.

In 2015, Microsoft launched Skype for Business, a secure and reliable enterprise edition of the globally adopted consumer version Skype; the most popular voice communication service in the world.

Information Technology

manifest and the whole programme including state-of-the-art local offices for public sector teams could be funded by the sale of just one Thames-side Government edifice. Right now, we are a long way from this and it’s the old silo problem again. But what has changed is we now have PSN, a high performance network that can connect people with data irrespective of where they are located.

PSN has now delivered us a platform to create better, faster, cheaper services but the real benefits wont be seen until we start to link up our front and back office systems universally so that practitioners on the ground can access, use and share the information locked up in the silos.

The technology we now have gives us the opportunity to think radically about how the public sector is structured. Its time to create a new organisation that anyone in any agency can transfer to, with a culture of support and collaboration, where the skills are geographically independent and always available, where people live where they want to and where they have safe and secure access to all the data they need to deliver a fantastic service at far lower cost than we have now – The Department of You. 

With hundreds of millions of people already making billions of Skype calls, the launch of Skype for Business sees the merging of one of the world’s most prolific personal and now professional communication platforms.

Crucially for Local Government, with this launch comes a huge anticipated impact on the way Authorities are expected to communicate with the public.

On 16th September Freedom, in partnership with Microsoft, are launching Skype for Business at an exclusive event at Microsoft's London offices.

Attended by Local Authorities from across the UK, Freedom will reveal how to:

•

Harness Skype for Business to engage with a constituent base already utilising this new world technology

•

Dramatically reduce costs through the removal of current multiple communication tools

•

Drive efficiencies and productivity through the easy introduction of anywhere, any time, any device working

For more information, or to register, visit www.werevealall.com

unified communications means

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Boston Borough Council saves 41% on telephony costs moving to IP Serving the borough of Boston in southeast Lincolnshire, Boston Borough Council began a major transformation of its ICT, a phase of which included the adoption of the cloud for its desktop telephony services to replace an aging and expensive onsite legacy system. The new hosted IP telephony system has been designed and delivered by communication systems integrator, Foehn.

“The move to hosted IP telephony became an important part of the transformation, especially when the Council realised that significant cost savings could be made but not to the detriment of service delivery,” explains Matthew Clarke, Strategic ICT Advisor to Boston Borough Council.

‘The Council has reduced its annual fixed telephony costs by more than 40%’ With little visibility of performance management information from its old system, the Council was aware that customers had previously reported variable standards

of call handling performance.

It wanted the new telephony solution to provide detailed real-time reporting of its high volume call areas.

Foehn’s IP telephony solution, which caters for over 200 users across the authority, including three virtual contact centres, is based on the Open Source Asterisk platform. No additional network infrastructure has been required, apart from the provision of Power over Ethernet units to power the new handsets.

“This offers great flexibility when considering future development plans, and the PayAs-You-Go contract via G-Cloud ensures there is no big capital asset to maintain, upgrade, or replace in the years ahead” “Rather than getting tied into proprietary technology, the Council married good quality

open standard SIP handsets with Foehn’s Open Source Asterisk telephony,” explains Clarke. “This offers great flexibility when considering future development plans, and the Pay-As-You-Go contract via G-Cloud ensures there is no big capital asset to maintain, upgrade, or replace in the years ahead.”

The Council now has a virtual contact centre environment built around three teams of call agents. Each team is serviced with a dedicated call queue that gives team leaders real-time visibility of the numbers of calls queued, the waiting time of calls in the queue and the status of the agents available to answer calls.

The Council has reduced its annual fixed telephony costs by more than 40%, whilst providing users with all the benefits of IP telephony.

Apportioning costs is also much simpler, with each extension and call costs associated with that extension invoiced monthly and directly to the relevant cost centre.

Contact us: 0330 403 0000 www.foehn.co.uk/better-for-less

EVENT PREVIEW

Will government adapt to the tech transformation?

IP Expo Europe

IT & COMPUTNG FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR– www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

IP EXPO Europe, at London’s ExCeL 7-8 October, is Europe’s leading information technology event for professionals looking to find out how the latest IT innovations can drive their business forward May 2015 saw the rise of a new Conservative government, something that, regardless of the majority party, will always be met by both trepidation and excitement by the general public. This time around, the technology sector was one of the first to voice its concerns for the future of the UK’s IT industry under a new rule. With so many forward moves being made within the UK’s IT industry, there is much still to do to ensure that businesses are able to keep up with the constant changes in IT requirements, be it a talent issue or a move to flexible working.

In the past, the government has shown a commitment to addressing these new issues, with greater investment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, supporting the implementation of grassroots technology campaigns such as the BBC’s Make it Digital to help encourage students into technology careers, and pledging to invest more heavily in the development of technology initiatives that will change our lives for the better.

Whilst not all of these issues were addressed and there is much still to be done, the coalition government went some way to highlighting and addressing key technology challenges. But will the new government realise these goals and continue to support the forward drive in IT? Just four months in, there are already signs to suggest that the government will struggle to keep up with the changes, and subsequent demands, of the IT industry as a whole.

ges Challen the y faced b rnment ve new go ards to in reg gy will o technol focus of y be a ke ion at this discuss IP EXPO year’s

WHAT DID THE COALITION DO FOR US? There was some scepticism that the Tories and the Lib Dems in collaboration would not be able to live up to their respective manifestos when it came to technology, despite the fact that their respective manifestos had a number of aims in common. So did the coalition realise their goals? In terms of its own technology dedication, yes. The coalition’s commitment to the G-Cloud has shown around 20 per cent of savings within public sector compared to legacy singlevendor agreements across government, and the G-Cloud framework itself passed £650 million in sales this month. But did they live up to expectations with other policies?

In some cases, yes.

From an educational perspective, both parties pledged to create a stronger focus on STEM subjects in schools, encouraging more young people to consider a career in technology. Whilst there is still a talent gap when looking at the graduate pool, we have seen a rise in After School Coding Clubs and a greater focus on encouraging female students into science and technology. Maths is now the A level subject taken by the most people according to figures from 2014.

Additionally, more has been done to educate on the dangers of online bullying – the Conservatives pledged to tackle cyberbullying by backing ‘quick-report’ buttons on social networking sites, enabling swift removal of offensive or harmful material. As a result of this, sites including Twitter and Facebook have taken a much stronger stance on inappropriate behaviour online and are much quicker to remove offensive material and, although cyberbullying remains a universal problem, there is much a greater awareness of how this affects young people in particular.

The dedication to creating a Tech City model in Manchester, Tech North, has shown a renewed passion from the Government in establishing the UK, not just London, as a European technology hub. This is enabling job creation in new areas of the country, whilst simultaneously putting new cities like Manchester on the map for the

innovative tech developments taking place.

When it comes to crime and national security, the coalition government prioritised stronger enforcement of existing laws. The pledge to authorise technology for use in drug-driving tests was fulfilled at the end of 2014. The Lib Dems, in particular, wanted to regulate CCTV and stop councils from spying on people - this is made possible under the 2012 Protection of Freedoms act.

The government itself realised some of its personal pledge to push down the cost of IT procurement and be more transparent and accountable. Costs of procurement were lowered thanks to the Government Digital Service (GDS). Non-personal government data was published as promised, so that the public would be able to hold government to account, a scheme backed by founder of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee. A TECHNOLOGY MINORITY With a new government in power, the question on everyone’s mind is whether or not the advancements made by the coalition will be further enhanced by the new Conservative government. Whilst a lot has happened in a few short years, we are still a long way from realising a truly tech-savvy government that understands the implications for the UK of the continuous changes in the sector.

Currently we are seeing commitment to invest in technology that will make our lives easier, chiefly through cloud adoption and the Internet of Things (IoT). Continued commitment to the G-Cloud framework has 

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IT & COMPUTING FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR – www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

Energy efficent air treatment solutions from Munters helps to create the perfect indoor environment Munters is a global leader and premium partner in energy efficient air treatment solutions. Using innovative technologies, Munters create the perfect indoor climate conditions for people, products and assets in a wide range of industries. Munters desiccant dehumidification technology prevents humidity related damage such as condensation, mould and corrosion to protect and preserve assets, save energy and optimise climate conditions.

For archives and museums, Munters desiccant dehumidifiers use dry air to protect film, tapes, documents, books and artifacts from deterioration. Like most materials, these items will be preserved for many years if humidity levels are maintained below a certain relative humidity (RH).

At the Danish State Archives, Munters dehumidifiers keep 3.5 billion documents safe from humidity-related damage. The 70,000m3 archive facility is maintained to a temperature of 14-18°C and 30-50 per cent RH all year round, creating a comfortable environment for both staff and documents while meeting guidelines from the Heritage Agency of Denmark. In the UK, Munters systems meet PD5454 standards for archives.

Another application is in clothes drying.

From office buildings to outdoor activity centres and fire stations, clothes drying rooms come filled with garments of all shapes and sizes. However, using traditional methods such as heating and tumble drying can be an expensive process. Munters’ dehumidifiers use dry air to quickly and efficiently dry clothing.

Siemens HQ in Denmark chose Munters as the perfect solution for drying the clothing of their sporty employees. Project Manager Michael Gotz stated, “The low energy

Resource Management & Recycling Services

consumption means the concept lives up to Siemens’ requirements in relation to minimal environmental impact. With the drying room, we can offer our active employees the best drying facilities and we have avoided energy intensive drying cabinets, which are difficult to fill and empty and have very limited capacity. “ For data centres, Munters utilises innovative evaporative cooling techniques to provide comprehensive design support for data centre cooling needs. Munters Oasis™ Indirect Evaporative Cooler (IEC) is able to deliver annual cost savings of 40 per cent and a total energy consumption reduction of 65 per cent, compared to common high efficiency free cooling solutions. Oasis IEC with a combined capacity of over 130+MW have been installed in data centres worldwide.

Munters has a wealth of experience in other industries including food, pharmaceutical, power stations, leisure and more. Munters strength lies in their excellent products, professional expertise, application knowledge, and full in-house service support.

FURTHER INFORMATION For more information, visit www.munters.co.uk

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EVENT PREVIEW  shown significant savings across government, which are expected to increase.

Just recently, the government pledged £20 million to invest in driverless cars to boost productivity in certain sectors. Not only this, but the government also announced an initiative to help advance the uptake of the IoT in cities across the country, through a £10 million prize being offered to a single collaborative research and development project which will help to demonstrate the capability of the IoT in a specific urban region. The fund is part of a wider £40 million investment in IoT announced earlier this year.

But the challenges and opportunities of the IoT and cloud will never be truly realised if the government doesn’t raise awareness of them. Cloud adoption may be a popular topic for discussion, but despite the central government’s advancements in this area, local governments are still not as far along as they could be in adopting cloud technologies. A recent Freedom of Information request revealed that cloud makes up just three per cent of overall IT spend amongst local councils, which means that there is a significant lack of economies of scale across the country as a whole.

Education is also a key focus – lots has been done to secure an uptake in STEM study but it

still isn’t enough to fill the sparse talent pool of STEM graduates. There are other routes into technology careers than degrees, which needs to be highlighted by the current government.

The biggest issue is, of course, national security. Hacking Team’s breach in July this year, where over 400GB of data was stolen, has shown that the threat of increasingly sophisticated hacks is showing no sign of slowing down. Whilst the Prime Minister announced a proposed expansion to the Investigatory Powers Bill (or Snoopers’ Charter), there is still much controversy surrounding the bill and whether it is an invasion of privacy or a necessary security measure. In order to secure our online activity, the government may need to look at alternative methods.

THE PROFESSIONAL CONSENSUS The general consensus is that the government has not done enough to address the changes and challenges within the IT industry. A recent survey conducted by IP EXPO Europe found that three quarters (75 per cent) of UK IT professionals don’t feel that enough is being done to encourage STEM study in education and, as a result, the talent pool in the UK STEM sector is drying up.

This is a fairly big issue as it means that

the new IT roles, such as DevOps, will have few to fill a growing need. Despite this overall scepticism, if Britain stays in the EU, IT professionals will be happy, as over two thirds (67 per cent) say that EU membership has given them greater business confidence.

THE CHALLENGES OF IT Challenges faced by the new government in regards to technology will be a key focus of discussion at this year’s IP EXPO Europe, Europe’s number one IT event. Now in its tenth year, the event, which will be held on the 7-8 October 2015 at ExCeL London, will encompass six sub-events, covering Cybersecurity, Data Centre, Data Analytics, Unified Communications, Cloud and Infrastructure and DevOps, all under one roof. It is the definitive event for professionals across the entire IT spectrum to view brand new technologies and, through exclusive keynote presentations, gain fresh insights from the leading thinkers in IT. For the second year running, IP EXPO Europe will see over 300 exhibitors from the likes of Microsoft, IBM, Intel, and BT and will feature demonstrations and presentations covering every facet of IT infrastructure.  FURTHER INFORMATION www.ipexpoeurope.com

Laser 2000 – Advanced solutions for phonotics

Solutions for a smarter and safer network

Laser 2000 is a highly specialised distributor of telecommunications, networks, and photonics products.

Laser 2000 supplies network components, transceivers, test equipment for installation and commissioning, and in-life network probes to customers in telco,enterprise, and research.

The networking portfolio is aimed at teams who build, install, and support networks.

The portfolio also includes the latest developments in photonics and optoelectronics for industry and research, and ruggedised components for Military and Aerospace.

Founded in 1992, Laser 2000 has a strong understanding of customers and their application needs, allowing it to provide both off the shelf and bespoke

Solarflare is the leading provider of application-intelligent networking I/O software and hardware that accelerates, monitors and secures network data. The firm recently introduced its powerful SolarCapture packet capture product family, which can transform any server into a precision capture device.

This results in increased server security, network instrumentation and performance analysis.

The latest addition to the family is Capture SolarSystem, a pre-configured, optimised and enhanced capture softappliance solution delivered as a set of packages ready to be installed. Capture SolarSystem is an open solution, providing high-performance hardware, time-stamped Ethernet packet capture, persisted storage and query on qualified offthe-shelf server hardware.

The SolarCapture family can be integrated with third-party analysis tools and is built on it’s industry-leading Flareon

solutions. The company is ISO 9001 certified. All staff are highly trained and hold relevant degrees.

At IP EXPO you can find out about transceivers, which are compatible with almost all switches but at a significantly lower price point. See how existing customers benefit from savings on configuration costs with these transceivers.

Also introduced will be the Gigastor retrospective network analysers. These products play a significant role for transactionheavy organisations in data mining and network forensics.

Visit Laser 2000 at IP EXPO, stand HH16.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01933 461 666 sales@laser2000.co.uk www.laser2000.co.uk

IP Expo Europe

IT & COMPUTNG FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR– www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

10/40GbE network adapters to provide industry-leading performance and lowest latency.

With over 1,400 customers worldwide, the company’s solutions are widely used in scale-out server environments such as electronic trading, high performance computing, cloud, CDN, virtualisation and big data. Products are available from leading distributors and value-added resellers, as well as from Dell, HP, IBM and Lenovo.

Solarflare is headquartered in Irvine, California, and operates R&D facilities in Cambridge, UK, San Diego and New Delhi, India.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0)1223 477171 info@solarflare.com www.solarflare.com

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SMALL BUSINESSES

John Allen, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, questions what do we really mean when we talk about working with SMEs? If you look at the Business Population Estimates published by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) in November last year, small and medium sized enterprise, or SME, is a definition that includes nearly everyone.

At the start of 2014, 99.9 per cent of the 5.2 million private sector businesses were classed as small or medium sized. Put another way there are only 6,700 firms in the UK economy that are not in this category. Closer inspection reveals that the medium sized businesses, those employing from 50 to 249 people, are also a relatively small demographic. Our economy has just 31,000 mediumsized enterprises, meaning that small firms make up 99.3 per cent of the UK business population.

So, when people say ‘SME’ what they are really talking about are the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) that make up the vast majority of the business population. We talk of the importance of small business with good reason.

At the start of 2014 small businesses accounted for 48 per cent (12.1 million) of UK private sector employment and their combined annual turnover was £1.2 trillion -–33 per cent of all private sector turnover.

At a national level, small firms generate wealth, drive innovation, create jobs, train apprentices, and provide the tax revenues that support a smorgasbord of social and economic policy that benefits the nation as a whole.

Small firms are just as important to local economies and communities as they are to the national one. They provide essential goods and services for local communities, and often provide the focal point for social activity, either collectively through local high streets, or individually as in the local pub.

PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY The importance of small firms is not limited to broad economic considerations. In the vast majority of cases, what ever you need, there will be a small business somewhere

that can supply it better, faster and cheaper than a large supplier can provide it for. Small businesses are nimble, and able to respond quickly to their clients’ needs, making them better able to adapt to your specifications rather than relying on selling you the solution that is most convenient for them to provide.

Use of small businesses can help to

improve public service delivery directly as suppliers and indirectly through competition pressure.

Small firms are particularly valuable suppliers to the public sector for smaller contracts. These low value contracts may be viewed as something of an inconvenience by large suppliers, but for a small firm, a public sector contract is often the largest that they have. This makes your priority, their priority.

Opening up public procurement opportunities to small firms doesn’t just

provide a direct benefit in terms of the cost and quality of goods and services supplied.

There is also an indirect benefit as, where small firms are able to participate in the market, they provide competition pressure which drives up standards in larger businesses.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) believes that public procurement must be about more than delivering services, and that local authority procurement in particular must be used strategically to deliver social and economic gains. More specifically, we believe that it must be used to support local growth and local jobs by using local businesses to keep more of local council’s money in local economies.

In this way we can all benefit from the economic multiplier effects of this investment.

To demonstrate these benefits, the FSB asked the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) to analyse the impact of local authority spending in the local economy. They found that, when the effects of local spend are broken down and analysed, every £1 spent by a participating local authority with local small businesses generated an additional 63p of benefit for their local economy, compared to just 40p generated by large local firms.

They also found that small local firms generated over 58 per cent more economic benefit for local economies over two rounds of re-spending than large local firms did.

Written by John Allen, the Federation of Small Businesses

Working with small suppliers is good for the public sector

Enterprises

IT & COMPUTNG FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR– www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT So how do public sector buyers better enable themselves to benefit from what small firms have to offer as suppliers and competitors? The FSB has developed some principles for small business friendly procurement and these are as follows.

Strategy and Policy: Increasing procurement spend with MSEs requires leadership.

As such small business friendly policies should be agreed at top management level within any organisation or company.

Spend Analysis: Procurers need to 

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Enterprises

SMALL BUSINESSES  have mechanisms in place to record and analyse where and with which businesses their money is spent. This should include measuring the size of enterprise – medium, small and micro, and there should be robust reporting arrangements for the results.

Public sector procurers should take care not to count individual business units or wholly owned subsidiaries of large businesses in their small business spending figures.

Opportunity creation: Procurers need to create more opportunities for MSEs by proactively seeking to break down contracts into smaller lots wherever practical, and by avoiding the temptation to aggregate contracts. Contract aggregation may seem superficially attractive but this can reduce competition pressure through over reliance on a limited number major suppliers. Procurers should also be wary of long contracts, as these effectively close the market and thereby reduce competition pressure.

VISIBILITY OF OPPORTUNITY Procurers need to ensure that the opportunities created for MSEs are visible to them. This can be achieved by advertising through the relevant procurement portals. To assist small firms, it is particularly important to ensure that low value contracts are well advertised. Process Simplification: Procurers should adopt appropriate best practice 

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Blue Mountain Water Coolers

CSA Waverley, part of the Maindec Group, delivers complete IT infrastructure design, implementation and support services that underpin the complex operations of NHS, local authorities, Central Government, and Private Sector organisations.

We have a 25-year relationship with HP, backed by our ‘Gold’ partner status. CSA Waverley is a supplier on numerous Crown Commercial Service framworks; Technology Products (Lot 1), Technology Services (Lot 1-11) and G Cloud 5 (Lots 1, 3 & 4). We are also a supplier on North of England Commercial Procurement Procurement Collaborative (Lot 1 & 3).

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SMALL BUSINESSES  with regard to their use of pre-qualification lead of national government pledges to pay questionnaires (PQQs), which may include within 10 days of receipt, but no more than 30 the adoption of existing, standardised PQQs; days other than in exceptional circumstances. online prequalification; and discontinuation Procurers should also use contract clauses of PQQs and other requirements where they to ensure that prime contractors pass on are unnecessary. Simplified prequalification the organisations fair payment terms to processes for smaller procurements below their subcontracted suppliers, and that the EU thresholds have been brought in for subcontracted suppliers likewise pass public sector procurers via the Public on terms through throughout Contracts Regulations 2015. the supply chain. This Proportionate requirements: has also been brought Procurers should also in for public sector ensure their use of procurers via the Public selection requirements Contracts Regulations is proportionate and 2015. A step warmly based purely on the welcomed by small needs of the contract. businesses.

These requirements Small business can be minimum engagement: experience, insurance, Procurers should or turnover criteria, or ensure that regular information requirements training opportunities and such as for audited accounts. supplier pre-engagement Recognition of existing accreditations: activities are available for MSEs Procurers should take account of the third in their area, to ensure that capacity is party accreditations that a firm already built ahead of opportunities becoming has, rather than insisting that all bidders available and support market shaping. are registered with a specific accreditation body as a blanket requirement.

INCREASING SPEND Payment practices: Procurers should put in FSB research with its members suggests place and monitor specific payment policies for that engagement and capacity building PSI Advert_Layout 1 30/07/2015 11:05 small business suppliers, ideally following thePage 1is particularly important when trying to

er Whatev small d, you neesses can busine the FSB can d help, anu to make the help yo f what small most o esses have busin offer to

Enterprises

IT & COMPUTNG FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR– www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

increase spend with small firms. Of those responding to a survey on local authority procurement, more than half (55 per cent) of those that had bid were successful in winning at least one contract and nearly a third (30 per cent) had won multiple contracts. The instances of those winning multiple contracts may suggest a dichotomy between those small firms with the capability required to win public sector contracts, and those without, with the former able to access multiple contracts once the basic capacity to win one bid has been achieved.

Looking forward, there is much work still to be done to help open up the benefits of buying from small suppliers to more public sector suppliers. Implementation of the Lord Young agenda must remain an urgent priority across the sector, and we would urge all public sector buyers to view this as a welcome opportunity.

Through the FSB, small businesses are important partners in policy making at all levels from national economic strategy through to advising local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships on local priorities for their areas. Whatever you need, small businesses can help, and the FSB can help you to make the most of what small businesses have to offer.  FURTHER INFORMATION www.fsb.org.uk

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CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Refreshing recruitment Channel 3 Group offers a full range of resourcing services tailored to client and candidate needs Channel 3 Group was founded at the height of the recession, back in 2009, to provide innovative consultancy services to the health and social care sectors.

People thought that the executive team were a bit mad, seeking to undertake public sector consultancy projects at a time when the cutbacks were beginning in the public sector and people were feeling the pinch at home too. But the business model was innovative and the projects undertaken actually saved the public sector money rather than cost it more. The business’ inception also came at a time where larger consultancies’ contracts through the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) and other programme were coming to a close.

Initially focusing on large infrastructure outsourcing programmes, Channel 3 ensured that public sector clients had more sustainable, future-proofed and efficient IT and infrastructure. Through contract renegotiation, improving supplier relationships and overseeing large-scale procurements, Channel 3 was able to help clients to make significant efficiencies and grow their expertise and knowledge in these areas.

‘CONSTRUCTIVELY DISRUPTIVE’ But it seemed that outsourcing wasn’t the only area of demand. Channel 3 prides itself on working in a very open, honest, and transparent way and this has enabled the business to practice what it preaches. One of Channel 3’s core values is “constructively disruptive”. This means that even if a few feathers are ruffled along the way, the business always seeks the best outcome for its clients.

It was whilst working on large-scale infrastructure projects that the executive team’s previous public sector experience indicated a potential growth area was resourcing. It had become apparent that it was difficult for public sector clients (and also private sector) to recruit highly specialised IT roles, permanent, contract or interim. Finding the right people is never easy, but the executive team has many years’ experience working in and growing, recruitment businesses. Alongside a team of well-known, well-respected and specialist consultants with networks that stretched the length and breadth of the country, the business developed a resourcing team for specialist IT roles that offered something truly different and more compelling than the competition. Channel 3 is greater than the sum of its parts.

The model of mixing Channel 3‘s careerconsultants’ networks with its recruitment expertise has worked well. It is what makes the business unique. Channel 3 has gone from strength-to-strength, particularly in the last couple of years, culminating most

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Channel 3 has gone from strength-to-strength, particularly in the last couple of years, culminating most recently in being awarded a place on the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 recently in being awarded a place on the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100.

MARKET WIDE Channel 3 has branched out into recruiting for a whole panoply of IT roles. Whilst continually seeking to revise and improve services, the business has also bid for, and achieved, places on an increasing number of public sector frameworks. Channel 3’s latest framework win was the Crown Commercial Service’s Non-Medical, Non-Clinical Framework. NMNC enables Channel 3 to further support the public sector by making services more accessible and efficient. The business is also represented on the CCS G-Cloud 6 Framework, Consultancy One and the Elis Group Framework (specific to Commissioning Support Units and NHS England). Channel 3 recently published an article about the importance of frameworks in public sector recruitment and how they are a mark of quality and consistency and how they can help to drive efficiencies. This in turn can lead to greater innovation and also give structure and coherence to the service provision and any savings can be used to improve and enhance the organisation.

TIME AND INVESTMENT Paul Manvell, Client Services Director and cofounder of the Channel 3 Group said: “Although it takes time and investment to bid for places

on frameworks, it is very much a part of our overall business strategy and approach not least because frameworks offer a mark of quality.

We are keen to invest further in this area, and grow the business to ensure that we can continue to offer excellent services to our public sector clients in a trusted way. As mentioned above, the networks and contacts that we have through our consulting and professional services businesses, alongside the expert knowledge of our resourcing team makes us a different choice. I have worked extensively in large multinational recruitment businesses and I bring a robust corporate approach into an agile, fastpaced and innovative business to combine and promote the best of both worlds. I am keenly focused on customer excellence in all that we do, and this is evident in the growing number of diverse projects that we are getting involved in and the services we are able to offer.” L FURTHER INFORMATION For more information, please see www.channel3group.co.uk/resourcing – and there is a new website coming soon, so watch this space.

CCS AGREEMENTS

Frameowrks

IT & COMPUTNG FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR– www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

The commercial services that are saving money The Crown Commercial Service Non-Medical Non-Clinical framework agreement provides access to temporary staff across a range of roles including board level.

Government Business takes a look at the agreement The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is in place to make sure that small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) have access to government contract opportunities, making it easier for them to do business with government, and making sure that 25 per cent of government’s spend, either directly or in supply chains, goes to SMEs by 2015.

Additionally, CCS makes sure that departments publish details of future projects and contracts on the Contracts Finder website every six months, giving businesses the confidence and time to invest in relevant skills, labour and capabilities to win these contracts.

It works to obtain simpler, more flexible EU procurement rules in Brussels to support economic growth by making the procurement process faster, less costly and more effective

for both business and procurers; this will affect more than £45 billion of central government spend (more than £230 billion for the UK public sector) every year. This will help commissioners of public services to become more effective through the Commissioning Academy and use commercial intelligence more effectively to improve the value gained from contracts across government.

NC The NM ent agreem ccess sa provide porary to tem ims and ter staff, in tors in any contrac collar or white llar role blue co

TERMS AND CONDITIONS As a guide for suppliers and buyers there is a standard set of terms and conditions for framework agreements and call-off contracts for goods and services bought under the agreement. The template for call-off contracts forms the basis of the terms and

conditions in individual further competitions and can be supplemented or refined with additional terms to suit the requirement.

All CCS suppliers must submit monthly management information (MI) returns. This is done online through the MISO system. You will need to include the unique reference number (URN) for each customer listed on the return.

Failure to submit MI returns correctly or within the agreed timescales may incur admin fees.

CCS is updating its internal Customer Relationship Management system and as a result the weekly downloadable list of URNs will be changing. The existing sheet of four tabs will reduce to three, listing all live URNs with customer details, a second detailing merges and a third detailing name changes. Legacy tabs will be added for the time being showing older changes that are not present on the new system. The sub-sector is now known as organisation type and is being updated to better and more accurately describe the organisation within its sector.

The Non-Medical Non-Clinical (NMNC) 

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RECRUITMENT & TALENT MANAGEMENT

Transforming the workplace Hudson, a market leading global talent solutions provider looks at ways you can transform your workplace and unleash the full potential of your team Hudson is a global talent solutions company that help transform the workplace and unleash the full potential of organisations and individuals.

Hudson’s expert team and proprietary tools provide you with unique insights and services to help your organsiation maximise its success. Across 20 countries, Hudson delivers a range of recruitment, talent management and recruitment process outsourcing solutions to get you and your business where you want to be.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS With an on-going need to demonstrate value for money still prevalent in today’s public sector, finding the right people for your organisation has never been more important.

That’s why it makes sense to work with a recruitment partner who really understands the public sector and your own, specific needs.

You’ll find that Hudson has the skills, knowledge and experience to help you, whatever your requirements. With experience working with local and central government, there’s little Hudson hasn’t

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faced making Hudson perfectly placed to help you achieve your talent goals.

DEVELOPING FUTURE SKILL SETS Nurturing talent for the future is integral to everything Hudson does as a recruitment business. Hudson works in partnership with you to develop individuals right at the start of their careers, to ensure we secure and grow talent pools both now and in the future.

Hudson regularly partners alongside local and central government to promote career development throughout the education sector. Hudson’s partnerships have provided platforms in securing internship programmes and placements, enabling and enhancing invaluable skills for their career ahead.

Initiatives such as these have proved extremely beneficial to Hudson’s clients, many of which are suffering from the ongoing skill gap epidemic, to channel much needed investment to retain and attract key talent.

ADDING REAL VALUE Collaboration and partnership are key to Hudson’s business and offering a number of benefits which add real value to its public

sector clients beyond its recruitment services.

Unlike many recruitment providers, Hudson has a dedicated talent management division which provides specialist tools that cover the entire recruitment life cycle.

Hudson works in partnership with you to design and implement bespoke talent management solutions, aligned to your growth strategy and objectives. Hudson’s solutions are delivered by experienced, insightful talent management professionals, supported by a powerful range of proprietary tools and assessments. This ensures you have the right high potential people and leaders in place within your organisation to deliver against your corporate and commercial objectives.

Across the UK and Ireland, Hudson contributes to labour market research to independent bodies that then aggregate its response with other commentaries on the market. In Ireland specifically, the company provides input to Markit for their labour monitors. It also work with APSCo and the REC to contribute to publications and sector focus groups.

Hudson’s reports and white papers continue to add real value within its public sector partnerships. The company’s recent, award-winning ‘The Great Generational Shift report, identifies the challenges and opportunities a multi-generational diverse workforce can bring. Research such as this is especially pertinent within the public sector market as it also offers insights into the effective practices of private, commercial organisations. With heightened profile on public spend, alignment to the private sector is becoming common practice.

TRACK RECORD Hudson’s public sector recruitment team is a market leader in placing exceptional talent into central and local government senior roles.

Hudson specialises in attracting and recruiting the most talented and dynamic sector experts and have an impressive track record within the following areas: Accounting and finance; HR; legal; marketing and communications; IT; supply chain and procurement.

Hudson has been appointed to a number of UK Public Sector Frameworks including: Non Medical Non Clinical (NMNC); Crown Commercial Service (CCS); Contingent Labour ONE(CLOne); Advanced Procurement for Universities and College (APUC); Central Eastern Commissioning Support Unit (CECSU).  FURTHER INFORMATION Contact Hudson today to find out more about how the company can help you unleash your full potential. Visit uk.hudson.com

CCS AGREEMENTS  agreement provides access to temporary staff, interims and contractors in any white collar or blue collar role from the most junior to the most senior, including board level roles across eight lots.

The agreement was developed to manage and mitigate the legal and commercial risks associated with engaging temporary staff and to utilise and reflect the Agenda

to engage interim personnel and thus improves the quality, availability and performance of interim personnel.

THE LOTS The eight lots are divided as follows – Lot 1 – Neutral Vendor Supply: A neutral vendor does not supply temporary workers directly from their own resource pool. They use an

The Non-Medical Non-Clinical (NMNC) agreement provides access to temporary staff, interims and contractors in any white collar or blue collar role from the most junior to the most senior, including board level roles across eight lots for Change pay rates. The agreement also introduces a single point of contact for all requisitions, queries and interim personnel issues and delivers significant invoice management efficiencies through the introduction of consolidated invoicing.

It provides regular and detailed management information and reduces the administrative burden related to the engagement of interim personnel.

This, in turn, improves the time taken

approved supply chain to complete the calloff agreement. For the customer receiving the service, the provision is seamless as you contract only with the neutral vendor and not with the supply chain directly.

Lot 2 – Master Vendor Supply: A master vendor takes overall responsibility for providing customers with their temporary worker needs. They will provide temporary workers directly from their own resource pool and may make up any shortfall by managing

Frameworks

IT & COMPUTNG FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR– www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

supplementary supply from an approved subcontractor supply chain in line with Framework Agreement Schedule 7: Sub-Contractor(s).

You contract only with the master vendor, and they are responsible for their supply chain.

Lots 3 to 8 - These lots are for the direct award or further competition of temporary workers from agencies awarded a place on the relevant lot according to their ability and competitiveness in supplying temporary workers within the job categories appropriate to each lot.

THE BENEFITS One of the most significant benefits is the choice of pay rate. This is an agreement based on the NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) pay rates and pay bands including provision for compliance with Agency Worker Regulations following 12 weeks of service.

Additionally, it creates a clear charge rate.

This is evident through the straightforward rate card which shows charge rates for both PAYE and limited company temporary workers based on the AfC pay rates.

NMNC also proves beneficial in its approach to risk management, focusing on managing the risks associated with engaging interim workers e.g. Agency Worker Regulations and stakeholder pensions and a regular audit to ensure compliance with NHS Employers Employment Check Standards. 

CY EXECUTIVE RESOURCING

We are the public sector recruitment specialists, providing staff to the NHS and both central and local government departments.

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CY Executive Resourcing Ltd provides recruitment services to the NHS and wider Public Sector throughout the Country specialising in Finance, Transformation/Turnaround, Operations, Commissioning and Programme Management.

With over 30 years’ experience in Public Sector recruitment, our team of exceptionally talented and experienced consultants has an unrivalled reputation for excellence.

In a sector of major skills shortages, our talent acquisition expertise and consultative approach consistently achieves outstanding results time and again. That’s why so many organisations across the UK have already chosen to use our recruitment services.

CY Executive Resourcing’s expertise spans from Assistant Accountants through to Managers, Heads of, Directors and Chief Executives. Our comprehensive recruitment services include; Interim, Fixed Term and & Secondment Substantive Recruitment Search & Selection Campaigns Board & Executive Director Appointments Project Management

We are on the Crown Commercial Service’s Non-Medical Non-Clinical Framework for the NHS, and on the Digital Marketplace.

Devonshire_Quarter_Page_Ad_125x86mm_v1.indd 1

For further Information on how CYER can assist your organisation please call 01216326776 or email health@ cyresourcing.com, without obligation.

04/08/2015 22:14

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CCS AGREEMENTS  Management Information becomes available on demand for all customers to detail reported spend and there is no temporary to permanent charges – so long as you comply with the transfer fee rules.

The purpose is to illustrate changes to the average actual rates paid by NHS trusts within the financial year 2014/15 to the rates actually paid and the benefits therein.

PROCUREMENT STRATEGY The methodology for calculating savings is measured by taking the baseline price ((average financial year total hourly charge rate paid for matched roles x counterfactuals) – (actual total hourly charge rate paid for matched roles)) x volume (hours) consumed).

Through the use of the agreement for all NHS requirements, numerous non-cashable benefits will also be generated. Firstly, the agreement will help support the NHS with their procurement strategy to ensure that the right resources, with the right capabilities and skills are in the right place, at the right time and at the right cost to meet required departmental objectives.

Due to the consolidation of health spend on temporary staffing, suppliers will continue to work closely with HR and procurement managers to ensure that staffing options and resource strategies of departments are implemented and aligned with their wider

business strategy and goals of the NHS. The agreement also allows NHS departments to have access to suppliers of certain skill sets that are in short supply at competitive rates, and ensures that the bargaining power of customers will increase as cost pressures rise and demand falls. Meanwhile, compliance with NHS Employers standards for safer recruitment will continue to be met, including but not limited to, criminal record checks, right to work in the UK checks, occupational health checks, employment history and reference checks, professional registration and qualification checks and identity checks.

Finally, an established and effective system for supplier management information collection and the control of health spend by allowing customers access to supplier rates will be generated.

AWARD BY DIRECT CALL-OFF You can award call-off of services directly where the terms (meaning the information on award of call-off contained in the framework agreement and the call-off terms and conditions) are sufficiently precise and complete to identify the most economically advantageous offer. This will be the case where the commercial and technical specifications and all the other contract documents define the services, the supply of services and the application of the prices

Frameworks

IT & COMPUTNG FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR– www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

with sufficient precision and completeness.

To award by direct call-off you should identify all suitable suppliers, by reference to the lot descriptions and regions supplied with services. Crown Commercial Services provides a simple tool which asks you to input: Whether you want to hire temporary work-seekers (employment business) or to employ fixed-term candidates (employment agency); Which lot you are interested in; Which pay bands/pay ranges you are interested in; and which region you are in.

The tool will identify the name and branch information of the suitable suppliers. You should then rank the supplier with the most economically advantageous offer. Go in turn to each of the next highest ranking suppliers until the requirement is met, if the supplier awarded the call-off is unable on occasion to supply suitable temporary workers. You could award for a defined period of time, providing the period falls within the duration of the framework agreement.

CALL-OFF BY FURTHER COMPETITION You should award call-off of services by conducting a further competition where the collection of terms laid down in the framework agreement is not sufficiently precise or complete to cover the service requirements.

This will be the case where the commercial and technical specifications and all the other 

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CCS AGREEMENTS  contract documents do not define the services, the supply of services and the application of the prices with sufficient precision and completeness to meet your requirements of the particular supply contract. The basic terms cannot be renegotiated nor can the specification be substantively changed. Basic terms can be refined or supplemented where the particular service requirements were not and could not be foreseen when the framework agreement was established.

To award call-off by further competition you should identify which suppliers are capable of meeting your requirements. Unless it is clear how to objectively determine which suppliers are capable of meeting the requirements of the particular supply contract, then you should invite all suppliers to participate in the further competition.

In addition to this, you should issue written/electronic tender documentation to all capable suppliers, with a reasonable time limit for return of tenders. You can modify award criteria, providing they derive from the original award criteria and the capable suppliers are notified of this. Award criteria that are completely new cannot be introduced in a further competition. Evaluate the returned tenders against the award criteria, using an evaluation plan and the weighting (totalling 100 per cent) that best reflects your circumstances and requirements, within the range limits, and award to the supplier with the most economically advantageous offer, represented by the highest score.

If the supplier awarded the call-off of service is unable on occasion to supply suitable work-seekers then you should go in turn to each of the next highest scoring suppliers until the requirement is met. Decide whether and how to group job descriptions for the purposes of making awards of call-off. You could award for a defined period of time, providing the period falls fully within the duration of the framework agreement.  FURTHER INFORMATION ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Frameworks

IT & COMPUTNG FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR– www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

One of the largest recruiters of social care professionals in the UK. • Caseload management • Locum and permanent recruitment • International recruitment • Volume recruitment campaigns To find out more, contact: T: 020 7861 8777

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MENT E M P L OY S LT D S E R V IC E

Recruitment Specialists throughout Northamptonshire and neighbouring counties. Estb 1990.

Independent Recruitment Agency Lynx provide an honest, high quality recruitment service to both employers and candidates.

We work with all types of organizations of all sizes throughout the area including: Sheffield International Venues

● Recently awarded a place on NMNC agreement, Crown Commercial Services for administration, clerical and corporate functions (temporary and contract staff) ● Other public sector recruitment, additional categories include: accountancy, finance, legal, marketing, purchasing and project management ● We meet all of our candidates, complete all compliance checks, including DBS’s, referencing and testing ● We are a niche organisation, believing in honesty, transparency in order to deliver a first class service ● “We know” our candidates, communities and trends ● We work together with our clients “to know” what they want and we deliver!

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Max Office Support supplies virtual assistance in a costeffective, time efficient way.

Outsource a myriad of tasks including web research, travel plans, data entry, copy writing – all those little jobs that need doing but you simply don’t have the people-power to cover.

The benefits of using a virtual administrator service can be hugely helpful to any type or size of organisation.

The company has experience of working within a wide range of industries including secretarial support to GPs, start-up assistance with a commercial brokerage, provision of recruitment support and award applications – amongst many, many other things.

Computacables is a specialist supplier of cables and connectivity products, with over 30 years global sourcing experience to ensure the very best value for money is achieved when you require cables and IT equipment for your Datacentre, IT and Comms room.

Products include copper, fibre, power, security and Datacentre specific cables and cable management solutions.

This includes both UK and EU distribution of Techtable, BrightPatch, Neat Patch, Stayonline. com, PadJack, Arc Data Cable Comb, Mertek, Polargy to name but a few.

All of these products save time and money during installation and day to day use in the Datacentre. All of these are manufactured using the very best quality components and have long manufacturer warranties

Going to the max to support your business

Max Office Support works remotely so there is no need to provide desk space or IT support.

With over 15 years of experience in administration and business support, Max Office Support can work independently so no need to hand-hold or check-up on its progress.

All timescales are agreed prior to any task starting and delivery is guaranteed. Max Office Support is the extra pair of hands you need, available whenever you need them – with no long-term commitments or contracts.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 024 7722 0565 contact@maxofficesupport.co.uk www.maxofficesupport.co.uk

Computacables - Cables and connectivity products

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Based in Fareham, Hampshire, DataWizard has been operating for over three years, carrying out a broad range of professional administrative support services for businesses and charities, delivering a timely and reliable service.

DataWizard can provide a virtual admin service (one off or regular) for when your admin team is overloaded e.g. holidays, sickness, seasonal peaks or to release staff for other projects.

DataWizard offers a range of administrative services including letters, reports, presentations, quotations, online emails and appointments, data entry, mailshots, mail merge and envelope filling.

DataWizard can improve efficiency by creating databases to hold records and automate much of a manual paperwork system, e.g. customer contacts; orders; stock control. Data is backed up

Virtuoso Assistant provides flexible, online business support services, enabling clients to maximise their time and generate new leads.

Outsourcing is an incredibly costeffective alternative to hiring staff: clients are invoiced only for work undertaken, nothing else (not even tax or national insurance).

Quick and easy to set up, with no deposit or employment contracts required, clients control their budget and their work schedule. Work with Virtuoso Assistant on an ad hoc or on a weekly/monthly basis for more regular assignments.

Nicky Pasquier, founder of Virtuoso Assistant, worked for 16 years as a legal PA/paralegal for senior Civil Litigation lawyers and now provides a fast and accurate virtual PA service. She regularly works as a professional note-taker with Human Resources Consultants, attending fact-finding, disciplinary, dismissal and appeal hearings.

As a result of recent successes, Nicky has been able to work with entrepreneurs and small businesses,

Trusted administrative assistants you can trust

regularly and security is always of utmost importance to reflect the clients needs for confidentiality.

DataWizard is happy to accept work via email, post, courier, telephone, conference calls or video calling (usually Skype). The work can be transferred on CD, hard copy (printed or hand written) or during face to face meetings.

A detailed, no obligation, written quotation, based on requirements will be provided before any work is undertaken therefore the total cost is known in advance.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01329 481202 info@datawizardfareham.co.uk www.datawizardfareham.co.uk

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for complete peace of mind.

Custom colours and lengths can be accommodated quickly and at competitive prices. Quality does not need to be expensive.

Computacables is known in the industry as the ‘go-to’ people for sourcing hard to find products, and for offering quick, technically competent solutions.

The company listens to what its customers need, and responds with product offerings fit for purpose and always strive to offer outstanding service and value for money. For further information please contact the company via the details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0)1746 767849 sales@computacables.com www.computacables.com

Virtual assistants and business support services

both in the UK and US, providing specialist services in social media, visual marketing and B2B blogging.

Client retention, online visibility and brand awareness are key factors when growing a small business and Nicky certainly knows how to get noticed online with eye-catching images and marketing videos.

Nicky was profiled by Small Business Saturday UK in 2014, resulting in a reception at Downing Street, and continues to support the campaign as Small Business Champion.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 07739 988561 www.virtuosoassistant.co.uk

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

George the principle is an Associate of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ACIS), was a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPA), Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (MCSI), Member of the Livery Company, The Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators as well as a Master of Science in Finance (MSc Finance).

He has lectured in Accounting and Economics, managed SME companies and has been advising and helping small and medium size companies on accounting, taxation and compliance issues since 1992. Dosoo & Co. of Edinburgh takes pride and specialises in helping owner managed businesses, start-up, and small to medium size businesses and always strives to provide a personal and bespoke service.

Dosoo & Co.’s client base includes sole traders, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts,

With over 10 years experience in the translation industry and offering comprehensive services across the UK from Aberdeen to Bristol, lang2lang has become leaders in its field. As a professional translation company based in London, lang2lang has fostered its unique skills and streamlined its services in order to create quality interpretation services which meet all demands in a modern multicultural and technological age.

An ISO 9001:2000 registered company, lang2lang provides professional mother tongue interpreters, legal translations, document translations and multi-lingual DTP services for the private sector, the public sector and voluntary sector.

As well as offering assistance to councils such as Kent County Council and Buckinghamshire County Council, the company has also provided certified linguists for housing associations, local authorities, the police, schools and immigration services.

Dosoo & Co. Chartered Secretaries and Accountants

charities, the not-for-profit sector, or clubs and associations. The company provides advice and planning on all aspects of tax - namely personal, partnership, corporation tax, inheritance tax and capital gains tax.

As a firm, Dosoo & Co.’s prime aim is to help its clients comply with their statutory, regulatory obligations as well as advising on governance issues. The governing bodies of the firm are the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 07973 416911 info@dosooandco.co.uk www.dosooandco.co.uk

Translation services for a multi-cultural Britain

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Established in 1990, Fiona Shipley Transcription Ltd has earned an enviable reputation for providing a fast, accurate and confidential service.

The company provides transcripts from sound recordings for FTSE 100 companies, professional organisations and public bodies.

Its expertise extends across a wide range of sectors, including energy, finance, health and medicine, and legal services.

The team of highly experienced transcribers are skilled in handling recordings in different formats.

Its editors ensure the finished product is accurate and its meaning clear; the final copy is a precise record of your meeting, interview or conference. The company’s clients rely on its

Infogov specialises in Integrated Governance Risk and Compliance Solutions (iGRC) and owns the market leading software, Proteus.

Proteus iGRC is a real time cyber protection system that takes the best of the many innovative, cutting edge network agents and sensors, and harnesses them to thwart the myriad of opportunities cyber criminals now have at their disposal.

With Proteus you can perform a 30 day 27001:2013 compliance audit.

Infogov can also assist with: Performing enterprise wide online audits against any international standard; Authoring your own audit questionnaires; Defining a test for every control you implement; Using your existing security systems to best effect; Auditing your external suppliers against your security policies or best practice; Performing focused Security Awareness Training to create an improved security culture; Creating extensive security reports & dashboards using easy

The company is proud of the fact that it can offer services for any language. The client centred services can localise translations by providing translators specific to a region or country and hence ensure correct vocabulary for colloquial communications. One of its unique facilities is the translation of documents (in any language) by email within 24 hours.

To speak to a consultant or for more information, contact lang2lang via the details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0207 9935 171 info@lang2lang.co.uk www.lang2lang.co.uk

Fast, accurate and reliable Innovative protection transcription services against cyber criminals

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discretion and understanding of their business environment. Many of the transcripts produced are specific to that particular sector - in content, style and language.

That is why Fiona Shipley’s transcripts are tailor-made and why the company places a high value on client confidentiality.

The company works closely with each client but discreetly, bringing a mix of up-to-the minute technical know-how and well-established customer service to deliver each transcript quickly and efficiently.

Fiona Shipley is also accredited with ISO 9001:2008.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01737 852225 fiona@fionashipley.com www.fionashipley.com

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

to use drag and drop functionality; Alerting emerging risks in real time; Actively monitoring your network for abnormal behaviour, performing “Deep Packet Inspections” and supporting forensic investigations of malicious activity; Performing Network Discovery against your known inventory, identifying and neutralising unmanaged assets; and Modelling your Business Processes and quantifying their regulatory and financial impact on your organisation.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0208 123 7708 www.infogov.co.uk

ICT

ICT

Productive PA was established in 2013, with the core purpose of using its skills and experience to help you find practical solutions for your business needs.

Productive PA’s aim is to help you minimise your to-do list, leaving you free to work on other important areas of your business. The company motto is ‘Your Success Is Our Victory” and prides itself on its reliable, friendly, experienced and approachable team.

Productive PA offers a wide range of services including personal assistance, marketing, finance, plus the handling of the day-to-day operations of your company.

As the company is a virtual

PaperMountains is a Total Document Management Company, member of AIIM, The IRMS and a Kofax Partner which has been helping its clients in both industry and the public sector to capture data from paper, microfilm and electronic documents since 1994.

PaperMountains delivers software solutions to unlock the wealth of data stored in legacy paper archives by making it available in a searchable electronic format and provides the tools to retrieve and mine the data or distribute it to other systems in the enterprise.

It is as important for the mountain of paper not to regrow after it is dealt with. Therefore PaperMountains works with live documents to capture data as early as possible to maximise the advantages of digitisation.

In-bound content such as paper post, fax, email and e-forms can all be captured early using a unified gateway, initiating process workflows and intelligently

All you need in business support – Virtually

PA company, it carries out your work in the background, without hassling you in the office.

You’ll be amazed at how efficient a virtual PA can be, and Productive PA works diligently on every task until it meets your satisfaction.

Productive PA’s clients vary from start-up, SME and large corporations, and the company is able to take on ad-hoc tasks, regular monthly support or specific projects and campaigns.

There is no task too big or small, simply contact Productive PA with your requirements.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0203 394 0175 info@productivepa.com www.productivepa.com

PaperMountains – Keep control of your files

IT AUDITING

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Netwrix Corporation is a provider of IT auditing software that maximises visibility into who changed what, when and where and who has access to what in the IT infrastructure. Over 6,000 customers worldwide rely on Netwrix to audit IT infrastructure changes and data access, prepare reports required for passing compliance audits and increase the efficiency of IT operations.

Founded in 2006, Netwrix has more than 70 industry awards and was named in the Inc. 5000 list and Deloitte Technology Fast 500.

Netwrix Auditor enables complete visibility into both security configuration and data access within the entire IT infrastructure by providing actionable audit data about who changed what, when and where and who has access to what.

Netwrix Auditor helps prevent security breaches caused by insider

Siobhan Scott founded LA Virtual Admin after spending 27 successful years working for the Civil Service within Whitehall.

Her high profile roles ranged from Private Secretary to Senior Government Policy Advisor.

Siobhan wanted to utilise the invaluable skills and qualifications she gained throughout her career within Government to set up an efficient and highly skilled virtual assistant business to help sole traders and small businesses with a wide range of administrative duties they may not otherwise have the time or budget to do themselves.

Siobhan has successfully worked with Government departments, local authorities, small businesses and other organisations by providing a comprehensive range of administrative services. She has built up a portfolio of office skills including data analysis, financial management and researching,

Complete visibility with Netwrix Auditor

attacks, pass audits and minimise compliance costs or just keep tabs on what privileged users are doing in the environment and why.

The company’s direct partner, Set3 Software is an independent Netwrix specialist based in West Sussex. Set3 Software applies smart and effective technology solutions that enhances your business.

With over 20 years cumulative experience in IT solutions, the company prides itself in their wealth of knowledge on the Netwrix products. For further information please visit the website below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0)1403 588 898 www.netwrixauditor.co.uk

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interacting with correspondents to reduce manual intervention, enhance efficiency, and improve information visibility as well as increasing customer intimacy, engagement and satisfaction.

For clients who do not have the bandwidth to handle the process end to end themselves, the PaperMountains secure document virtual mailroom and scanning bureau provides an easy and cost effective way to get the legacy documents converted, including plans and books.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0808 281 1100 sales@papermountains.com www.papermountains.com

Expert virtual office administration

writing and publishing reports.

She is now an accomplished and resourceful Virtual Assistant and an accredited member of the UK Association of Virtual Assistants, working virtually or in-house within the West Sussex area.

LA Virtual Admin can complete a one–off project or provide ongoing back office support to give sole traders or small businesses those extra hours in a day to successfully run their business.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01903 715733 siobhan@lavirtual-admin.co.uk www.lavirtual-admin.co.uk

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HEALTH & SAFETY

HEALTH & SAFETY

Did you know that over 200 people are killed each year in accidents at work and over one million people are injured? (HSE) Over two million people suffer illnesses caused by, or made worse by, their work? (HSE) Serious workplace injuries and fatalities are rising in 2014/15 and there were eight deaths in one week alone in July this year.

Changes to health and safety legislation in May 2015 means that Magistrates Courts can impose unlimited fines.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has become self-funding which, in a nutshell, means that any visits it makes will be subject to an hourly fee - this is in addition to any other costs you may incur.

Accidents and ill health caused by work can be devastating, therefore prevention should be a key priority for everyone.

Scorpion Safety is there to provide you with health and safety

Arco is the UK’s leading safety company, distributing quality products and providing expert consultancy and training to help make work a safer place.

Founded in 1884 and with a heritage spanning four generations, Arco integrates traditional family values with pioneering innovation. Offering a world-class range of safety products including personal protective equipment, clothing, footwear, gloves and hygiene, Arco can fulfil all your requirements whilst delivering sustainable procurement savings.

Headquartered in Hull, Arco reaches its customers through its extensive product catalogue, interactive website, local sales offices and a network of over 46 trade counters.

Finalists at the 2015 Scotland Excel Supplier Excellence Awards,

Helping people keep safe from the sting of injury

support, whether you are looking to check compliance, enhance your current safety culture or carryout a fire risk assessment.

Scorpion Safety also offers health and safety training regulated by Ofqual under the Qualifications Credit Framework (QCF), suitable for both the public and private sectors.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01394 617171 mick@scorpionsafety.co.uk www.scorpionsafety.co.uk

RISK MANAGEMENT

RISK MANAGEMENT

Dovetail Management Consultancy provides expert support to agencies across the public and charitable sectors. Starting with strategy, Dovetail’s consultants can advise on applications of technology, matters of human resources and market positioning.

The company works to foster learning and independence, as well as empower clients to reach and implement their own solutions.

Dovetail will look at a broad range of issues, which allows its consultants to pick up cross specialism matters, such as financial concerns spawned from HR issues.

Dovetail has business sense melded with an understanding of public sector challenges that helps their consultants to advise.

Dovetail’s team have worked across all three sectors - voluntary/ social enterprise, private/commercial and public sector – with experience in housing, health and enterprise

Since 1864 Munro Instruments has been manufacturing highquality instrumentation to measure, monitor and record environmental phenomena.

The company operates across three core product lines: air quality, meteorology and slip resistance.

Recently unveiled, Munro’s new Air Monitoring System signifies a major step forward in the field of air quality measurement. The system encompasses a large range of sensors, from which users can ‘mix and match’ according to their needs and budget. All relevant parameters can be monitored, including particulate matter, VOCs, NOx, SOx, CO2 and a host of other flammable and toxic gases.

Meteorological sensors can also be added for in-depth pollution studies.

An integrated data logger stores and exports the data wirelessly to Munro’s web-based analysis software – available online anywhere, anytime. All

Thinking strategically, enabling development

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Products and training to make work a safer place

development, covering overall strategy and finance, ICT and HR issues arising in those sectors.

The company is familiar with the needs and consequent structures that arise from austerity, including the need to generate income.

Based in London, Dovetail’s consultants work all over the UK and beyond. For each prospective new role they offer a free one hour consultation followed up by a written proposal for your consideration.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0207 6390090 www.dove-tail.co.uk

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

Arco are proud suppliers to the Public Sector and are key holders of a number of prestigious framework agreements including the Crown Commercial Services, Crescent Purchasing Consortium, Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation and NHS Supply Chain.

In addition to central and local government contracts, Arco supplies the wider Public Sector including the education sector, NHS, Ministry of Justice and Environment Agency.

To discover the perks of working with Arco, contact them today.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01482 222522 www.arco.co.uk

Air quality monitoring from Munro Instruments

historical data is stored, and alarm functionality means that key parties are notified when safe levels are breached.

The system is housed in a compact, ingress-protected, UV-resistant enclosure, which is easily mountable onto poles, lampposts and tripods. It can be mains or battery-powered depending on user requirements.

For more information, please contact Munro Instruments via the details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (20) 8551 7000 info@munroinstruments.com www.munroinstruments.com

RISK MANAGEMENT

TRANSPORT

How many near miss incidents are ignored because of a lack of time, inclination or knowledge? How many more could have been reported and lessons learnt?

How can a business capture details after an incident to enable it or insurers to take a view on liability - to settle, to fight, or to follow a line of enquiry today rather than months down the line? Why lose evidence that can help?

These are the issues Logincident set out to address.

Using an app that guides the user through set steps and builds up a report with photos and a host of other features, Logincident then sends them uniformly to a dashboard, where they can be viewed and acted upon and where data can be analysed.

Businesses and organisations are looking at ways to increase near miss reporting and to capture more information surrounding an incident where damage or injury has

Cuthbertson Laird Group, which is based in Hamilton, Scotland, also has regional offices in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland and Leeds in England. Cuthbertson Laird Instruments as it was then known, was originally established in February 1980 by Alan Cuthbertson and Jimmy Laird.

The company sells instruments and test equipment to the UK and Irish markets, but also exports worldwide. The Export Sales department caters for companies that purchase products across many markets and multiple instrument brands.

Shipping can be arranged, and enquiries are welcomed from retail and trade customers alike.

Today, Cuthbertson Laird Group is one of the foremost electrical test instrument distributors in the UK. Recently, the company’s business has experienced a rapid expansion in two fields in particular - pressure and temperature instrumentation.

The dynamic new mobile app and dashboard

occurred. Tailored if required to the systems in place, Logincident seeks to facilitate both processes. Capture on a mobile, view on a screen.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0) 191 490 9333 enquiries@logincident.com www.logincident.com

Instrument calibration and repair specialists

RISK MANAGEMENT

DRIVER RISK MANAGEMENT

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust offers practical training for lone and front-line workers covering topics including assessing risk, lone working, home visits, recognising signs of aggression, de-escalation and de-fusion techniques, buddy systems and tracing systems, travelling to and from work.

Training can be delivered inhouse as a half or full day for groups of up to 16. The Trust’s training helps embed your policies and procedures and checks they are fit for purpose. Its trainers contact you prior to training to understand your training needs.

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust also offers talks for groups up to 100, consultancy, train the trainer and open access workshops.

Feedback from a recent session: “The trainer was an excellent host, the session was informal enough to encourage people to interact, whilst maintaining the level of formality required to convey the importance of workplace safety to the team, furthermore then

Managing a fleet of vehicles and the employees who drive them is a hugely important and at times, stressful responsibility.

Statistically, the activity of driving for work is the riskiest thing anyone will do as part of their job, so it is vital that organisations put in place driver risk management procedures to mitigate these risks.

Such procedures include driving licence checking, online driver risk assessments and further driver training, whether that is online, in a classroom or on-road. Without putting these relatively simple but incredibly effective measures in place, organisations are leaving themselves wide-open to being in breach of both Health & Safety and Corporate Manslaughter

Suzy Lamplugh Trust personal safety training

trainer gave the impression that she really cared about our safety.”

Another feedback said: “Overall the safety of the staff and the security of building should greatly improve as a consequence of this training.”

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 020 7091 0014 training@suzylamplugh.org www.suzylamplugh.org

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Looking forward, it hopes to see a 100 per cent growth in both.

The company has recently become a UK distributor for Sofamel safety products. Sofamel is a Spanish company located in Barcelona, which distributes its products to more than 70 countries. Sofamel’s product range includes voltage detectors, gloves, earthing equipment, poles, connectors, clamps, earthing rods, terminals, manual and hydraulic tools, personal protection, insulation and ladders.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01698 829711 hamilton@ cuthbertsonlaird.co.uk www.cuthbertsonlaird.co.uk

IAM – a leading road safety charity in the UK

legislation. Being found guilty of negligence under either of those acts can result in a very heavy fine, a prison sentence, or both, the result of which can be a significant impact on a business’ operation or even survival.

Help is at hand for organisations in the form of IAM Drive & Survive, the commercial subsidiary of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, the UK’s largest and oldest road safety charity.

Whatever your current state of driver risk management, talk to us to ensure your organisation’s fleet and drivers are compliant, cost-effective and safe.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0300 303 1134 www.iam.org.uk

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Products & Services

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WATER MANAGEMENT

Ensuring high water quality maintenance To be compliant with the new Water Framework Directive for lakes, stakeholders need to be able to rely on the best and most cost effective solutions on the market. Tony Wynes explains how Aquarius Marine Group Ltd (AMG) has created the Aquaerator for just this purpose.

The Aquaerator aerates and mixes high volumes of water with minimal running costs and with no moving parts it has extremely low maintenance costs. Critically its design leads to the equalisation of vertical density profiles, provides uniform temperature and dissolved oxygen levels, as well as reducing blue/green Algae and manganese levels to EU required standards.

Aquaerators are being successfully used in Blagdon, Barrow and Craighead Reservoirs, where they have also reduced the need for expensive chemicals. Fish farms at Cross Drove and Avalon

Fisheries now have fish that are not lethargicly swimming, but highly active, in uniformly oxygenated lakes. The environmental control the Aquaerator offers these farms is also considered as excellent stock insurance.

AMG Consultants has worked on research projects for Doncaster ‘Lakeside’, Marine Harvest in Scotland and Norway, the Yangtze River Fishery Research Institute in China and more recently on the Indonesia Fishery project.

Developed with a €880,000 EU grant, the Aquaerator, produces a turbulent rising plume of aerated water and, from a depth of 10m, it can produce a flow of aerated water of 4.5 tonnes per second, rising to 13.4 tonnes per second from a depth of 20m.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0)1458 834734 www.aeration.uk.com

Specialists in turning microbial activity into data Cambridge based Bactest, winner of the SME of the Year 2014 Award and Shell Spring Board Regional Award 2015, has announced its second product for the water industry Shepherd, an Activated Sludge (AS) Monitoring and Management System. The AS process uses 60 per cent of the total energy required for wastewater treatment. To avoid plant failure water companies often over aerate, using two per cent of all electricity generated in the UK. Based on the same microbial respirometry technology platform as its first product Speedy Breedy, Shepherd calculates a BOD5 proxy every sixty minutes and gives recommendations on required airflow which reflects the actual requirement of the AS process every hour. In addition Shepherd identifies toxic events and alerts for unusual activity such as plant failure.

Shepherd is a three tier software system that takes data from its sensor that floats in the activated sludge lane and transmits it to

WATER MANAGEMENT

WATER MANAGEMENT

Ponds UK Aquatic Management Ltd is part of the Countryside Heritage Group. The company handles everything from the maintenance of existing ponds, lakes and waterways to the complete design and construction of new ponds, lakes and reservoirs.

The Ponds UK team of highly qualified, experienced and dedicated staff, consists of some of the country’s best environmental consultants and engineers. They will be able to assist you in finding the best solutions and offer the very best services to your aquatic project, whether it is a simple domestic pond maintenance or clean; the design and construction of a pond, lake or reservoir; or an ongoing maintenance and waterways-management project.

The company’s knowledge and expertise can benefit any organisation by providing savings on long term maintenance costs; developing longevity; improving fish and aquatic animal health; bioengineering and carefully

Casella has a long history in measurements, including its noise, dust and rainfall monitoring solutions in particular.

STORM Guardian is an early warning system that mitigates the risk to lives and property from the increasing incidence of high intensity rainfall and subsequent flash flooding.

It is based on a proven tipping bucket rain gauge (TBRG) design supplied to both the MET Office and the Environment Agency. All components are located within the TBRG housing, making for easy installation, and when connected via its GPRS enabled datalogger, it can operate for up to seven years on a single battery, requiring minimum maintenance.

Real-time data can be accessed via a dedicated website and provides text and email alerts.

Casella has supplied systems to Northamptonshire for deployment across the County. Ruth Rolls, Flood and Water Project Manager, said: “We are very excited about

Pond construction, maintenance and design

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WATER MANAGEMENT

balancing the natural habitat and surrounding environments.

It also supplies and installs highquality aeration equipment, fountains and fountain lighting.

Ponds UK helps with all aspects of pond and lake maintenance, design, construction and planting, and is also experienced in river and canal clearance especially dredging, erosion of riverbanks and refurbishment works. Based in Essex but servicing the whole of the UK, Ponds UK is particularly well-located for Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Kent and London.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01206 620211 info@pondsuk.co.uk www.pondsuk.co.uk

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

a cloud based dashboard that also acts as a bird’s eye view and audit trail. Recommendations on airflow are also displayed in a traffic light system on the control panel alongside the AS lane and emailed. This means that plant operators don’t have to make unnecessary visits to unmanned and remote sites.

Shepherd requires minimal maintenance and in trials has demonstrated pay-back in less than 12 months.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01223 422312 hello@speedybreedy.com www.bactest.com

Early warning system to protect against flooding

the service that the STORM Guardian will bring to us as a Lead Local Flood Authority and for our community pathfinder project developing flood resilience amongst stakeholders at risk.

“We are pleased with its performance and particularly happy with the support we’ve received from Casella in getting the product established.”

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01234 844100 www.casellasolutions.com

WATER MANAGEMENT

ENERGY

The UK Rainwater Management Association was established in 2004. Its original purpose was to promote the practice of using harvested rainwater to replace the use of mains-water for non-potable uses, such as toilet-flushing, which accounts for around 50 per cent of domestic water consumption.

The Association broadened its aims last year to encompass the need to improve national management of rainwater more generally, in order to avoid future floods and droughts - the risks of which are predicted to increase under the twin impacts of climate change and population growth.

As already recognised by the Welsh Government, surface water management policies, droughts and floods are inextricably linked in that the rainwater stored for re-use to help to avoid droughts, correspondingly helps to reduce floods. Conversely, an inappropriate response to flood risks can serve to exacerbate drought risks.

The Association brings together

With over 16 years of experience in reducing the utility costs of leading organisations in both the public and private sectors, Smith Bellerby is recognised as one of the leading utility cost management consultancies in the UK. The company has recently been awarded the Acquisition International magazine Cost Reduction Consultancy of the year for the second year running.

Smith Bellerby’s team of utility specialists offer a diverse portfolio of bespoke cost reduction services to clients across all industries and sectors.

The portfolio includes airlines, property management companies, corporate financial services, waste management organisations, local government (metropolitan, borough and district councils)

Preventing future floods and droughts

organisations, individual practitioners and academics who have a shared interest in taking an integrated approach to managing rainfall to help avoid both floods and droughts.

Members also promote the use of water as an amenity, and the need to meet the water quality and quantity requirements of a growing population, wildlife and the environment.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 08450 260240 www.ukrma.org

Delivering sustainable growth through energy and water management

LIGHTING

RENEWABLE ENERGY

NVC Lighting is one of the largest lighting manufacturers in the UK. The company is a full-service lighting company employing 110 staff, based in its 90,000ft² premises in Birmingham, with experienced lighting sales engineers countrywide.

The company’s speciality is energy efficient lighting for the public-sector, commercial, amenity and exterior projects. NVC Lighting has led the way in LED lighting with LEDs now constituting the large majority of its products.

NVC Lighting has supplied lighting to numerous public sector projects throughout the UK. These have included hospitals in Scotland, entire council offices in Lincolnshire, groups of schools in Kent, the communal areas of social housing in Manchester and numerous blocks of student accommodation throughout the country.

The company’s approach to projects usually involves a site visit by one of its experienced

The UK’s stated efforts to reduce CO2 emissions rely on replacing coal (and later, gas) with nuclear, wind, solar and tidal sources to provide low carbon power to heat pumps.

John Findlay, managing director of Carbon Zero Consulting, is astounded that with the key climate conference in December, and recent pronouncements by Obama, that the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is paying scant attention to these commitments. The Minister’s recent speech has no sign of urgency; instead cancelling many sustainability measures. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) may be next to be reviewed.

The entire RHI budget accounts for less than one per cent of DECC’s spending (96 per cent for nuclear decommissioning).

Reduction of the RHI would thus be an ineffective response to Treasury cuts. However, the RHI in its current form has not achieved

NVC Lighting - The new force in UK lighting

lighting sales engineers, followed by a lighting design (NVC offers a free lighting design service) and energy saving calculations.

To make contact, call NVC Lighting direct on the number below and the company will put you in touch with the sales engineer closest to you. The company supplies through all the major electrical wholesalers so whoever you choose to do the installation (your contractor or your in-house team) will have ready access to NVC Lighting’s products.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0)121 457 6340 sales@nvcuk.com www.nvcuk.com

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and health care organisations.

In fact, most large, complex organisations with complex utility management issues can benefit from using the Smith Bellerby energy and water bureau service.

The company has built its business upon a reputation for reliability, always going the extra mile, and taking responsibility for issues until they are fully resolved. This has resulted in cost savings for clients in excess of £8 million and there is plenty of opportunity for more.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01952 825820 enquiries@smithbellerby.co.uk www.smithbellerby.co.uk

The fate of the Renewable Heat Initiative

all intended aims and therefore improvements are needed.

John says: “A blend of ‘carrot and stick’ is the way ahead.

Addition of an up-front payment to help toward higher capital costs together with a shorter time frame tariff to reduce the Treasury’s long term obligations is needed.

“Tightening of (Part L) Building Regulations and introduction of ‘Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards’ is a mechanism, at no cost to the Treasury, to force energy efficiency improvement of the UK’s building stock and promote uptake of renewable technologies.”

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0844 855 0115 johnfindlay@carbonzeroco.com www.carbonzeroco.com

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PUBLIC SECTOR NETWORKS

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Cygnia Technologies is one of the UK’s leading cyber security specialists, delivering PSN and security solutions across 150 public sector organisations, including local and central government, blue light services and the NHS. Cygnia prides itself on its public sector specialism, experience, customer service and delivery capability. The company’s technical consultants have years of experience in recommending, specifying and implementing cyber security solutions to meet PSN requirements.

Working with the industry’s leading IT security vendors, Cygnia offers its customers best of breed solutions across all areas of cyber security. These include network, data and mobile, web and email filtering, audit and compliance.

This process allows Cygnia to make customer cost efficiencies

When VIP Bin Cleaning was established in 1997 its goal from day one was to take something as simple as cleaning a waste container and make it as professional as possible.

Some things VIP included were environmentally friendly cleaning systems, recycling water used during the cleaning process, using natural biodegradable cleaning products, professionally branded machinery and uniforms and guaranteeing all staff abide by local and national regulations. By ensuring they offered an environmentally friendly cleaning service which was second to none, VIP Bin Cleaning hoped to become the market leaders in the UK. Fast forward 18 years and the values and service offered by VIP Bin Cleaning has driven the company to become multi award winners and market leaders not only in the UK but around the world. Cleaning packages are now available for any type of customer

Cyber security solutions for the public sector

along the way that help save money or pay for new technologies. The key is getting the right fit for the customer to achieve their objective. All the above adds up to an average customer retention rate of 99 per cent for the last three years.

For more information check the Cygnia website to see the company’s case studies or give Cygnia a call to chat about what it does for other public sector organisations like yours and how it may be able to help you achieve your PSN, cyber security or cost efficiency objectives.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0121 647 6565 info@cygnia.co.uk www.cygnia.co.uk

ASSET MANAGEMENT

SPORTS SURFACING

Avonwood is one of the longest serving RFID specialists offering solutions for health and safety, security and asset management applications to both the public and private sectors. The company’s experience and strong technical knowledge enables it to offer scalable and personalised solutions accompanied by system design, hardware development and integration, software, data hosting, system installation and servicing.

Avonwood’s Key Tagging Systems, used by the HM Prison Service for the last fifteen years, help to prevent the removal of keys from secure environments.

Reducing the risk of compromise situations the system ensures greater control of issued keys within environments where round the clock key compromise protection is required. Originally designed for secure environments, the system is now available with a choice of enclosures and installation options to suit different customer

Bergo Flooring, a Swedish-made interlocking flooring system was developed in the 1960s originally as a tennis court surface.

The range now has many applications in the education sector.

Bergo tiles are made from polypropylene and click-together to create the effect of a ‘sprung floor’ surface, even outside.

With free-draining properties, these colourful floors are extremely durable, low maintenance, easy to install and environmentally sound. There is also an eco-friendly recycled composite with no emissions. The product is recyclable at the end of its life, which for sports floors can be about 30 years.

In schools, Bergo tiles are used to upgrade swimming pool surrounds and changing rooms, providing a hygienic, self- draining surface. The tiles can also create colourful and clean nursery play areas; create

Safety, security and asset management solutions

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World leaders for waste container cleaning

requirements. The system also works with and compliments other types of key management systems ensuring complete security of keys.

AssetBase-iD offers an RFID tagging and cloud based software services solution for identifying, tracking and managing physical assets. Whether assets are fixed or moveable, Avonwood’s asset management system supports a range of hardware and software options to keep assets in order including resourcing, maintenance, task scheduling, compliance and other management functions. As with all its solutions, AssetBase-iD offers a scalable and personalised approach to managing physical assets.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0) 1202 868000 www.avonwood.co.uk

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

from councils, waste management companies and major institutions.

These can include a mobile cleaning service for any type of waste container, compactor or bailer, undertaking small to large cleaning contracts, designing and manufacturing bespoke static or mobile cleaning machinery, effective training packages, bespoke software and dedicated back-up and support.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01953 857830 enquiries@vipbincleaning.com www.vipbincleaning.com

Unique sports and play surfaces for schools

indoor sports floors and outdoor MUGAs which can also be used for rollerblading; as well as making mini-tennis courts and full sized, ITF Approved tennis courts.

Bergo floors are factory made in Sweden to ISO 9001, by a company that puts consideration for the environment at the heart of its ethos. Customers can be sure of an ethically made, quality surface that will last for years to come.

Bergo’s motto is ‘The right product in the right place at the right time’.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01458 253645 www.bergoflooring.co.uk

HOUSING

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Cost effective solutions to Hauraton water drainage reduce energy costs – It’s running well Aran Services Ltd provides an end to end solution for the improvement of energy efficiency in homes and businesses.

The company is dedicated to delivering cost effective solutions to reduce energy costs and the impact of homes and business on the environment, reducing carbon emissions and increasing thermal comfort.

Since its formation in 2004 Aran has improved the efficiency of over 200,000 homes and businesses, reducing carbon emissions by over two million tonnes. Operating from the East of England, with UK coverage, Aran prides itself on its exceptional levels of customer care for individual home owners, tenants, housing providers and businesses alike.

Delivering programmes of improvement for more than 60 local authorities and housing providers, Aran understands the issues and the challenges faced especially when dealing with vulnerable customers. Having

embraced the inception of the Energy Company Obligation, Aran is able to offer assessments, finance options, grant funding and installations as an accredited installer, supporting its commitment to provide a professional service to all its clientèle.

Aran works closely with government bodies, energy suppliers, and manufacturers ensuring that best value is offered to all its clients, from individual households to large corporate companies. Being at the forefront of the industry ensures that new technologies are adopted providing exceptional levels of carbon emission reduction.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01284 812 520 info@aranservices.co.uk www.aranservices.co.uk

PLANNING APPLICATIONS

Land Use Planning made quicker and easier Launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in July 2015, a new web-based service aims to minimise the red-tape involved in Land Use Planning, making the process simpler and speedier both for developers and local authorities.

The online pre-application service, which allows developers and others to make enquiries related to any plot of land, gives increased access to HSE’s assessment tools and techniques.

This means that developers and planners can get quick - or even immediate - answers to queries related to a plot of land that they may be interested in purchasing or developing: all before their formal application lands on the desk of the local authority.

Finding out more detail about a piece of land in advance of purchase helps to quicken the planning process, and whilst the business-facing service is chargeable, it promotes increased effectiveness and efficiency

and can save significant time and costs for developers and local authorities alike.

HSE’s new Land Use Planning app is supported by a consultancy service which can help with more complex proposed developments, or in cases where HSE may be able to discuss with an applicant whether changes could be made to a proposal which would lead HSE to reconsider its advice.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01298 218159 lupenquiries@hsl.gsi.gov.uk https://pa.hsl.gov.uk

Hauraton has, for the last 50 years, been at the forefront of manufacturing robust surface water drainage systems that are today distributed and installed in civil and landscaping projects throughout the world.

Committed to a rolling Research and Development programme, Hauraton engineers are continually looking for ways to improve the design of the company’s systems and maximise the use of its reinforced fibre cement and recycled polymer products.

Sample components are taken from production lines and vigorously tested to ensure they meet the stringent mandatory load and quality specifications demanded. Over the years, customers have continued to choose Hauraton products, gaining

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BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

peace of mind in knowing that their requirements have been met.

Hauraton provides a free hydraulics design service to cover all of its products. It is intended to support engineers, architects, architectural technologists, contractors and general builders in choosing the correct drainage components to meet exacting drainage requirements or load restrictions pertaining to individual projects. To view a full Case Study on Hauraton’s project please go to to the Drainage Projects website below. For more information on Hauraton’s product range please visit the company’s website.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01582 501380 www.hauraton.co.uk www.drainage-projects.co.uk

CROWN COMMERCIAL SERVICE

Right at the heart of the important networks NEXERE was established in 1998 as an independent specialist recruitment consultancy, set up in response to the rapidly expanding market of Information Technology.

NEXERE has been helping clients from a range of sectors find contract, interim and permanent staff in the UK for the past 17 years.

The company’s network includes programme managers, project managers, business analysts, analyst programmers, developers, test consultants, trainers and application support specialists - working within infrastructure, development, change and executive search across a wide range of established and emerging technologies.

The IT sector and the recruitment industry that fuels it demand ever smarter and faster networks. That’s why NEXERE puts this principle at the heart of

everything it does and why the company’s name reflects what it stands for - NEXERE - powerful connections linking to the very best client organisations and then ultimately connecting them with candidates who will contribute measurable success.

NEXERE is a Crown Commercial Supplier for the new Non Medical Non Clinical (NMNC) Code RM971 Framework for Lot 5 I.T Professionals.

Contact NEXERE on the details below to speak with a member of the company’s framework team.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0)20 7407 6999 nmnc@nexere.com www.nexere.com

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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Gemini Adhesives is a UK based company which manufactures one of the most technically advanced ranges of adhesives and flexible extrusions in the world.

Gemini Adhesives will showcase its range of fitter friendly floor solutions for contract flooring companies on Stand B15 of the Flooring Show at Harrogate from 20-22 September 2015.

Already well known for its innovative Grabfast spray adhesive ranges, Gemini will demonstrate two options of Grab-Tac sprayable carpet tile adhesives to suit all site situations, providing the fastest way to apply carpet tile tackifier.

Gemini will also be demonstrating its unique phthalate free flexible flooring profiles in conjunction with Grabfast Gold spray adhesive.

This combination provides a competitively priced, easy to

Located in the heart of Manchester, the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a leading international conservatoire and thriving live music venue, with a reputation for attracting talented students, teachers, conductors, composers and artists from all over the world.

Following an extensive £7.1 million redevelopment project, completed in November 2014, the RNCM houses a state-ofthe-art Concert Hall which was refurbished to incorporate new back of house facilities and the latest technical set-up including a new lighting rig and sound equipment.

The RNCM also houses a Theatre, Studio Theatre, and Recital Room, all of which are available to hire.

The College also offers its own experienced Conference and Catering Team ensuring that every type of performance, event or conference is a success.

Gemini: Contract Flooring Products Direct

install, hard wearing and scuff resistant resilient floor finishing system which is guaranteed not to de-bond or shrink.

All Gemini products are available on a next day delivery service direct from manufacture. Full details of the ranges are available online and in a new Contract Flooring Products Direct brochure which will be launched at the Flooring Show.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0800 3284267 info@geminiadhesivesgroup.com www.geminiadhesivesgroup.com

Let the Royal Northern College of Music conduct your next event

To learn more about hiring a space for a performance at the RNCM visit the website below or email Paul Cobban. For conference and catering enquiries, please call the Conference and Catering Team via the contact details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0161 907 5353 hospitality@rncm.ac.uk paul.cobban@rncm.ac.uk www.rncm.ac.uk

ADVERTISERS INDEX

The publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this free service Allsigns International 82 Aquaclear Water Management 28 Aquarius Marine Group 102 Aran Services 105 Arco 33 Avonwood Development 104 Bactest 102 Blue Mountain Water 86 Bowe Systec 86 Broden Media 56 Bryant Plastics 17 Burlington Uniforms 87 Carbon Zero Consulting 103 Carrier Rental Systems 28 Carter Jonas 84 Casella 102 Center Parcs 54 CFH Docmail 82 Channel 3 Consulting 88 Chetham School of Music 69 Cognify 50 Comparex UK 87 Computacables 97 Contraflor (Contract Flooring Services) 84 Country Style Recycling 80 Critiqom 86 Crocodile Flood Solutions 28 CSA Waverley 86 CU Phosco Lighting 64 Cuthbertson Laird Group 101 CY Executive Resourcing 91 Cygnia Technologies 104

106

DataWizard 97 DDC Outsourcing Solutions 84 Devonshire Appointments 91 Dextra Group 60 Dosoo & Co 98 Dovetail Management 100 Drallim Industries 29 Endatio 49 Fabulous Fanfayre 68 Fiona Shipley Transcription 98 Flexisolar 18, 19 Foehn 78 Freedom Communications 77 Friends Meeting House 69 Frontier Software BC Garran Lockers IBC Gemini Adhesives 106 Griffiths & Armour 82 Groundsman Industries 46 Grundfod Pumps 26 Halle St Peters 66 Hauration UK 105 Havenkaye Energy Solutions 21 Hayter 44 HCL Workforce Solutions 95 Health and Safety Laboratory 105 Hudson 90 IAM Drive & Survive 101 Imago Techmedia 79, 81 Info Gov 98 Innovent Leasing 12 Intsec 65

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 22.5

JC Couriers 82 Johnson Underwood 95 LA Virtual Admin 99 Lang2Lang 98 Langley Waterproofing 40 Laser 2000 (UK) 81 Logincident 101 Lynx Services 95 MANDEC 68 Max Office Support 97 MHA Lighting 65 Mitsubishi IFC, 3 Munro Instruments 100 Munters 80 Museum of Science and Industry 66 Netzsch Pumps and Systems 31 Nexere Consulting 105 Nexus Industries 14 Nijhuis H20K 30 NVC Lighting 103 Optonica Led 62 Oyster Partnership 93 People Projects UK 50 Pertemps Network 92 PHS Group 25 Ponds UK Aquatic 102 Productive PA 99 PSL Print Management 85 Reintec 52 Rotatrim 57 Royal Northern College of Music 106 Scarab Sweepers 12

Schneider Electric 20 Scorpion Safety 100 Search Consultancy 94 Seat 16 Selwood 30 Set 3 Software 99 Shaw Renewables 23 Simple Show UK 49 Skoda UK 10 Smith Bellerby 103 Solarflare 81 Spaldings 46 Stannah Lift Services 71 Sunset Solar 41 Suregreen 46 Symology 38 Tact Enviro 104 TDC Systems 36 Telefonica UK 74 The Cartwright Group 85 The Senator Group 8 The Suzy Lamplugh Trust 101 UK Rainwater Management 103 Uretek 34 VINCI Construction UK 4 VIP Bin Cleaning 104 Virtuoso Assistant 97 VW 6 Walraven 50 Whistl 84 Wilo UK 22 Zouk Tea Bar & Grill 68

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