Government Business 24.6

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

ENERGY

FIRE SAFETY

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk | VOLUME 24.6

COUNTY COUNCILS

A GEOGRAPHICAL LOTTERY Using the Budget to boost economic growth through county regions

DATA PROTECTION

THE DATA PROTECTION LAW CHANGE

Dispelling common misconceptions and setting the record straight on compliance PARKING

A POSITIVE PARKING EXPERIENCE The parking initiatives exceeding customer needs

PLUS: DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT | G-CLOUD | INSULATION | WASTE MANAGEMENT

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匀䄀嘀䔀 䔀一䔀刀䜀夀

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COMMENT

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

ENERGY

FIRE SAFETY

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk | VOLUME 24.6

‘Back to building the homes this country needs’

Comment

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

As we print, Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to pledge that it is her personal mission to ‘build more homes, more quickly’.

COUNTY COUNCILS

A GEOGRAPHICAL LOTTERY Using the Budget to boost economic growth through county regions

DATA PROTECTION

THE DATA PROTECTION LAW CHANGE

Dispelling common misconceptions and setting the record straight on compliance PARKING

A POSITIVE PARKING EXPERIENCE

As we approach this month’s Budget a number of the usual concerns have reared their heads, with Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell recently demanding an emergency budget for such public services.

Seeking extra funding for the NHS, education and police is not surprising in the days before the Budget box makes an appearance, but it would seem May’s sudden renewal of housing plans is wisely strategic.

The parking initiatives exceeding customer needs

PLUS: DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT | G-CLOUD | INSULATION | WASTE MANAGEMENT

Follow and interact with us on Twitter: @GovBusiness

Last month, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid unusually publicised his views on borrowing more money to invest in housing – something McDonnell regularly campaigns for. The reported £50 billion he had in mind is more likely to have made ‘fiscal’ Chancellor Philip Hammond chuckle than seriously consider his suggestion, but nonetheless the housing reform calls from within the Conservative Party are expected to keep coming.

May’s concession that ‘we simply have not been building enough homes’ is unlikely to be fixed quickly, nor is it expected to get the funding necessary, but her ‘personal mission’ is a step in the right direction. Under Tory rule, housing policy will only ever develop brick by brick.

Michael Lyons, editor

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE TO FACE If you would like to receive 6 issues of Government Business magazine for £150 a year, please contact Public Sector Information, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055, Fax: 020 8532 0066, or visit the Government Business website at:

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226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 Web: www.psi-media.co.uk EDITOR Michael Lyons PRODUCTION EDITOR Richard Gooding EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Marianna Chrisostomou PRODUCTION DESIGN Jo Golding PRODUCTION CONTROL Ella Sawtell WEB PRODUCTION Victoria Casey ADVERTISEMENT SALES Kelly Scott, Dean Cassar, Steve Day, John Gladwin, Neil Haydon, Michael Kennedy, Bernie Miller, Paul Taylor, Bruno Russo PUBLISHER Karen Hopps ADMINISTRATION Charlotte Casey, Vickie Hopkins REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

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CONTENTS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS 24.6 13

07 GB NEWS

£18m to ease pressure on local services; call for further city-region devolution; and campaign for more cycling provision

13 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

17 ENERGY MANAGEMENT

54 DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

There are many energy saving insulation solutions readily available for domestic, commercial and public sector buildings and now is a good time to upgrade and insulate housing and building stock

25 FIRE SAFETY

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in June, the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association looks at certification schemes for sprinkler installations

45

28 WASTE MANAGEMENT

Iain Gulland reflects upon the importance of the Litter Prevention Action Plan and how council action can make a difference for the environment

31 SECURITY

Iain Moran looks at the importance of ensuring the perimeter of the venue or location is secure and protected against targeted vehicle attacks

35 WATER MANAGEMENT 83

Policy makers are continuing to rule out the reform which would have the greatest impact in high-demand cities – building on the green belt, says Anthony Breach

51 PUBLIC SECTOR SHOW

21 INSULATION

35

48 HOUSING

Several UK cities are looking to initiate smart projects to improve the efficiency of local services and enhance sustainability. Ian Tyrer and Chris Wilkinson explain why

The potential of community energy groups to reduce energy bills has grown in recognition in recent years, with new schemes helping local authorities become more energy efficient

A jet vac tanker was recently used in London to tackle the Whitechapel fatberg. On behalf of the Water Jetting Association, Richard Leigh looks at the use of water jetting systems in the UK

39 PARKING

The British Parking Association look at the local examples of where parking initiatives are delivering a service that is exceeding customer needs

45 COUNTY COUNCILS

Cllr Philip Atkins explains why the upcoming Budget is an opportunity to empower counties to boost economic growth and end the current geographical postcode lottery

Government Business

Contents

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

The Public Sector Show explores the ways in which central and local government can deliver smarter and more efficient public services

How much progress has been made by the public sector in the migration towards a more digital workplace?

58 LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES

GB looks ahead to Europe’s leading showcase of organisational learning, taking place on 31 January

63 CONFERENCES & EVENTS A look at what the regions in the South East of England have to offer in way of conferencing and meeting facilities

67 HOMES 2017

Homes 2017 is the only event in the UK dedicated to residential development, strategic asset management and procurement solutions

70 GT NEWS

Bristol ranked UK’s smartest city; and £21m to create new tech hubs network

73 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

A look at the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead and the benefits of creating a touchless digital council

76 DATA PROTECTION

The Information Commissioner’s Office explore the main principles of GDPR and dispel some recent misconceptions

81 CYBER SECURITY

An interview with Roderick Jones about the current state of cyber security

83 PROCUREMENT

Another look at ISS G-Cloud 9, plus the Turn t UE 15.6 op Supply, Delivery and latest age 70 for Installation of Furniture techn governmen the ology t and Associated Services news and Apprenticeship Training and Related Services

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LOCAL SERVICES

Council services get £18 million Councils across England are to receive an additional £18 million to help ease pressures on local services resulting from recent migration.

Councils receiving the grants have developed plans to alleviate local pressures arising from migration and at the same time provide overall benefits to their wider communities.

The grants are the second allocations from the £100 million Controlling Migration Fund, following £15 million awarded earlier this year.

Many of the projects supported will provide English lessons to allow new residents to feel included in their communities, and will teach them about British values and social norms, helping to break down cultural barriers. The fund is helping to alleviate pressures on local services but work still needs to be done to bring down net migration to sustainable levels.

Lord Bourne, Communities Minister, said: “In some places population change in a short space of time has put pressure on local services and we’re clear there are things we can do to address these problems. This new funding will help councils rise to the challenge of reducing

the impact of migration on local communities in a variety of ways – whether that’s tackling the small minority of landlords who damage neighbourhoods with overcrowded properties, providing English language classes to ensure effective integration.

“It’s great to see so many projects tackling the problems of poor integration in their communities by, for example, allowing migrants to access the benefits of good English. This will create stronger relationships between neighbours and unlock better services for all.”

56p of every £1 of council tax could go to social care The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that 56p in every £1 that people pay in council tax may have to be spent caring for children and adults by 2020.

Ahead of the Budget, the LGA has stressed the strain being placed on alreadyrestricted council budgets as a direct result of the rising demand for adult social care and children’s services.

To put in perspective, the local government body states that 6p in every £1 of council tax could be spent on collecting bins and recycling, 5p in every £1 on improving roads and street-lighting, 2p in every £1 on bus services and just over 1p in every £1 on trading standards, licensing and food safety. The 56p prediction is an increase on 41p in 2010/11.

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DEBT READ MORE:

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FINANCE

One in ten council workers paid below living wage

New analysis has revealed that one in ten council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are paid below the living wage.

UNISON urged the government, ahead of the Living Wage Foundation’s living wage week (6-11 November), to fund councils so they can become living wage employers and help more than 60,000 cleaners, library assistants, residential and home care workers out of poverty. The living wage rates are currently £9.75 an hour in London and £8.45 in the rest of the UK, with the bottom hourly rate in local government sitting at £7.78. The new living wage rates are due to be announced shortly.

Heather Wakefield, head of local government at UNISON, said: “Poverty pay should have no place in local government.

SOCIAL CARE

GB News

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

It is shocking that so many public service workers, who are providing valuable services to communities up and down the country, are paid so little. Their work and dedication needs to be recognised. Living wage week is the perfect opportunity for the government to lift staff out of poverty and ensure that work pays fairly. Over three-quarters of local government workers are women.

Low pay is contributing to the growing gender pay gap. The Chancellor must come up with the cash in the Budget to fund a decent, above inflation, pay rise for all public service workers.”

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tinyurl.com/ybrlv9t7

More should be done to help vulnerable in debt The Money Advice Trust has said that more could be done for the vulnerable in debt, after discovering that council tax arrears accounted for 60 per cent of cases sent to bailiffs by local authorities last year.

The charity reports that bailiffs were used to chase council tax arrears on 1.38 million occasions out of 2.3 million cases, while also being used on 810,000 occasions for unpaid parking fines, 86,000 times for unpaid business rates, and on 50,000 occasions to recover overpaid housing benefit.

The Stop the Knock report conceded that there had been widespread improvement in the way councils used this last resort, but still found that the use of bailiffs has risen by 14 per cent compared with two years ago.

50 councils have signed up to a protocol aimed at preventing those at risk from getting behind on key payments, but the Money Advice Trust wants more councils to sign up to exempt the most vulnerable from bailiff action completely.

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Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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DEVOLUTION

DEVOLUTION

Radical new devolution offer needed in England Reform has released a report, Vive la devolution: devolved public-services commissioning, which argues that commissioners have not worked with providers to tailor service design to outcomes that matter to everyone using public services, and has argued that the devolution agenda in England needs to be ‘drastically accelerated’.

It argues that, instead, commissioners need the power to design contracts for providers to meet local needs most effectively in healthcare, employment services, skills and offender management.

Reform says that this requires commissioners to hold non-ring-fenced budgets, with maximum freedom to design contracts to offer to competitive public service markets. It says this will only flourish if commissioning areas are designed to cover geographies requiring similar interventions, and governed by single, integrated and accountable commissioning bodies.

Reform argues that unitary authorities or combined authorities can replace complex local commissioning bodies, such as clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and police and crime commissioners (PCCs), and be responsible for commissioning services, totalling over £100 billion in 2016-17 spend. It says unitary authorities or combined authorities can allow commissioners to integrate service design, and new local authority structures can cover 38 areas, which have similar healthcare and employment needs.

According to Reform, this transfer of funding from central to local government would be followed by the abolition of NHS England. It says a more devolved state can be completed in 15 years with the right support.

The think tank argues for the devolution of over £100 billion of public services spending, including 95 per cent of the NHS budget.

38 large councils across England should control this spending to improve outcomes for citizens.

Mayors call for further city-region devolution Britain’s seven regional and city-wide mayors will meet for the first time and urge the government to significantly increase the pace and scale of city-region devolution.

Meeting at City Hall in London, Sadiq Khan (London), Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester), Tim Bowles (West of England), Ben Houchen (Tees Valley), James Palmer (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough), Steve Rotheram (Liverpool City Region) and Andy Street (West Midlands) will call for further devolved control over public services including skills, training and apprenticeship services.

They will also call for a significant increase in fiscal devolution, with regions given greater control over existing taxes and the revenues they create, rather than having to rely on government grants.

GB News

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

Meanwhile, local people are to be asked for their views on the right deal on devolution for Doncaster.

A community poll will ask every voter in Doncaster to say which devolution proposal they would prefer Doncaster to pursue. The choices are wider Yorkshire or Sheffield City Region devolution.

A recent business poll by the Doncaster Chamber of Commerce resulted in 70 per cent of those who responded saying they would prefer a county wide devolution deal. Barnsley Council has also voted to hold their own poll and will be asking residents which agreement they would like to be part of.

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/y7qmm6nt

WASTE MANAGEMENT

London sets goal of becoming zero‑waste city The Mayor of London has set the goal of making London a zero-waste city by 2030.

According to statistics from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, only 30 per cent of household waste in London is recycled - well below the national average of 43 per cent. As the city grows, London will need to significantly increase household recycling if it wants to reduce its waste bill.

To explore how to reach that goal, the London Assembly Environment Committee will ask about: increasing London’s capacity to recycle food waste by 2020; reducing residual bin size and collections frequency to increase recycling; improving and simplifying recycling so London’s waste can be turned into the products of tomorrow; and establishing a good recycling service in flats.

The committee is to hold the second round

of three meetings into its waste management investigation. The meeting will focus on how to encourage Londoners to recycle more and better.

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COMMERCIALISATION

Britain’s councils turning to commercialisation to avoid austerity

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A new report has argued that local authorities are increasingly turning to commercialisation to drive forward their communities and look beyond current austerity measures. Despite some councils still cutting services to fit government funding in the short-term, the report found that many are breaking free from the inertia of austerity and are employing new business models, investing to grow or commercialising their fiscal futures. This is contributing towards further commercialism in councils, with one council leader admitting to a £1.5 billion annual turnover.

Why are we here? The 2017 Senior Managers’ Risk Report, published by Zurich Municipal, interviewed 22 council chiefs and found that there are significant variations in the approaches being taken by Britain’s local authorities.

While a number of councils are embracing the opportunity to become commercial entities, others are facing serious funding challenges, which they claim is exacerbating tensions with central government.

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tinyurl.com/y9mfrcyh

Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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GB News

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

WINTER DRIVING

PAVEMENTS

UK cold winter will have ‘detrimental impact’ on roads

Improvements made in pavements programme

Predictions of the worst winter in 10 years is not good news for highway authorities who have failed to carry out the much needed maintenance of their road networks.

The Met Office’s forecast for November to January predicts the ‘risk of colder than normal conditions remains a significant possibility’. Potholes are caused by water or snow freezing in cracks in the road surface.

The expansion of ice results in damage and breaking up of the road surface, which is made worse by freeze-thaw cycles being repeated.

Budget constraints mean that many highway authorities are unable to carry out planned, comprehensive maintenance and are forced

to adopt a costly patch-and-mend approach.

The consequence of not undertaking necessary maintenance is demonstrated by the 2017 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey.

Produced by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), the survey reports that the cost to restore the local road network to a satisfactory condition is more than £12 billion and that it would take 13 years to address the backlog of repairs in England and nine years in Wales.

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tinyurl.com/y9kb6pxw

CYCLING

Cities seek segregated space for cycling An assessment of cycling in cities has revealed that 78 per cent of people desire more protected bike routes on roads to make cycling safer, with 75 per cent supporting further cycling investment.

Sustrans, the cycling and walking advocacy group, surveyed 7,700 people across seven UK cities - Newcastle, Cardiff, Belfast, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Greater Manchester – and found that 69 per cent said that more cycling would make their city a better place to live and work, whilst 64 per cent claimed they would be more inclined to cycle if on‑road cycle routes physically separated from traffic and pedestrians were available.

A total of just 19 miles of cycle routes on roads, physically separated from traffic and pedestrians, exist in six of the seven cities, with Birmingham having no available data.

Xavier Brice, CEO for Sustrans said: “Bike Life shows that most people living in these seven cities think cycling is a good thing and are far more supportive of bold and ambitious

plans for cycling than decision-makers often think. They want dedicated space for people on bicycles even when this means taking space away from cars. At a time of falling funding for cycling in the UK – outside of London and Scotland – we call on governments at all levels to work together to meet people’s needs by investing in segregated routes that make cycling across our cities attractive, safe and convenient.”

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/ycvvbtf6

GRENFELL TOWER

Council seeks assurance over fire safety costs Lib Peck, leader of Lambeth Council, has urged the government to commit funding for local authorities in order to fund fire safety work following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Having received no commitment from previous requests to the Department for Communities and Local Government, Peck has written again, highlighting an updated figure of £3.1 million as the amount invested in cladding testing, removal and other associated work that has been guided by government and the Fire Brigade as a response to the Grenfell Fire.

10

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

This year’s Even Better Pavements programme of improvements is progressing well with about 70 sites having been improved so far in the 2017/18 financial year – compared to 90 for the whole of 2016/17.

Feedback from residents via survey cards have been positive, with 97.4 per cent saying they were satisfied with the work.

West Sussex Highways looks after nearly 4,000km of pavements in the county and every pavement is inspected at least once a year. Priority is given to pathways used for approaches to schools, clinics and hospitals, and areas with high footfall, with the aim of helping to protect the most vulnerable in the community from slips, trips and falls on uneven surfaces. The county council spent £2 million on Even Better Pavements in 2016/17 and is spending £3 million in 2017/18. Pavements are reconstructed or given a new asphalt surface.

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/yatkf8g5

CATERING

Oxford attempts to cut sugar consumption Oxford City Council has announced that it will partner the Jamie Oliver Foundation, Good Food Oxford and local organisations to become more Sugar Smart.

The initiative, which is already present in Cambridge, Bath, Bristol, Glasgow and Brighton, is part of the national Sugar Smart UK campaign led by Jamie Oliver and charity Sustain to reduce sugar consumption, aiming to educate communities on the healthier choices that are available to them and the responsibility we all have to highlight these choices.

Following £5,000 of funding from Sustainable Food Cities, Oxford City Council will be signing a Local Authority Declaration to show their commitment to sugar reduction in the city, and will explore measures around limiting the advertising of sugary drinks on council-managed noticeboards and support the availability of free tap water.

Lambeth has 122 medium and high rise council blocks and took immediate action to provide reassurance to our residents and to ensure that essential safety work was carried out.

Since the fire, the council has conducted Level 4 Fire Risk Assessments on the 27 high rise buildings which have some form of cladding, as well as sampling of all cladding from medium and high rise residential blocks.

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RIGHT TO BUY

UNEMPLOYMENT

Councils forced to sell off enough homes to house Oxford

Unemployment remains at 40-year low in the UK

Councils are only able to replace a third of homes currently being sold under the Right to Buy scheme, forcing them to sell off enough affordable homes to house the population of a city the size of Oxford, Canterbury or Reading in the past five years.

The Local Government Association (LGA) is warning that Right to Buy is under threat, and that the scheme will not work if local authorities are not given the financial powers to replace sold homes and embark on a renaissance in council house building.

Councils are currently only allowed to keep a third of all receipts from sold Right to Buy homes and are prevented from borrowing to make up the shortfall. Further rules and restrictions are also hampering the ability of councils to rapidly replace homes. For this reason, 12,826 homes were sold off under the scheme in 2016/17, with councils only able to start 4,475 homes in replacement.

A total of 54,581 homes have been sold off since 2012 and just 12,472 replacement homes started, leaving a shortfall of over 42,000 - enough to house 168,000 people if each home included four family members.

That is the equivalent to the population of Reading, Canterbury or Oxford.

The LGA is calling on government to use the autumn budget to allow councils to retain 100 per cent of Right to Buy sales receipts and have more freedom to borrow to invest and set rents, as well as the flexibility to determine how they implement Right to Buy locally.

GB News

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

Unemployment has remained at 4.3 per cent, the lowest rate since 1975, official figures show.

The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, also show that employment remains at a near record high, with 32 million people in work.

Increases in full-time and permanent work are behind the figures. In the last year the number of people on zero hours contracts has fallen by 20,000.

The figures also show that: the number of people in employment has increased by more than three million since 2010; the UK has the third highest employment rate in the G7; the number of workers aged over 50 has almost reached 10 million; youth unemployment has fallen by over 40 per cent since 2010; there are a near 780,000 vacancies in the economy at any one time; and the proportion of young people who are unemployed and not in full‑time education remains below five per cent.

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CITIES

North of England has fastest improving cities

POLICING

London and Manchester mayors seek end to police cuts Edinburgh

Whilst the highest‑ranked cities tend to be in the South of England, the top 10 improvers in PwC’s 2017 index suggest that the North of England and the Midlands are narrowing the gap.

The latest Good Growth for Cities Index measures the performance of 42 of the UK’s largest cities, England’s Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and the new combined authorities against ten indicators based on the views of the public as to what is key to economic success and well-being.

These include employment, health, income, skills, housing affordability, commuting times and environmental factors, among others.

Among the highest ranking cities were Oxford and Leeds, which joint first, Reading and Birmingham, which came second, Southampton and Leicester, which came third, and Edinburgh and Newcastle, which came fourth.

The index shows that all 42 cities improved their score relative to the 2016 index, driven primarily by increasing employment.

In general, those cities that have seen the biggest improvements in their overall score have also experienced particularly large falls in unemployment in recent years.

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The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, have urged the Chancellor to end the police funding crisis and end the risk to public safety.

Ahead of the November Budget, their letter to Philip Hammond highlights the real-terms cuts to policing budgets since 2010, including cuts to counter terror funding by more than seven per cent in real terms over the next three years. Both cities have suffered horrific terrorist attacks this year, with a homemade bomb killing 23 people and injuring in excess of 500 at Manchester Arena in May, while there has been attacks on Westminster Bridge, London Bridge, Finsbury Park and Parsons Bridge underground station since the turn of the year.

Counter terror experts predict that the number of attacks and attempted attacks will continue to increase, leaving both mayors concerned that the police’s ability to keep their cities safe and to prevent and respond to any future terrorist attacks.

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Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

11

LIGHTING

Several UK cities are looking to initiate smart projects and developments to improve the efficiency of local services, enhance sustainability and develop their competitiveness. Ian Tyrer and Chris Wilkinson explain why Smart city initiatives improve the ‘livability’ of a city, helping to attract business and talent to support economic and business growth. A number of cities are now approaching smart transformation through a series of smaller smart projects that help to generate savings and effectively pay for the initial investment. These projects, costing a few thousand to a few million pounds, can offer highly dependable Return on Investment (ROI), helping to ease the continued pressure on public budgets.

An example of one such ‘smart’ project is the installation of low energy street lighting to improve residents’ quality of life and reduce cities’ energy consumption. A growing number of cities across the world are taking the step to light up their streets with energy efficient LED street lights. LEDs are brighter than conventional

light sources and so provide more safety and security in public spaces. They also have longer lifetimes and require less maintenance.

Reduced energy consumption is also an important factor. Brighton and Hove City Council is set to save more than £200,000 a year and reduce its energy and carbon footprint over the next three years by introducing new LED street lighting. A total of 20,000 lamp posts will be upgraded using smart technology that will allow the council to control each individual post to allow more accurate switch on/switch off times throughout the city. In the future it is hoped that the new street lights will be amongst several improvements that will help transform Brighton and Hove into a hi-tech ‘smart city’ by extending the use of smart technology into areas such as city-wide Wi-Fi, number plate recognition and air quality monitoring.

Glasgow is taking the street lighting one step further by

ts LED lighhter are brig ntional nve than co rces and so u light soe more safety provid security in and paces s c i l b u p

Cllr Gill Mitchell, chair of the Brighton City Council’s Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee, said: “This is an extremely exciting project. Installing LED lighting across the city and using the columns for other technologies will bring huge benefits to our residents, businesses and visitors.

“We will save money by cutting our electricity use and be more environmentally-friendly by reducing our energy and carbon footprint by up to 61 per cent. Becoming a smart city means everyone will benefit from our use of the latest technologies while well-lit streets help reduce crime and the fear of crime as well as providing a safer night time street scene.

“To take a ‘do nothing’ approach would mean the council facing rising energy and consumption costs while our finances are being cut.”

Written by Ian Tyler & Chris Wilkinson

Lighting up city streets with ‘Smart City’ tech

Brighton City Council: future bright for super smart street lighting

Facilities Management

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

trialling ‘intelligent street lighting’ through its Future Cities initiative. The system includes energy efficient LED lighting and real time data feeds that will allow the manual brightening of lighting when required. The system will also help to monitor street disturbances with real time CCTV and community safety response. In addition, movement sensors, to monitor footfall and traffic flow, will generate important data to aid city planning.

Air pollution monitoring furthermore will be integrated into the lighting network to help with planning and pollution E Newcastle

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LIGHTING  reduction. A limited Wi-Fi service for use by city services and citizens will also be included.

FINANCIAL RESOURCES Clearly, there are numerous benefits to implementing LED streetlights. However, investing in such equipment requires financial resources that may be beyond the reach of city council public budgets. Councils are facing cuts in central government funding of 6.7 per cent between 2016 and 2020, which comes on top of an overall 30 per cent reduction between 2010 and 2015. Local authorities are therefore looking to other forms of finance to help them invest in new equipment including technology to enable the implementation of low energy street lighting. The reality is that cities need to access a blend of public and private sector finance to accelerate their smart initiatives in a timely way and benefit from the resulting savings, efficiency, quality and citizen service improvements as quickly as possible. A diverse range of funding sources allows a city to make the full range of desired technology investments – using a combination of public and private sector finance – in a timely fashion. Different financiers can be sourced for the different types of technology investment. The sooner the smart investments are implemented, the quicker the savings (or revenues,

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Brighton and Hove City Council is set to save more than £200,000 a year and reduce its energy and carbon footprint over the next three years by introducing new LED street lighting or inward investments) begin to accrue.

A recent report from Siemens Financial Services (SFS), SmartStart (2016), identifies a number of potential Smart City initiatives – including low energy street lighting – that can be financed by using funds from the private sector and have the potential to generate savings that effectively pay for the investment. The report estimates that as much as €6.21 billion (£5.28 billion) could be available in funding from the private sector in the UK for these small-scale initiatives.

Many of these projects effectively unlock more finance availability for cities from financiers that intimately understand how such smart city technology applications work and the benefits they produce. Tailored, all‑encompassing financing packages tend to be offered by specialist financiers who have an in-depth understanding of energy‑efficient technology and its applications. Specialist finance providers understand the importance of implementing new equipment and new technology to generate revenue and cut

28/09/2017 11:49:04

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operational expenses, and can therefore provide customised financing solutions that deliver energy savings and lower expenses, for instance, flexing the financing period to suit cash flow. This contrasts with the standard financing terms usually available from generalist financiers. Low energy street lighting is just one example of a small-scale smart city development that can help reduce councils’ energy consumption and enhance safety for city residents. The budget has to be available, however, to implement the system in the first place. As their public funding continues to be cut, many councils are recognising the important role that the private sector can play to help them fulfil their ‘smart’ ambitions. L

Ian Tyrer is head of sales for Energy Finance and Chris Wilkinson is head of sales for Healthcare and Public Sector for Siemens Financial Services in the UK. FURTHER INFORMATION www.siemens.com/uk

Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Advertisement Feature

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ENERGY

HELPING COUNCILS SAVE ENERGY AND COSTS With the public sector always looking at ways to save money due to cut backs, energy remains one of the most major expenses for local authorities. In this article, STC demonstrates how reductions in utility costs and energy consumption can be made, and how we have helped one particular council save over £9 million since 2013 Many local authorities find themselves with incomplete site lists, estimated utility bills and default unit rates. This often leads to overpayments being made and utility invoices not being investigated fully.

This is when issues tend to crop up.

Councils can also lack in-house expertise to implement energy-efficient measures such as on-site smart meters or consumption reports. The solution to this issue is to have a consolidated portfolio and a customised utility bureau service.

The first stage is to establish exactly what supply points are in your organisation (including water) and create a cleansed database of all utilities. This in itself can highlight opportunities for savings, such as identifying non-consolidated supplies billed on ‘default’ or out of contract rates.

INVOICE VALIDATION Suppliers’ contracts and invoices can be very complex and difficult to understand.

As a result it is inevitable that some billing errors will be missed. With flexible and energy only contracts becoming a more popular way of buying energy, additional validation is required to balance reconciliation statements from suppliers and check the growing number of third party charges.

STC has been processing utility invoices for over 25 years and estimates that between three per cent and five per cent of utility expenditure can be saved by fully validating supplier invoices. Our validation process is defined by strict quality controlled procedures to ensure that all billing errors are identified and corrected.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE – FASTER SOLUTIONS, ACCURATE RESULTS Changing to electronic billing and using a system that can import and validate these invoice files is a much more efficient way of processing utility invoices.

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

Once validated, invoices can be included on a consolidated accounts payable file that can be imported to most accounting software. This ensures that duplicate or incorrect payments are eliminated.

COUNCIL CASE STUDY – OUR SERVICE, YOUR SOLUTION In July 2013, STC was commissioned to provide an energy bureau service for a large city council. The council’s objective was to develop a sophisticated energy management programme that would support them in reducing energy costs and managing bills.

Similar to many other local authorities, this particular council did not have a complete list of their properties. As part of the setup process, STC collated and cleansed the data from the previous provider, the council and the utility supplier. STC obtained historic data and created a database of meters and accounts. This enabled the council to control their energy spend and only pay for the sites that were within their portfolio.

The council had supplies on different contracts with multiple suppliers. STC’s bureau service identified these supplies and consolidated them onto the government procurement framework. STC also identified sites that were on default rates and added these to the group contract. This helped the council make savings on default rates and improved administration efficiency.

STC has identified and recovered over £9 million worth of savings since July 2013 by: L Creating an up-to-date site list and consolidated all supplies under the government procurement framework L Identifying sites that were either on default or incorrect rates; resolving queries for duplicate invoicing L Identifying the schools that were on the wrong VAT rate and correcting with the suppliers L Obtaining CCL exemptions

for qualifying schools L Correcting billing for sites that were no longer under the council’s responsibility L Identifying sites that would benefit from a reduced supply capacity L Managing that process for the council PROFILE ALERTS - HIGHLIGHTING WASTAGE AND SAVING ENERGY STC recommends setting consumption targets and undertaking proactive monitoring, using traffic-light reporting and profile exception alerts. STC provide half-hourly and AMR profile data management for electricity, gas and water meters and loggers. We use sophisticated software modelling to build a picture of site’s consumption profile, which is then automatically monitored for exceptions. Any deviations trigger an email alert, and can be viewed on a mapbased site exception dashboard. Reporting can quickly highlight which sites are over target, enabling swift corrective action.

Profile alerts are very successful in identifying wastage directly, and in suggesting behavioural changes that can be implemented to reduce wastage.

COMPLIANCE Although the CRC scheme is nearing its demise in 2019, annual returns and audits are still required. Savings can be made here by ensuring that estimated invoices are kept to a minimum by using Profile / AMR data or self-read meter readings. This will save the uplift of 10% on estimated data when purchasing allowances.

By combining these services, more businesses within the public sector will be able to save more energy and thus reduce costs. With inevitable public spending cuts in place and further on the horizon, now is a crucial time to start making more effective and efficient decisions. L FURTHER INFORMATION Want to know more about STC Energy’s bureau service and how we can help the public sector save costs? Simply call us on 0208 466 2900 or email info@stcenergy. com. www.stcenergy.com. STC Energy part of the Inspired Energy Group.

LOCAL ENERGY

Energy

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

Securing the future of local energy

Hood Energy in Nottingham, Bristol Energy and our Power, the report examines how local energy schemes have been able to offer lower tariffs than the ‘big six’ utilities and in this way to stimulate price reductions among their competitors as well. However, it also raises concerns over how many municipal energy companies the market can sustain and how far trust in them will withstand future wholesale price increases.

Community and local energy schemes provide an opportunity for local people to becomes engaged in the generation and delivery of their own energy. In The potential of community energy groups to reduce fact, 88 per cent of people involved in community energy groups are also energy bills has grown in recognition in recent years, engaged in other community activities. with new schemes helping local authorities become more However, after making huge strides energy efficient. Government Business details the role in recent years, the community energy sector has been affected by the government’s local authorities play in reducing the energy we use removal of renewable energy subsidies. The zero-carbon homes commitment has been In January this year, Enfield Council announced and make environmental improvements abandoned, whilst support for solar farms that it will invest £58 million in the region’s for the benefit of the whole community. and subsidies for onshore wind have ended. local energy company, ‘energetik’, in an Last year, EY’s annual review attempt to ‘secure north London’s energy COMMUNITY AND LOCAL ENERGY stated that: “The UK government’s future’. The council approved the In June last year, the IPPR think tank released non‑committal, if not antagonistic, £85 million business plan for ‘energetik’ a report titled Community and local energy: approach to energy policy continues to to develop, own and operate a series of Challenges and opportunities. The report go against the grain of almost universal community energy networks to supply revealed that over 5,000 community energy global support for renewables. Not only low carbon heat and hot water to over groups have been formed in the UK since stalling project development and 15,000 homes and businesses across 2008, providing over 60MW of investment inflows, this is Enfield and the surrounding areas. renewable generating capacity arguably jeopardising UK Just before the turn of the year, a community in 2013 and contributing energy security.” energy scheme officially opened in Merthyr, over £23 million It raises the question as 5,000 c han Wales, which will use profits to enhance a to community to whether local energy o energy mmunity local park. The scheme will generate 480MWh benefit funds. projects can develop of energy per year and the income produced Focusing fully with lower levels been fo groups have r will be invested back into the park to predominantly on of subsidy, and if m e d in the since 20 improve the facilities, support a park warden three schemes, Robin it should be E UK 08

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Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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 seeking alternative means of government support. It seems likely that, in order to be substantially profitable, community energy projects will need to find business models not reliant on subsidies.

ROBIN HOOD ENERGY, NOTTINGHAM Nottingham City Council is a pioneer of the modern fully-licensed municipal energy supplier. Its supply company, Robin Hood Energy, is the first council-owned licensed electricity and gas supplier to be established since the liberalisation of the energy system, and was the result of a manifesto commitment to tackle fuel poverty and control fuel tariffs, create local jobs, install smart meters, and reduce carbon emissions.

Nottingham was able to efficiently overcome the challenges faced by all market entrants, big or small, with a minimum of resources, ensuring they were state aid complaint at all stages. While aiming for the 20 per cent of most frequent switchers, Nottingham sought to provide an offer beyond simply price, in order to attract more disengaged customers. In doing so, they used the slogan ‘not for profit, power to the people’ and focused on delivering high standards of customer service, providing prepayment tariffs, tackling fuel poverty, and reinvesting any surpluses back into community groups and bringing down tariffs.

Since launching in September 2015, Robin Hood Energy has become one of the cheapest suppliers in the east Midlands, which benefits all customers by driving competitive forces.

Tariffs are approximately £87 cheaper in the east Midlands, and the region has moved from seventh to first position in terms of price competitiveness throughout England.

Robin Hood has been so successful that it is now offering white label services to other councils, where the company will use a council’s brand to market its services in their area.

LECCY AND ANGELIC ENERGY Liverpool City Council has announced the creation of a new not-for-profit energy company, the Liverpool Energy Community Company (LECCY), aimed at tackling fuel poverty in the city. The company will offer competitively priced gas and electricity cheaper than that offered by the Big Six and will offer advice to households to help them move off costly prepayment meters and on to cheaper direct debit tariffs.

The LECCY, a partnership between the council and Robin Hood Energy, will also support people to move over to SMART meters so they can manage their energy use and provide help with managing their bills.

According to a statement from the authority, more than 1,000 people have already expressed interest in signing up ahead of the launch and the council has secured a one year fixed rate deal that is cheaper than tariffs currently offered by the Big Six energy

Energy prices, which have risen 36 per cent above inflation over the last 10 years, leave many households struggling to keep up with payments, pushing them onto expensive Pay As You Go meters that offer even worse rates suppliers. It is claimed LECCY could save a medium user of gas and electricity over £250 per year compared to the most expensive Big Six tariff. Further fixed rate deals for Liverpool are in the pipeline and will be announced in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Islington Council has launched London’s first municipal energy provider in more than a century, with a focus on offering fair gas and electricity prices. Angelic Energy, the not-for-profit energy provider set up by the council to help further its commitment to reducing inequality in society, will help the council address a stark inequality in energy prices.

The borough has the third‑highest level of child poverty in the country at 36 per cent, and one of the biggest gaps between the wealthiest and poorest residents.

Energy prices, which have risen 36 per cent above inflation over the last 10 years, leave many households struggling to keep up with payments, pushing them onto expensive Pay As You Go meters that offer

even worse rates, speeding their fall into greater debt and enduring fuel poverty.

Claudia Webbe, executive member for environment and transport, said: “For years, inflated energy prices have forced thousands of people across London into fuel poverty, with catastrophic consequences for their health and quality of life. Too many are forced to face the question ‘heat or eat?’.

“Children brought up in fuel poverty also do worse at school and college, so helping current and future generations to stay warm and well is an absolute priority for us. With Angelic Energy, Islington is leading by example in London, taking practical steps to drive down fuel poverty and encouraging people to make the big switch. We will be offering residents superb customer service and great-value energy tariffs – residents could save up to £277 per year.” L FURTHER INFORMATION tinyurl.com/yabwofya

Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

Insulation

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Written by the National Insulation Association

Save carbon and money with insulation There are many energy saving insulation solutions readily available for domestic, commercial and public sector buildings and, therefore, now is a good time for local authorities and housing associations to upgrade and insulate their housing and building stock The National Insulation Association (NIA) represents the UK’s manufacturers and installers of cavity wall, solid wall and loft insulation and room in roof insulation as well as draught proofing.

As a membership organisation, it actively supports government policies for insulation to reduce energy bills, tackle fuel poverty and climate change and aims to raise awareness of the benefits of insulation.

The NIA is working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and continues to highlight that more needs to be done to encourage everyone to install insulation measures.

The way a building is constructed, insulated,

ventilated and the type of fuel used all contribute to its carbon emissions. A worrying fact is that a significant proportion of the money spent on energy is literally being thrown out of the window as a result of inadequate levels of insulation, with around 60 per cent of the heat being lost through the roof and walls alone.

HOME INSULATION There are still millions of households that are yet to be

properly insulated – over seven million solid walls and five million cavity walls still need insulating.

There are also seven million lofts that have inadequate insulation and are still in need of topping up to today’s minimum standard.

Home insulation is the single most effective method of saving carbon – a detached E

Home is on insulati e most l the singmethod of e e effectivrbon, but ther ca saving still millions are eholds ly s u o h f o r e prope b o t t e y d insulate

Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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

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WE’RE SPECIALISTS in cavity wall insulation, remediation and cleaning, and the installation of cavity wall insulation beads. We also provide a number of complementary inspection and reporting services.

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

ENERGY EFFECIENCY  home fitted with solid wall insulation could save up to two tonnes of carbon per year – as well as money on domestic energy bills.

The amounts that can be saved on energy bills are substantial. The Energy Saving Trust reports that by simply installing cavity wall insulation (CWI) savings from £70 up to £225 per year can be made on energy bills, depending on the size of the property. If the loft is currently uninsulated, insulation could save from £195 up to £225 a year – even if it has some loft insulation topping up to 270mm could save money. The savings are even greater for insulating solid walls, from £120 per year in a typical gas-heated flat, up to £425 per year in a detached home. Draught-proofing windows and doors can save around £25 per year and when installed with other measures will greatly increase the comfort in a home.

NIA REGISTERED MEMBERS The NIA is advising why its members are the preferred choice for local authorities and housing associations looking for support in the design and delivery of their upcoming refurbishment and new build projects on domestic, commercial and public sector buildings.

NIA registered members have considerable experience of working with energy suppliers, private and social housing managers, funders, builders and other specifiers in delivering high quality energy efficiency schemes. The NIA has around 200 members including the leading manufacturers/system suppliers and installers of cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation (both external and internal), loft/roof insulation and draught proofing so are able to offer a one stop shop.

The NIA and its members offer a range of support services including: information, advice and guidance on the funding opportunities; assistance with the design, specification and delivery of multi property, multi measure upgrades including bespoke

solutions; access to a national network of qualified installers who can all be found on the NIA website; issue expressions of interest and requests to tender for installation work to NIA members; and an online member directory via the NIA website.

Neil Marshall, chief executive of the NIA, commented: “Companies have to meet our strict membership criteria to join the NIA which includes appropriate levels of insurance, relevant accreditations and approvals, Health and Safety and customer care policies and procedures and statutory accounts. This provides specifiers and project managers with assurance and peace of mind when choosing an NIA member.

“Along with our established Code of Professional Practice (CoPP) for domestic consumers, we also have a CoPP for our members operating in the new build and commercial markets designed to provide clients and specifiers in these sectors with additional reassurance by setting out the quality, standards and professionalism they can expect from an NIA registered member.

“We had an increasing number of local authorities and housing associations contacting us asking for help in finding insulation companies to carry out work on their behalf. Therefore, we have an ‘expressions of interest and tender request’ service. Through this free service we issue expressions of interest and tender requests to our members on behalf of local authorities and housing associations, other specifiers and project managers providing them with the benefit of avoiding the need to contact lots of different companies, thus saving precious time and money.” L

Organisations interested in these services should contact Bev Hodson at the NIA bev. hodson@nia-uk.org or call 01525 383313 FURTHER INFORMATION www.nia-uk.org

Glasgow approves £5 million warmth programme

Insulation

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

Glasgow City Council’s executive committee has approved a report on the city’s programmes for affordable warmth and energy efficiency in the city.

These programmes, which aim to deliver energy and efficiency measures to homes and buildings across Glasgow in both the public and private sectors, are funded by the Scottish government.

The measures include external wall insulation and replacement central heating, windows and boilers, as well as the connection of Dalmarnock Nursery to Dalmarnock Energy Centre.

Glasgow City Council’s Affordable Warmth programme is funded through the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Programme for Scotland: Area Based Schemes (HEEPS:ABS); Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP); and the Programme for Scotland Capital Stimulus Programme.

Kenny McLean, City Convenor for Neighbourhoods, Housing and Public Realm at Glasgow City Council, said: “Improving energy efficiency and making the heating of homes and buildings more affordable brings environmental, financial and social benefits to Glasgow. The council’s work on these programmes has a significant impact on fuel poverty and health inequality in the city, and makes properties in the city more sustainable as well as providing a boost to people and companies in Glasgow’s construction sector.”

Read more: www.glasgow.gov.uk

Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Case Study

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

Asbestos: the hidden hazard of disasters – ASAP Comply outlines why removing asbestos is a must Asbestos is the silent killer that plays a waiting game and strikes many years after exposure to its deadly fibres.

It’s exemplified by the recent damages awarded to the family of a police officer who died from mesothelioma following the IRA bombing of Brighton’s Grand Hotel in 1984. The officer had spent 14 days sifting through dust and rubble by hand looking for evidence.

It’s not uncommon for asbestos to be found in ceiling artex, airing‑cupboards, lift-shafts and service ducts.

Fast forward to 2017 and the Grenfell fire may well have repercussions many years into the future as residents were aware of the presence of asbestos in the building following an earlier refurbishment.

The devastating fire on 14 June not only dispersed asbestos fibres in the smoke plume, but also left a monumental tower of debris, which officers and forensics teams continue to painstakingly examine.

Pure asbestos is incredibly resilient in fire resisting temperatures of 1200 to 1500 OC. However, the majority of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) degrade to powder when exposed to temperatures exceeding 700 OC.

The Grenfell Tower fire peaked at 1000 OC so it’s likely any asbestos fallout would have impacted extensively on the environment and potentially have been inhaled by anyone in the vicinity who was not wearing specialist mask and clothing. Asbestosis has a gestation period of 30 years or more so it could be 2047 before we know if anyone was affected.

Following the disaster, the main focus and scrutiny has concentrated on fire risk, building regulations and construction materials including cladding, particularly from local authorities. The focus also needs to be on asbestos.

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document Managing asbestos in workplace premises identifies who needs to be protected during maintenance and occupancy.

It says: “In cases of final demolition or major refurbishment of premises, the plan of work must so far as it is reasonably practicable specify that asbestos must be removed before any other major works begin, unless removal would cause greater risk to employees than if the asbestos had been left in place.”

However, the HSE’s Approved Code of Practice and Guidance (L143-2012) introduces exceptions to removal if it is ‘time-consuming’ or ‘resource-intensive’ or if the ACM’s are ‘lower-risk’.

In my opinion this is contradictory and unhelpful for duty holders. Asbestos should always be removed when opportunities arise. Fires are devastating enough without the heartache of further deaths many years later from related asbestos exposure.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0151 363 2333 enquiries@asapcomply.com www.asapcomply.com

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

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SPRINKLER SYSTEMS

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in June, Steve Seaber, of the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association, looks at the accredited bodies that operate certification schemes for sprinkler installations In the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire a number of authorities and housing providers announced their intention to retrofit sprinklers into their high-rise tower blocks. When considering how to implement these plans it would be beneficial to consider the lessons learned by those housing providers who already have experience of retrofitting sprinklers to such premises.

Following the Lakanal House fire, Sir Ken Knight, the government’s chief fire advisor, suggested that ’it is not considered practical or economically viable to make a requirement for the retrospective fitting of fire suppression systems to all current high‑rise residential buildings’.

In fairness, there was no evidence to the contrary. As a result, the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA), with the support of the Sprinkler Coordination Group and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, sponsored a pilot project.

The retrofit of a 13 storey tower block in Sheffield was completed in four weeks at a cost of £1,130 per flat. The resulting

report, Safer High-Rise Living, provided Gentoo have fitted sprinklers as part of a supporting evidence to assist housing major refurbishment of an empty block. providers in considering the retrofitting The fire and rescue service have in a number of sprinklers in their high-rise stock. of areas part or total funding where premises Authorities were advised to consider or occupants are considered to be of higher the retrofitting of sprinklers by coroners risk. Some authorities have developed a rolling following inquests into both Lakanal programme – Oxford five blocks in three House and Shirley Towers fires. years and Brighton 52 blocks in 25 years.

Since the Safer High-Rise Living report The industry now has significant experience a number of authorities have retrofitted in retrofitting systems and the average costs sprinklers which has provided a body of are between £1,500 and £2,500 per flat evidence in terms of technical issues, solutions depending on the number of rooms. The flats and costs. The systems have been installed in Callow Mount were one bedroom units. for a number of reasons. For example, Leeds Post Grenfell Tower, the number of authorities City Council sprinklered the three high-rise have stated they are going to sprinkler all of blocks designated as sheltered housing. their high-rise blocks has risen dramatically.

A number of authorities have carried out BAFSA and local fire and rescue services risk assessments on individual blocks and have given assistance to a number of concluded that retrofitting sprinklers was authorities on how to approach developing the most appropriate solution. a strategy for those installations.

These include three blocks in Hampshire, including STANDARDS AND THIRD The Shirley Towers of PARTY CERTIFICATION s p a specific design.

Authorities need to consider r i n indus Manchester and the most suitable system E try kler

Written by Steve Seaber, senior consultant, the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association

Considering the retrofitting of sprinklers in high-rise stock

Fire Safety

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

body now retro of exper has a ie fi into htting sprinnce in low-r igh-rise klers ise re and s i d e prem ises ntial

25

Case Study

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

Wilo pumps help energy efficiency and makes significant savings in Isle of Man’s Noble Hospital Wilo high efficiency pumps are helping a leading building services engineer achieve his ambition of reducing a government’s energy bill by 5 per cent, year on year, through the sharing of the company’s energy solutions expertise.

The hospital at Braddan was opened in July 2003. The majority of pumps incorporated in the development are the ones that were in the original construction, and the technology available and energy efficiency potential from pumps in major buildings has improved immensely since the early 2000s.

The project to improve the energy efficiency of the hospital has been led by Paul Bevan, building services engineer, Public Estates and Housing for the Department of Infrastructure on the island, who has 46 years of experience in the sector. Looking at the benefits of replacing the original pumps was high on his list of priorities and Wilo was pleased to be asked to take a look at the options available. As a result of the company’s experience in energy solutions activity, it Wilo_GB_Advert_Nov_2017.pdf was able to illustrate significant 1 25/10/2017

savings available across the hospital estate by replacing existing pumps with new energy efficient Wilo alternatives, mostly DL-E products which come complete with integrated inverters for variable speed.

Wilo has supplied 32 pumps to the hospital, 14 of which have already been installed. The others will be installed as part of a gradual replacement programme in the coming months, ensuring the overall replacement programme follows a smooth introduction of the new pumps.

15:49:29

The Wilo DL-E models have been installed in the various sub-heat stations around the site. Each sub‑heat station has a pump for constant temperature and one for variable temperature requirements. Already the Pathology department, the theatres, Intensive Care Unit, Accident and Emergency and Fractures clinic and the Estates and Kitchens areas have been switched to new pumps.

Paul Cairns has been at the sharp end of Wilo’s project. He said: “It’s been a fascinating project to be involved in and it’s been a delight to be able to utilise our energy solutions expertise alongside Paul Bevan, who is 100 per cent dedicated to making a huge difference to the island’s energy use footprint. So much of what we can offer has been accepted by him and his team – we’ve been pushing at an open door and its brilliant to see the benefits these newly installed pumps are already having on the hospital’s energy use and efficiency.”

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01283 523 000 www.wilo.co.uk

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

SPRINKLER SYSTEMS  for their needs. To ensure that the system is fit for purpose they should require it to comply with one of the two British Standards for Residential and Domestic suppression systems: BS 9251:2014 – Sprinkler Systems for Residential and Domestic Occupancies – Code Of Practice and BS8458:2015 – Fixed fire protection systems. Residential and domestic watermist systems. Code of practice for design and installation.

There is a need for those specifying systems to also seek to ensure that the components are compliant with the standard and that those designing and installing the system are competent. This is best achieved by requiring third party certification.

BAFSA membership policy requires new associate installer members to be registered with a third party approval body and to achieve accreditation within two years or their membership is withdrawn. The concept of a third party certification scheme is to provide confidence to regulators, specifiers, industry and the public at large that the manufacturer or contractor has been subject to assessment of their competence against recognised industry or product standards and has satisfied these requirements.

In the UK, third party certification (although widely recommended by many regulators and endorsed by Part B of the Building Regulations and guidance documents issued to support the current fire safety regulatory regime) is not mandatory, with the exception

Certification Ltd operates separate FIRAS schemes for commercial and industrial sprinkler installations and residential and domestic sprinkler installations.

International Fire Consultants have product and installation schemes.

Therefore, by choosing a third party certificated contractor with certification from a UKAS Accredited certification body they have the confidence that in addition to the contractor having been competence assessed in their activities by the certification body, the certification body are themselves subject to assessment of their competence and abilities by UKAS. Consequently, it is of the utmost importance that any selected contractor employed to undertake the work is fully conversant with the design practises of the correct relevant standard and can demonstrate competency within that particular scope of work. The independent third party is confirming that the certificated company/organisation is competent and suitable to undertake a certain type of work within recognised scope parameters.

TESTED OR APPROVED? There are a number of ‘innovative’ products in the market place, many of which claim some form of equivalency to the existing standards.

It is important that specifiers are confident that the product or system being offered is approved by a third party body. The language used to indicate compliance can be misleading,

Local authorities were advised to consider the retrofitting of sprinklers by coroners following inquests into both Lakanal House and Shirley Towers fires of ‘Gas Safe’ certification for those involved in the installation of gas appliance.

On successful completion of a contract, a contractor who is a member of a third party certification scheme is able to issue a ‘Certificate of Conformity’, thus verifying compliance with the defined installation standards. Contractors who are members of a third party scheme are regularly audited to various degrees depending on their standing within the scheme and usually have to be quality assessed to ISO 9001: 2008. Design personnel have to demonstrate full competence in their field of work to the satisfaction of the scheme operator.

Currently, there are three accredited bodies that operate such certification schemes for sprinkler installations. All three are UKAS accredited which means that they themselves are subject to audit and inspection. The Loss Prevention Certification Board operates the LPS 1048 scheme for commercial automatic sprinkler installations and the LPS 1301 scheme specifically for residential and domestic sprinkler installations. Warrington

and includes phrases such as ‘tested’, ‘witness tested’, ‘endorsed’ and ‘complies with’.

Some of these products may have been tested by one of the UKAS approved third party approval bodies, but are not included on their approved products list. It is important that specifiers seek confirmation of compliance as part of the tendering process, if in any doubt clarification can be sought from the third party approval body.

COMPETENCE TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION In conjunction with OFQAL recognised qualification bodies BAFSA has developed training and qualifications, which are now being delivered at a number of colleges in the UK. The qualification is aimed at those entering or with less than three years’ experience of the fire sprinkler installation.

Currently the IQ Level 2 Certificate in Fire Sprinkler Installation (residential and commercial) is delivered in a block release and day release learning style at Neath Port Talbot College and The Manchester

Enforcing the fitting of sprinkers in high‑rise blocks

Fire Safety

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

Ahead of the upcoming Budget, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has urged Chancellor Philip Hammond to commit to the £1 billion needed to enforce the fitting of sprinklers to all council and housing association high-rise blocks.

In a recent speech alongside the Shadow Housing Minister John Healey, Corbyn said only two per cent of tower blocks had sprinklers, and that councils including Nottingham, Salford and Conservative-controlled Westminster claimed they had been denied funding for safety improvements.

College. Two more colleges in Scotland and London will soon be offering the courses.

The advent of regulations in Wales requiring sprinklers in all new domestic property from 2016 led to the development of an Agored Award in Domestic Fire Sprinkler Installation and Maintenance, which was delivered at two welsh colleges: Neath Port Talbot College, S. Wales, and Llandrillo College, Rhos on Sea, N. Wales. Discussion and delivery plans are underway for The Manchester College and Paisley College to deliver this qualification under contract with Llandrillo College. The three-day course is aimed at L3 qualified plumbers who hold a water regulations qualification.

BAFSA has agreed to establish a requirement for its member companies to have a minimum proportion of its own employees and sub‑contractors initially of 10 per cent with incremental increases in future. It is also intended to develop a Level 3 qualification and to seek to embed the training requirement into the third party approval schemes. Those specifying systems should also consider asking potential contractors for evidence of this training as an indication of competence.

SUMMARY The sprinkler industry now has a body of experience in retrofitting sprinklers into high‑rise and low-rise residential premises. This experience means that contractors are well versed in the installation of such systems and the importance of related activities such as tenant liaison. When developing their specification to install sprinklers housing providers should consider the following: do the components and system comply fully with an appropriate British Standard? Is that compliance supported by certification from a UKAS accredited third party approval body? Is the installer certified by a UKAS accredited third party approval body to install systems? Can the installer provide evidence of the competence of staff? L FURTHER INFORMATION www.bafsa.org.uk

Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Wastes Management Written by Iain Gulland, chief executive, Zero Waste Scotland

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

LITTER

A new approach to litter and fly‑tipping Iain Gulland reflects upon the importance of the Litter Prevention Action Plan and how council action can make a difference for the environment, community and economy More than a million pounds of public money is spent dealing with litter and fly-tipping in Scotland every week. It represents the cost of clearing the 250 million easily visible items of litter dropped each year – and is money that could instead be made available for local authorities to spend on other priority areas.

For the whole of the UK the public spend is even higher – not to mention the huge cost of clearing fly-tipping from private land. The cost to individual land owners and caretakers shows how crippling this can be; the Woodland Trust charity recently reported it spent £35,181 clearing fly‑tipping from UK woodland in 2016 alone.

Litter and fly-tipping continues to be an issue that Scots regard as a problem in their area², and the negative impacts are significant. Not only is it unsightly, but it also takes time to remove responsibly, can limit access, and can cause issues around health and safety – particularly when hazardous materials such as asbestos are involved.

There are also additional, indirect impacts on communities, including detrimental impacts on house prices. And with waste crime becoming an increasingly more visible issue, it’s clear a new approach is needed to turn the tables on litter and fly-tipping for good.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? Despite its overwhelmingly negative effects on society, Zero Waste Scotland research shows that the majority of litter is generated by members of the public. It also indicates that 475 items are dropped every minute in Scotland. Figures such as this show the scale of the challenge ahead of Scotland – but also highlight the need to hone in on behaviour change in order to make real progress.

It’s why the Scottish government, with support from Zero Waste Scotland, is taking action to shift the focus on litter and fly‑tipping in Scotland away from the endless task of clearing up other people’s mess – instead preventing it from occurring in the first place. This builds upon the focus on prevention at the core of the Scottish government’s National Litter Strategy.

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

We know that local authorities and landowners work hard to meet their statutory duty to keep areas free of litter and fly‑tipping, with support from dedicated partners and agencies. We also know it’s a source of great frustration that despite their best efforts, and those of dedicated volunteers who devote their own time to clearing litter, the problem persists. In order to stem the tide of littered and fly‑tipped material for good, we need to make it socially unacceptable.

That means emphasising individual responsibility and maximising engagement.

and including litter prevention messages in staff inductions. Yet developing a series of Litter Prevention Action Plans in an area means real, cross-community pledges that address litter before it’s an issue – and contribute to a network of national, coordinated action plans across Scotland.

WHAT SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE? The initiative will see participants receive support from Zero Waste Scotland to identify the litter prevention actions that make up their action plans. We know that access to tried and tested, quality communications materials are also key to success – and that’s why we have made dedicated toolkits and customisable materials available online via Zero Waste Scotland’s Litter Knowledge Network.

When the network launched earlier this year, it marked the first time such practical, targeted materials were available for free to support coordinated action against litter. The materials within the network include in-depth research on scale, impact and attitudes towards litter and fly-tipping, case studies of successful campaigns, and specialist advice covering specific litter challenges – like dealing with chewing gum, tackling takeaway litter, and how to prevent coffee cup litter.

We know

Zero nd cotla Waste Sh shows researc ajority of m that thes generated litter i bers of the by mem ublic p

WHAT ARE WE DOING TO COMBAT LITTER AND FLY-TIPPING? That’s why Zero Waste Scotland has launched a nationwide initiative calling on businesses, local authorities and other organisations to help cut the cost of litter clean-up and join forces to prevent litter and fly-tipping from happening in their communities in the first place. It’s a chance for local organisations, and particularly public bodies like local authorities, to take the lead in their communities and take a visible stand. By doing so they’ll be generating actions informed locally, that really work where they are as a result.

Taking part and creating a Litter Prevention Action Plan also represents an important opportunity to build on important stakeholder and community relationships that will help keep local momentum on litter prevention driving forward.

For decision-makers there’s also a chance to use positive action on litter and fly-tipping to encourage recycling improvement. Zero Waste Scotland data shows around half of all litter could have been easily recycled – so there’s a clear opportunity to help boost recycling rates and quality upon collection.

Actions included in a Litter Prevention Action Plan could be as simple as putting posters up in windows to discourage service users from littering, storing waste correctly,

WHAT’S NEXT? Zero Waste Scotland, together with partners the Chartered Institute of Waste Management (CIWM) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), recently hosted more than 400 delegates at the Scottish Resources Conference. The annual conference has become Scotland’s premier circular economy event, and we were delighted to be able to utilise that platform to announce Dundee as the first town or city in Scotland in which a group of businesses and organisations have committed to working together on Litter Prevention Action Plans.

The announcement from Dundee builds upon the city’s long-standing Take Pride in Your City campaign, in which tackling litter is a core focus. Meanwhile, in addition to Dundee, a further nine local authorities in Scotland are currently receiving support from Zero Waste Scotland to initiate stakeholder partnerships and develop prevention actions to arm them effectively against litter and fly-tipping. The level of engagement shows there is a strong appetite for litter prevention that really works.

Wastes Management

that these materials are helping organisations to tackle Scotland’s litter blight. In just five months, the Litter Knowledge Network resources have received well over 18,000 views online from more than 15,000 users, and continue to generate engagement.

Litter and flytipping have long been considered a blight on Scotland’s beautiful landscape, with its prevalence a major concern for residents and a long-term, expensive issue for local authorities – and subsequently the Scottish government CONCLUSIONS Litter and fly-tipping have long been considered a blight on Scotland’s beautiful landscape, with its prevalence a major concern for residents and a long-term, expensive issue for local authorities – and subsequently the Scottish government. What has become clear through extensive research, and Scotland’s continuing progress towards a more circular economy, is that by dealing with litter and fly-tipping effectively there are significant benefits for Scotland’s economy – as well as for society and the environment.

The Scottish government is revising statutory guidance on litter, attaching greater priority to litter prevention. This high level action builds on Scotland’s existing

commitment to circular economy principles, which are embedded at the of key policy documents such as the Scottish government’s circular economy strategy, Making Things Last, and Manufacturing Action Plan.

What’s clear is that in addition to high‑level support, collaborative, cross-sector working is key to cracking litter and fly-tipping long-term. It’s why we’re working closely with councils, trade organisations and community groups – as well as the Scottish government and its agencies – to develop a comprehensive network of actions that will generate and sustain real change. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.zerowastescotland.org.uk

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Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

29

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PERIMETER SECURITY

On behalf of the Perimeter Security Suppliers Association, Iain Moran, high security consultant at ATG Access, looks at the importance of ensuring the perimeter of the venue or location is secure and protected against targeted vehicle attacks Cities across the UK and Europe are under increasing pressure to grow tourism and visitor attractions to deliver growth and jobs.

According to Visit Britain, the tourism industry in the UK alone is forecasted to grow to £257 billion by the year 2025. Urban spaces are becoming multi-functional and being used to hold a variety of different events such as Christmas markets, festivals, open air cinema and sporting events to name just a few. Changing the use of critical infrastructure and the public realm forces areas to be more flexible. This flexibility and multi-function challenges physical security to protect people and assets utilising these spaces.

Recent events, such as the Christmas market attack in Berlin, the attack on one of the main shopping streets in Stockholm and the attack on Bastille Day in France, have highlighted the need for event security to be re‑thought in order to keep attendees

safe. One of the key focuses for event organisers now centres around ensuring the perimeter of the venue or location is secure and protected against targeted vehicle attacks.

However, deploying perimeter security products, such as concrete blocks or heavy steel barriers, does come with its challenges.

Although fit for purpose, these traditional measures can be onerous to install and are not pedestrian or cyclist friendly. Barriers usually require the help of multiple, heavy transporting vehicles to install. What’s more, road closures often need to be enforced earlier than necessary due to logistical difficulties and the need for cranes to be brought in to put the road blocks into position.

These difficulties can cause huge disruption, perhaps to areas that are normally used for normal daily activities. For instance, a temporary event like a street carnival or a marathon may require busy roads to be completely closed down the

One key focof the event o uses for now ce rganisers ensurin ntres round of the vg the perimet e and pro enue is secur r e te targetected against d ve attacks hicle

Written by Iain Moran

Increasing security to protect against vehicle attacks

Security

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

day before the event actually takes place, which could mean commuters have to find alternative routes and businesses have to bear the disruption longer than perhaps intended before and after the event.

With this in mind, we look at some of the key considerations that event organisers and public realm managers must take into account to make sure the area is secure, while keeping disruption to the area to a minimum.

DOES THE EVENT NEED PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY SECURITY? The frequency of the event is an important factor to think about when selecting the types of physical security that need to be put in place. The area, and what it is usually used for, will also play a big role in this decision.

For instance, events taking place in dedicated arenas or stadiums will require permanent security solutions because activities tend to take place all of the time, perhaps even on a daily basis. The continuous congregation of thousands of people increases the level of risk to the location. High security measures E

31

HOW DO WE KEEP OUR STREETS SAFE FROM VEHICLE RAMMING ATTACKS?

IS THE THREAT REAL?

Across the world, the number of terror incidents has risen by 25% between 2015 and 2016, with vehicle attacks, in particular, happening more frequently.

There has been a sharp rise in vehicle-ramming attacks on our streets, such as the attack Westminster & London Bridge, the Christmas market attack in Berlin and the very recent attack near the 9/11 memorial in New York.

With vehicles increasingly becoming the new weapon of choice for terrorists, protecting the public and the perimeter of buildings and public spaces is becoming ever more difficult with these incidents hard to predict and intercept.

‘INVISIBLE MEASURES’

Serious consideration mustcitizens now Nowadays, more and more

aregiven becoming aware ofcrowded their own be to protecting

SECURITY INNOVATION In response to a UK wide request from the British government for temporary event ATG Access security innovation, developed the ‘Surface Guard System’.

This system is permeable for both pedestrians and cyclists. Deployment and removal of the system is very easy due to the lightweight nature of the products construction. An entire roadway can be secured within an hour.

The system has been impact tested in accordance with the IWA 14 crash test standard and successfully withstood attack from a 2,500 kg vehicle travelling at 48 kph (30 mph).

Completely surface mounted, the system requires no anchoring, bolting or ballast at either end to secure in place. As the system is modular, it can cope very well with road cambers, and accommodate varying road levels.

safety and security when out in public and attending high profile to keep critical national from the events.

This reaction public is understandable but also infrastructure and the general means the pressure is on for local public safetofrom targeted authorities secure urban attacks. areas. It is important to avoid creating a 'fortress mentality'.

Security measures can be designed to fit in with operational requirements to avoid disruption to the general public.

places as well as securing assets

www.atgaccess.com | sales@atgaccess.com | 01942 407 745

The Surface Guard can be rented or purchased to suit client budgets and the frequency of system use.

s

For events which happen regularly and in the same location, alternative semipermanent security measures can be recommended. These solutions have been tested with a 7,500 kg vehicle travelling at 48 mph (30 mph).

ATG Access offers a free site survey, nationwide to ensure that the best security solution is recommended for your site to suit operational and aesthetic requirements.

Temporary event security has never been more important and with the changing perception of the general public, it is vital that security measures feature within local government agendas. Cities are needed to be more multi-functional than ever and security products need to match this demand.

PERIMETER SECURITY  need to be in place to protect against any potential threats on a permanent basis.

But this level of security will not be needed for events that only happen in areas on a truly temporary basis, say for example on a main road, or at a town square. Think about Christmas markets, which many towns host over the festive period. These only happen once a year, and usually take place in the town or city centre. When events aren’t taking place these areas are considered as low risk.

However, when an event is taking place, this risk increases considerably due to the amount of people gathering in one concentrated area.

With infrequent or annual events, installing permanent security measures is not really necessary – solutions just need to be put in place for the specific length of time the event takes place. This could include surface mounted barriers or bollards that don’t need bolting down, so they can be quickly deployed and removed easily after the event without causing damage to the ground. There are some impact-tested surface mounted barriers available that can be installed by four men to block off a 10 metre road in under 40 minutes.

MINIMISING DISRUPTION There are a whole host of barriers and bollards available that are effective at blocking off roads, preventing vehicle access or controlling restricted access into a venue.

Security

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

There are a whole host of barriers and bollards available that are effective at blocking off roads, preventing vehicle access or controlling restricted access into a venue To minimise operational disruption to an area, such as lowering the time needed to install solutions or prevent surface damage caused by fixing solutions to the ground, those in charge of security need to consider which bollards or barriers will be most suitable. To select the best solutions, it’s important to think about what type of event is being secured, and how accessible the roads are around the venue – are the roads really wide and open and will they need a higher level of security, for instance?

For areas that don’t play host to events often, a temporary solution could be rented rather than bought – this would be a cheaper alternative to purchasing barriers or bollards, particularly if the intention is only to use them as one-off solutions or annually. Solutions could also be rented or owned and stored away in situations where bollards or barriers are needed on a semi-permanent basis (where events may happen more regularly in an area, but still not on a continuous basis). Additional measures could be put into place to ensure

that regular deployment of this type of kit would make it very easy and straightforward for products to be deployed when needed, and would limit road closures and disruptions.

There has been a major focus on event security in recent months and it’s important that extra measures are being taken to ensure all employees and event guests are safe and protected. Securing the location’s surroundings is an effective method of preventing targeted attacks or incidents from happening and should be a priority during preparations ahead of an event. But it’s important to remember that perimeter security is not a one-size‑fits‑all solution – ultimately, its up to event organisers and security personnel to ensure they have the most suitable, robust barriers and bollards in place but that disruption to the area is also kept to a minimum and areas don’t become a fortress. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.atgaccess.com www.pssasecurity.org

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Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

33

JETTING

Keeping the UK flowing Water jetting has become ubiquitous. You can of these flood alleviation assets. Making have your car pulverised clean in minutes at the best use of the advances in jet vac the local hand car wash centre. Then drive to technology, then coming onto the market, a DIY store to select a pressure washer that was an important part of the solution. blasts out water at nearly 1,900psi (130bar) Local flood authorities enhanced their to vaporise grime from your patio. This water surface water culvert cleaning programmes jetting technology has been made possible still further in the wake of more recent flood by technical advances that have transformed events, notably the winter floods of 2013-14 the way many asset maintenance tasks are and 2015‑16. Water jetting has been the prime now carried out in the commercial, utility method for carrying out this work. and public service sectors. Advances in Concern about climate water jetting technology are allowing change caused by , r sewers and culverts to be cleaned global warming is e t n i more quickly and efficiently than also informing This w s will sk i r ever before. It is at the forefront strategic drainage d o d o e fl c u d of surface water maintenance maintenance e r en programmes designed to reduce plans. In July, have be e UK, thanks h flooding risks. It is providing t s acros aintenance a sustainable method for to m mes to jet tackling the biggest current utility challenges, like fatbergs. programousands of It is also playing a key role in clean th culverts supporting wider infrastructure storm projects, such as Smart Motorways, and the upgrading of our rail system.

the Met Office published results of research which indicated there is a one in three chance of a new monthly rainfall record in at least one region each winter in the UK. The study, carried out as part of the National Flood Resilience Review, has led some climate change experts to call for yet more resources to be put in to controlling surface water flooding.

Written by Richard Leigh, Lanes Group

A jet vac tanker was recently used in London to tackle the Whitechapel fatberg, which gained notoriety around the world. On behalf of the Water Jetting Association, Richard Leigh looks at the use of water jetting systems in cleaning and maintaining water works

Water Management

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

WATER JETTING WORKHORSE The main water jetting workhorse in the drainage and utility industries is the jet vac tanker. These carry a supply of water, from around 4,000 litres to 15,000 litres, extracting water from hydrants.

Their jetting hoses can be anything up to 300 metres long. The hose run can E

CLEANING, STRIPPING, AND CUTTING Water jetting has evolved over the last 50 years. Apart from the home pressure washer systems, already mentioned, perhaps the most visible application is in drain and sewer cleaning and unblocking. Here, water jetting is combined with vacuumation technology. Water jets are used to clean and unblock pipes. Vacuumation systems then suck up the waste, for disposal at authorised sites.

Water jetting is used for many other industrial tasks like surface cleaning, such as de-greasing machinery in factories, and industrial tank cleaning. It strips specialist coatings and paint as part of planned maintenance, as seen on oil rigs and ships. It is also used for materials cutting, including concrete, stone, asphalt, and steel, especially where micro-cracking and fracturing in concrete could be caused by using mechanical methods, and where fire risks need to be mitigated.

DISASTER DRIVES INNOVATION Water jetting for sewer and drainage cleaning developed particularly rapidly from the early 1990s onwards. The trigger was, in part, a series of major floods, which highlighted the poor condition of storm water drains and culverts. Government agencies could see a clear need to improve the maintenance

35

Richard Allitt Associates Ltd assists key stakeholders to implement sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) SuDS are designed to replicate as

closely as possible the natural drainage from a site before development. It is accepted that apart from reducing the potential impact of flooding SuDS also offers many more benefits including impact upon water quality, amenity value and biodiversity. Apart from new development sites there are also many excellent examples where SuDS have been retro-fitted.

It is still commonly perceived that developments that incorporate SuDS features are more expensive to develop than those drained by traditional methods. At RAA Ltd we have been involved with several schemes modelling the impact of both traditional and SuDS led alternatives to show the benefits. One example of this is by properly considering groundwater conditions at design stage to prevent flooding issues post implementation.

A major challenge still is the adoption of SuDS and their ongoing operation and maintenance. It is vital that

there is effective engagement between Developers, Local Authorities and if appropriate Water and Sewerage Companies to ensure that a suitable arrangement is put in place for the lifetime of the development.

Rain gardens can be modelled at planning stages or for retrofit CIRIA have been instrumental in developing and growing the susdrain Community. RAA Ltd has been involved with susdrain from its inception and are proud to be a full partner of the Community. Through susdrain there is a wealth of readily available and often free literature and data all of

which combine to provide the necessary guidance for designing, operating and maintaining SuDS. There is currently no industry approved standard/method for modelling SuDS features but at RAA Ltd we pride ourselves as being at the leading edge of hydraulic modelling and using InfoWorks ICM we are able to model SuDS at both macro and micro scale which is of benefit to many clients.

It is crucial that key stakeholders embrace the guidance already available through organisations such as CIRIA to maximise the benefits we all know SuDS can deliver.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01444 401840 info@raaltd.co.uk www.raaltd.co.uk

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Water Management

JETTING  be extended, including using tracked or wheeled remotely-powered hose-reel units for reaching off-road areas.

A wide range of jetting nozzles can be fitted for different tasks, including jetting through heavy sludge, descaling pipes and cutting through tree roots that infest many pipes.

Directional water pressure is used to propel the jetting hose along a pipe. When it reaches a blockage, jets of water, at around 2,500psi (172bar), are used to obliterate it. Then the jetting direction is reversed to drag the waste back to the manhole, where it can be sucked into the jet vac tank.

Water jetting has significant benefits, including: allowing fast cleaning and unblocking of long runs of drains, sewers and culverts; preventing the need for drainage engineers to enter sewers, so significantly enhances safety; the latest jetting systems are a major contributor to sustainable utility maintenance, by recycling water; and dramatically increasing the productivity of water utility maintenance.

NO DIG DRAIN MAINTENANCE Water jetting is a core element of no dig technologies that have transformed the maintenance of both wastewater and industrial pipe assets in the last 20 years. A very current example is the work being done by Lanes Group to install liners in highway drainage pipes along the M6, as part of the Highways Agency’s Smart Motorway programme.

This ground-breaking project is allowing highway drains to be strengthened rather than replaced. Jetting clean the pipes before ultra-violet light cured liners are installed is a vital part of the process.

TAKING ON THE TOUGHEST TASKS Water jetting is allowing water utility providers to take on some of the toughest blockage challenges, including removing concrete and steel posts. Thames Water is one of the water companies benefiting from the technology. As its wastewater network service maintenance provider, Lanes has invested £450,000 in a high-pressure jet vac unit that has the power to cut through both concrete and steel.

Concrete contamination of water pipes is a growing problem, especially in urban areas, where concrete is poured into sewers, both accidentally and deliberately. Lanes Utilities’ 13,000psi (896bar) water jetting unit is kept busy removing this concrete, as well as steel construction stakes and ultra-hard scale, eliminating the cost and disruption of digging up pipes and replace them.

MODERN MONSTERS – MODERN SOLUTIONS Social trends are also placing new demands on water jetting services. One is the explosion in the use of wipes, a key component of fatbergs, which are a modern menace in our sewers. Fats, oils, and grease (FOG)

In London, Lanes Utilities used a jet vac tanker to tackle the Whitechapel fatberg, which gained notoriety around the world. Water jetting reduced the time taken to remove the fatberg from months to weeks combined with wipes and sanitary products wrongly flushed down toilets in their millions, blocking sewers for hundreds of metres.

In London, Lanes Utilities used a jet vac tanker to tackle the Whitechapel fatberg, which gained notoriety around the world.

Water jetting reduced the time taken to remove the fatberg from months to weeks.

A FLOOD OF NEW TECHNOLOGY Water jetting technology is developing rapidly. In the UK the threat of flooding continues to play its part. For example, after the floods of 2013-14, Lanes brought a new off-road jet vac tanker to the UK. A go-anywhere 8-wheel-drive behemoth designed for military use, it will be able to wade through flood waters to reach service‑critical pumping stations and sewers during any future floods. Meanwhile, smaller jet vac tankers have now been developed for use in congested urban streets.

Water jetting sustainability has been enhanced with the development of recycler jet vac tankers, which can filter and reuse their water. This significantly reduces consumption of potable water, and increases the amount of time the machines can stay on station, making them up to 68 per cent more productive than standard jet vac tankers.

SAFETY AND TRAINING Water jetting has significant benefits, but it creates some serious risks, too. Standard water jetting for drains and sewers reaches a pressure of up to 5,000psi (345bar).

High pressure water jetting for removing concrete and scale has working pressures from 5,000psi to 15,000psi (345bar to 1035bar). While ultra-high-pressure water jetting, used to cut metals and stone, and strip tough industrial coatings can range up to 43,000psi (3000bar) and above.

Each water jetting task needs specific risk assessments and methodologies. These

stipulate the safety equipment and clothing operatives need to wear. This can include Kevlar boots, chainmail gloves and armoured suits. Just as important is rigorous training.

The Water Jetting Association (WJA has developed a City & Guilds Accredited Course for drain and sewer cleaning with high pressure water.

Based on the WJA’s Code of Practice for the Use of High Pressure Water Jetting Equipment, WJA-Approved Instructors teach delegates about safe water jetting techniques, operating in confined spaces, and water jetting incident management. Lanes is one of many water jetting companies that have embraced this approach and is incorporating the course into its internal training programme, alongside the City & Guilds drainage training courses it has developed itself.

POSITIVE FORCE Water jetting has been a positive force in the drainage and water utilities sectors for some time. It is vital to keep sewers clear in the face of significant service risks caused by fatbergs and irresponsible disposal of wipes. It keeps water inflow and outflow pipes clear of shellfish infestation at nuclear power stations. It prevents waterlogging and flooding of railway tracks, so train services can run on time. This winter, flood risks will have been reduced across the UK, thanks to maintenance programmes, commissioned by Local Flood Authorities, to jet clean thousands of storm culverts.

Water jetting really is a force for good. L

Richard Leigh is Group Development Director at the Lanes Group, a member of the Water Jetting Association, a national body set up to promote best practice and the highest safety standards in the water jetting industry.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.waterjetting.org.uk

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Advertisement Feature

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PARKING

THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Companies have long understood the importance of providing their customers with a good service, but success is now increasingly being defined by the quality of user experience and how innovative or enjoyable that is Leaders including Apple, Airbnb, Amazon and Uber set the standard by which everyone is now judged, because consumers compare experience cross-industry which means that for the modern consumers, the bar is set high.

Given that 30.9 million cars are licensed for use on the roads in Great Britain1, it stands to reason that parking companies have to adapt to these rising expectations.

SIMPLIFYING THE USER EXPERIENCE Max Crane-Robinson, commercial director for National Car Parks (NCP), explains: “Customer experience is becoming an increasingly important focus for our organisation. It isn’t just about being available when there is an issue, it is about taking into considering the bigger picture and the whole customer journey to prevent any issues arising and ensuring the user experience is as simple, intuitive and easy as possible.

“There is no doubt that disruptive brands are raising customer expectations, but we don’t view that as a challenge. In fact, we look to the disrupters outside of parking and use them to drive our own thinking to deliver technologies that meet and exceed those new expectations”.

KNOWING THE CUSTOMER This, of course, is no mean feat, but CraneRobinson believes it starts with knowing as much about your customer as possible.

He says: “Fundamentally, offering a good customer experience requires that you know everything you can about the people you are looking to serve. And for many organisations, commercial or otherwise, parking is a fantastic place to start – the data we are able to collect provides an incredible insight into the patterns and behaviours of people, from when they visit locations, to how long they stay, and how they prefer to pay. From that organisation’s point of view, this parking data allows them to make more informed decisions, whether it’s on how to reduce congestion or for a commercial return.

“From NCPs point of view, we are able to offer customers a tailored service, be this through allowing them to pre‑book a space at their preferred time so it is guaranteed, or by giving them the opportunity to avoid tickets machines altogether with the use

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of an account based payment solution.”

What’s more, Crane-Robinson believes using customer data has a commercial benefit – when a customer is satisfied, there is a lower cost to serve and customer loyalty is improved.

BALANCING INNOVATION WITH THE HUMAN ELEMENT This comes at a time of other technological advances that have driven changing customer demands: the mobile phone and cashless society and e-payments. It only takes a quick glance around a busy coffee shop to realise that society is becoming ever dependent on smartphones. In fact, figures show that UK smartphone penetration has reached 85 per cent2 and is still rising.

Consequently, consumers expect all brands and services to be available on this platform, and failing to do so simply results in excluding yourself from a large portion of the market.

Alongside this, society is also embracing cashless payments. In fact, the UK has recently been hailed the third most cashless society in the world as we increasingly move away from using traditional methods of payment, and the expectation is that this will only continue.

For some traditional players in the parking industry, there has been hesitation around adapting to this change – after all, developing a digital proposition is likely to entail significant costs and time. The alternative, however, is that failing to adapt will push them far behind customer expectations.

RESEARCH AND DEVLOPMENT The convergence of these three key factors has resulted in an expectation from consumers that all services adapt to this digital age.

We are of course beginning to see this is the parking industry with the likes of PayByPhone becoming increasingly popular, but there is a need for other players to adapt too. From large private organisations through to local authorities, embracing modern technological advancements won’t always look the same or even be simple, but it is essential in order to stay relevant.

That being said, NCP’s Commercial Director notes that this is just the beginning in working towards offering a true customer experience.

Crane-Robinson said: “Keeping pace with modern life is essential, and at NCP

we continually invest in research and development to create innovative products and services, but this doesn’t remove the need for a personal element to the offering.

Technology can only go so far here, and that is why we continue to invest in our people.”

CREATING AN EXPERIENCE In parking, as with any other industry, providing a positive customer experience is by no means simple, and determining how to do it is even less so. This is why working with a partner who has experience and knowledge can be invaluable.

NCP has been redefining parking since 1931 and has over 20 years’ experience in working alongside local authorities to provide tailored parking solutions to ultimately provide customers with a seamless experience. It is through these partnerships that we can continue to meet and exceed customer demand across the board, and ultimately provide a positive customer experience. L

Department for Transport, 2017: https:// www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/ uploads/attachment_data/file/608374/ vehicle-licensing-statistics-2016.pdf 1

Deloitte, 2017: https://www.deloitte. co.uk/mobileuk/assets/img/download/ global-mobile‑consumer‑survey-2017_ uk-cut.pdf#page=6 2

FURTHER INFORMATION www.ncpsolutions.co.uk

TRANSPORT

Glenn Dives, from the British Parking Association, looks at the local examples of where parking initiatives are delivering a service that is exceeding customer needs The entire economy is facing a whole range of new challenges presented by technological innovation and consumer demand and the parking sector is no exception to this. Indeed there is a real desire across the industry to deliver a more positive and consistent parking experience for customers. To do this the British Parking Association (BPA) and its members are exploring new approaches and technologies to deliver a more integrated and effective service to the public.

The BPA is increasingly looking at the bigger picture to improve government, media and public perceptions of parking and support the sector to raise standards.

It has made this a priority in its Blueprint for Parking which was published in July. The

Blueprint outlines the BPA’s main objectives for the next five years, and is centred upon improving collaboration and consistency throughout the parking community, and encouraging professionalism and continuous development to raise standards.

The BPA has implemented this by connecting the sector together, as evidenced by both its recent Annual Conference and Parking Scotland events where the subject of collaboration and changing perceptions took centre stage.

THE POSITIVE PARKING AGENDA One form this is taking is the development of the Positive Parking Agenda (PPA). The PPA has been developed by a group of local authority parking managers, fully supported by the BPA. The PPA aims to improve public understanding and the image of parking E

Many ties thori local au eeply are d ractical in p involvedovements impr ce and n a m r o f to per ring better delive ards for stand ers custom

Written by Glenn Dives, public affairs and research coordinator, the British Parking Associiation

Changing the perception of parking

At Parking Scotland, a third of the day was allocated to a spirited debate around what private and public sectors can do to improve existing standards and create new ones. At the Annual Conference in London, almost the entire agenda from the opening introduction by Peter Lowe, president of the BPA, was centred upon collaborative thinking and how the industry can work together to change the perception of parking and deliver better outcomes for the customer.

While the BPA continues to connect its members together and encourage the wider sector, it is not alone in driving this agenda, and its membership is increasingly leading in this area. Indeed, the unofficial motto of the parking sector at the moment, to borrow the words of Cicero, would seem to be ‘I am not ashamed to confess that I am ignorant of what I do not know’. This admission has led to more collaborative approaches, exchange of knowledge, best practice and improvements to the customer experience and perception of parking.

Parking

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Parking

TRANSPORT

 management by helping local authorities to work together in setting and raising standards, improving communications, encouraging innovation and promoting transparency in the delivery of parking management.

To address this, the group is spearheading a positive way forward, which aims to achieve better consistency across the public sector, to provide a standard set of principles and tools for local authority parking managers everywhere to adopt. The PPA also works to collate thoughts and ideas to enable a constructive response to commonly held inaccuracies and myths. One of their key messages is the importance of parking management in ensuring town centres remain free flowing, dispelling the perception that it is solely about enforcement, and of raising revenue for local authorities.

This is an area where the perception of parking does not match the reality and one that the PPA wants to address. Every year the media publishes an article about the alleged ‘profit’ that councils generate, even though the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 includes provisions to control the use of parking surplus generated. The essence of

One of the PPA’s key messages is the importance of parking management in ensuring town centres remain free-flowing, dispelling the perception that it is solely about enforcement, and of raising revenue for local authorities the legislation says income from all penalty charges, whether issued for on-street or off-street contraventions, plus any income from on-street parking fees and charges is subject to s55 usage, which means it must be reinvested in services. Income from off-street parking fees and charges is for general use by the local authority, but none of this is reported.

In fact, only 20 per cent of councils in the country make an operating surplus; the rest are running at a loss. Council’s absorb these costs because they have decided they need to manage the traffic in their area to ensure that their streets are as free as possible from congestion and that their town centres are accessible. The PPA is however, just the tip of the iceberg, as

many local authorities are deeply involved in practical improvements to performance and delivering better standards for customers.

A good example of this work to improve customer experience is the City of Bradford Council. The council issues more than 100,000 PCN’s for parking, environmental and bus-lane contraventions. To ensure a smooth operation, the council has integrated the latest technology platforms into its public communications. This has involved automating its correspondence and providing an online self-service system to customers, simplifying and standardising their response to customer inquiries.

The council utilises two separate systems to perform these tasks. The first is an E

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TRANSPORT

 automated correspondence system, which generates an automatic letter in clear, jargon-free English, which is fully consistent with council parking policies and this has led to a drop-in repeat correspondence from motorists. The other system operates 24/7 as a question and answer service on the council’s website. Because it is always available it can deal with customers outside normal working hours when the majority of customers have the time to deal with a PCN. These systems combined have dramatically improved customer service satisfaction scores and reduced time staff spend answering phones by about 40 per cent. Michaela Hall, the assistant parking coordinator for the council, estimates that it is saving around 300 hours a month in staff time.

CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL Improving customers’ experience can take many forms beyond providing improved customer service. The proper planning and communication around renovation work can help maintain customer usage and avoid unnecessary complaints. The recent work of Cambridge City Council and Stripe Consulting demonstrates this extremely well. The council and Stripe Consulting worked together to develop a refurbishment plan and a communication strategy to renovate three of the council’s car parks. The work

Parking

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With the ongoing focus of the sector and the BPA on collaboration and innovation, we will see continued improvements for the customer and real change in the way parking is perceived and managed progressed in stages, with both organisations and the construction firm maintaining regular contact at multiple levels, to minimise issues as the work progressed. The council meanwhile proactively communicated with the public.

Indeed, they were so successful that they only received one complaint during the work and that was because of the smell of some of the materials, rather than the work itself.

In terms of general customer experience, due to the planning undertaken, disruption from the work was minimal with the town centre remaining free-flowing and 80 per cent of available car park capacity being maintained.

The council decided to design a cohesive brand for the city’s multi‑storey car parks utilising a common colour scheme and signage.

This common branding is intended to give customers confidence that they are in a quality facility and provoke a sense of ownership. The aesthetic is clean, simple and looks high‑value

to meet the council’s specifications, and forms part of their 20-year refurbishment plan. Following the completion of the project the two project leads, Russell Simmons of Stripe and Sean Cleary from Cambridge, have continued utilising their communication skills by proselytising the success of their project to the rest of the parking community.

These are just some of the collaborative work patterns which the parking industry is developing to maintain and improve the experience of the consumer and the perception of parking, but it is only the beginning and there is still much to do. With the ongoing focus of the sector and the BPA on collaboration and innovation, we will see continued improvements for the customer and real change in the way parking is perceived and managed. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.britishparking.co.uk

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AUTUMN STATEMENT

Cllr Philip Atkins explains why county authorities are paying the price of a postcode geographical lottery and why the upcoming Budget is an opportunity to empower counties to boost economic growth In the county local government world, we are gearing up for our peers and colleagues from local government descending on the County Councils Network’s (CCN) annual conference.

Whilst it has been said so often it verges on cliché, this year’s conference comes around at a truly pivotal time for local government.

There is a major question mark on how councils will be funded after business rate retention failed to make it onto the legislative timetable, the devolution agenda has stalled, and financial pressures continue to persist, not least in adult social care.

For England’s county authorities, these

pressures are felt most acutely. The theme of this year’s CCN Conference is ‘a new deal for counties’. The imperative for change has seldom been greater. There are three key pillars of CCN’s advocacy in calling for a new deal. We believe counties should receive their fair share of national resources, that counties’ contribution to the economy – and their potential – is recognised

and harnessed, and finally, counties should be empowered to take charge of the social and economic destinies of their own communities through decentralisation and devolution settlements.

FUNDING DISPARITIES A taxpa Many county leaders y e in Lond r like myself believe this on will rec year’s budget setting is the hardest yet. Recent more fo eive £540 r CCN analysis shows t h eir services that counties face a in gove public r n m grant fu ent £2.54 billion funding E n d i ng compa r e d t o a taxpa yer in a county area

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Written by Cllr Philip Atkins, vice-chairman of the County Councils Network and leader of Staffordshire County Council

Funding, county economics and the need for resources

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AUTUMN STATEMENT  gap by 2021. If we want to continue to protect frontline services, we cannot go on like this. CCN has argued for additional resource in the Chancellor’s Budget later this month, to prevent services from collapsing in the not too distant future.

But while additional funding for counties is essential, of equal importance is fair funding; the core foundation for a new deal for counties.

For too long now, the 26 million county residents have had a raw deal from government. CCN analysis shows that on average, a taxpayer in London will receive £540 more for their public services in government grant funding compared to a taxpayer in a county area. But this is not just a city vs county issue; on average, residents in counties receive £125 less per person for local government services compared to the national average.

Our residents are paying the price of a postcode geographical lottery. Clearly, this impacts on local residents, but it also impacts on county councils’ ability to deliver the services that local residents rely on.

In social care for example, counties receive £1.98 billion less than other parts of the country; a situation exacerbated by the future funding pressures they face. Core government funding cuts fall the hardest on counties, with grants reducing by 93 per cent on average by 2020, at a time when they have to grapple with rising demographic pressures such as being home to the fastest‑growing elderly populations in the country.

The Secretary of State has committed to a review of the way councils are funded, called the ‘fair funding review’.

But considering it was announced in early 2016, we believe progress is becoming too slow, and that it could simply update and reinvent the current unfair methodology.

This cannot happen. Government should not tinker round the edges; instead it must put forward a cost-drivers model that funds councils based on what they require to deliver services, based on factors such as current and future demographic pressures. Nothing would symbolise a new deal for counties more than a fairer funding arrangement.

However, a restricted focus on simply local government funding will not unlock the potential of counties to rise to the social and political challenges of the day. As the Brexit vote has sunk in, the focus this year has sharpened on the need for the English economy to be firing on all cylinders across the length and breadth of the country.

CAPITALISING ON COUNTIES’ POTENTIAL The Chancellor’s upcoming Budget could provide some of the financial resource to do this, whilst the forthcoming Industrial Strategy is designed to offer the mechanisms to make regional growth in all four corners of the country a reality.

When the Industrial Strategy green paper

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was released earlier this year, county leaders no doubt welcomed the narrative, but perhaps not the detail. For whilst there was a recognition that national economic growth would need to come from all corners of the country, not just London and the big urban conurbations, the strategies designed to address this were narrowly focused on cities.

This could be, in part, due to a lack of detailed analysis of county economies.

However, Oxford Economics’ summer report, commissioned by CCN, filled this void. It showed that, whilst collectively counties contribute the highest proportion of GVA in England (41 per cent – double that of the mayoral combined authority areas) and were responsible for 40 per cent of the country’s exports, productively

levels wary widely from county to county, and their heavy manufacturing base is susceptible to technological advances and workforce changes.

Despite this, there is a lack of policy detailed towards capitalising on counties’ potential, and addressing their challenges.

A place-based industrial strategy, based around county geographies, would be a significant step in the right direction.

As several well-respected think-tanks have argued this year, separating the country into strategic authorities could be the mechanism to deliver genuine place-based growth.

In county areas, these should be based around county geographies and led by the county authority. They know their

Considering six urban areas have their own bespoke devolution deals, and funding is channelled to urban areas, there is a risk that counties are left behind

economies intimately, and have the scale and expertise to bring together both the private and public sector; business and education. They offer the transparency and accountability that LEPs arguably do not.

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES Localis’ recent report, which argues for local labour market strategies to address issues such as demographic and technological changes, automation, and Brexit’s impact on labour markets, builds on this strategic authority model. It proposes the tools for counties to deliver localised labour strategies, matching local demand, supporting business growth, and ensuring people have the skills to do the jobs for tomorrow.

This is especially pertinent for county authorities, whose economies have the most exposure to risk coming from transitioning to new industries, technologies, and workforce.

Whilst ensuring that the economy is fit for purpose – not just in the present but in the future – we should not overlook other areas of political and social challenge, not least in debates over to how successfully reform

Localis’ recent report proposes the tools for counties to deliver localised labour strategies, matching local demand, supporting business growth, and ensuring people have the skills to do the jobs for tomorrow adult social care, growing pressures on public services, and a housing market that is locking out vast swathes of young people.

Housing, in particular, is an issue that Communities Minister Sajid Javid has staked his political reputation on – and for good reason. The country is not building enough homes. This is a complex issue with numerous answers put forward, but what tends to slip under the radar is how disjoined the system is in two-tier areas – with the county council responsible for infrastructure and the district council responsible for planning.

This fragmented system has stunted the housebuilding drive, with districts lacking the size to combat ‘nimbyism’

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and the system failing to provide reassurance to people that the correct infrastructure will mitigate development.

CCN has long argued for planning to be placed on a strategic level, joining up planning and infrastructure together so that we can deliver the right homes in the right places, over a wider geography, with joined up financing for infrastructure so existing communities do not feel extra pressure on their public services.

Government has increasingly made moves in this direction; and counties will continue to advocate for this in on-going housing reforms.

Underpinning a stronger strategic role in housing must be ambitious devolution settlements. Oxford Economics’ report calculates that if all 37 CCN members were granted full financial devolved powers, it could generate over £26 billion for the national economy over a five-year period, and result in national growth of 2.7 per cent per year – far higher than current projections.

Despite this, and the ability for counties to reform and improve public services, it’s fair to say the agenda hasn’t received lift-off in rural areas, and despite the mayoral requirement being withdrawn for a devolution deal, the devolution drive has stalled. Considering six urban areas have their own bespoke devolution deals, and funding is channelled to urban areas, there is a risk that counties are left behind. To finally unlock county devolution, strategic authorities, led by the county council, could provide the platform to drive down powers to local communities.

They have the local knowledge to grow their economies reform public services, and integrate health and social care locally, mixed with the size and scale to do business with government nationally.

At the heart of CCN’s pitch for a ‘new deal’ is a desire to deliver fairness to the 47 per cent of England’s residents who live in counties, and a desire for county authorities to raise above the parapet and offer solutions to the country’s social and economic challenges.

As ministers arrive at CCN Conference next week, they may wish to consider that it is localism, not centralism, that could drive national prosperity. L

CCN’s 2017 Annual Conference takes place on 19-21 November at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.countycouncilsnetwork.org.uk

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Housing Written by Anthony Breach, Centre for Cities

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LAND MANAGEMENT

Tackling the Greater South East’s housing crisis National and local policy makers are continuing to rule out the reform which would have the greatest impact in high-demand cities – building on the green belt. Anthony Breach explains why policy makers need to be braver and bolder in addressing the current housing crisis There has been a flurry of proposals on housing policy at city and national levels since the general election, from national policy makers to city leaders, but most are avoiding the solution in closest reach. Advocates for affordable homes are increasingly calling for the idea that would most immediately relieve the housing crisis – reforming the green belts.

The reality is that Britain is not building enough new homes. We need to build a minimum of 250,000 homes a year, but we are still falling 100,000 short at the highest build rate in a decade. However, these shortages do not play out evenly across the country. Instead, the housing crisis is particularly concentrated in Britain’s growing, high-productivity cities – mostly located in the Greater South East – where demand for workers and homes is highest. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s recent draft housing strategy notes that while London should be building at least 50,000 homes a year to keep up with demand until 2035, it is building fewer than 20,000 a year.

As the second and least affordable cities in the country, London and Oxford are building fewer homes per person than Barnsley, the second most affordable city in Britain.

This shortage in housing squeezes living standards, fuels poverty and chokes growth.

As the Mayor of London’s draft strategy points out, a third of private renters in London are spending more than half of their income on rent, while one in fifty Londoners are now homeless. Research from the US finds that restrictions in land usage that cause an undersupply in housing in their most productive cities have potentially lowered American productivity by 12 per cent since 2000 and slowed GDP per capita growth by 50 per cent since the 1960s. This highlights the scale of the risk to national and urban economies in the UK if we fail to build enough homes in the places that need them most.

Over the recent party conference season, the Conservatives and the Labour Party both put forward proposals to address the unaffordability of housing by forcing the price of it down, including the government’s £10 billion expansion of the ‘Help-to-Buy’ scheme and Jeremy Corbyn’s suggestion for rent controls. Unfortunately, these will not address the housing problems in the least affordable cities, as they are demand

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

solutions to a supply problem. Subsidising needs. If London met all of its annual need the housing costs of a few will not increase for housing on brownfield land, all of the the amount of construction, but just distort land would be used up in less than eight the market in ways that can be unpredictable years. Even this is an overestimate, as three and make the housing crisis worse for others. decades of a ‘brownfield-first’ approach More promisingly, a number of to housing has already creamed off all but improvements have been proposed the least suitable sites for new homes. by the Mayor of London Those brownfield locations left are and the government to unusually expensive, complex, increase the amount or undesirable to develop and o t d of new homes being are therefore less viable We nee nimum i built. In addition for affordable housing, if m build a 00 homes a to the more than they are viable at all.

0 , l 0 l i £3 billion reserved There is even less 5 t s 2 of e are w for 90,000 affordable brownfield land in the t u b , r yea homes in London growing cities outside of 00,000 falling 1he highest London. Bournemouth, by 2021, Khan t wants to help small short at rate in a and medium-sized build ade builders, improve the dec construction industry’s skills base, and build 10,000 homes on Transport for London land. In terms of innovative approaches, Khan wants to raise a further £250 million from land value capture to fund new housing starts, and is asking for the government to devolve London’s £4.3 billion stamp duty revenue to the city, something we at the Centre for Cities called for in our 2015 report Beyond Business Rates.

In its Housing White Paper, published earlier this year, the government improved its definition of housing need to take into more account the pressures particular areas are experiencing, to urge local authorities to permit more housing where affordability is lowest. The same proposals also included provisions to enable developers to build homes more quickly, build a greater variety of tenures and sizes, and encourage higher density building in cities.

THE LIMITS OF BROWNFIELD APPROACHES But despite the ambition and merit in these plans, the reforms proposed by both national and local leaders do not go far enough in tackling the shortages in Britain’s most high‑demand cities. Although Sadiq Khan and the government want to prioritise development on brownfield land, there is too little to meet our housing

for example, has capacity for fewer than 3,500 homes on brownfield land in the city limits, Cambridge fewer than 2,500, and Oxford only 2,000 new homes. Even assuming that building homes on all of this land was desirable in terms of getting the right balance between residential, commercial and public buildings in those cities, there is just no longer enough brownfield land to build the number of new homes which are most needed.

RETHINKING GREEN BELT LAND The short supply of land to build new homes on could be solved if we were prepared to consider green belt land with little environmental value close to existing infrastructure. Our report, Building Homes Where We Need Them, shows that if 60 per cent of green belt land within 2km of a train station in Greater London was developed into suburban housing, an additional 432,000 homes could be built. Rolling this out to the rest of the capital’s green belt would make land available for a further three million new homes – but the Mayor of London has ruled out any building on the city’s green belt land.

Green belt reform would unlock homes in other high-demand cities too. Across the ten least affordable cities in Britain including Oxford, London and Bristol, building on less than five per cent of green belt land in the ten least affordable UK cities would supply

1.4 million homes close to train stations.

These new homes would be cheaper to develop and more locked into existing infrastructure than those on the country’s remaining poor-quality brownfield sites, making it possible to supply more affordable housing.

At the moment, almost no housing is built on the green belt. From 2014 to 2017, local authorities released 170 hectares of London’s green belt for development – just 0.03 per cent of the capital’s green belt land, which at 514,030 hectares covers an area three times the size of London. However, both the government and the Mayor of London have ruled out building on the green belt (in their housing white paper and draft housing strategy respectively). This will not only block hundreds of thousands of potential new homes, but imposes a hidden cost by making the housing that is being built on brownfield land more scarce and therefore less affordable to the wider public. In other words, Britain’s high housing costs subsidise the lack of new homes on green belt land.

This green belt reform could be done with increasing density in our cities. London in particular is unusually low density for a city of its size and global role, and replacement housing stock in cities should prioritise ‘missing middle’ housing to improve this. But a meaningful increase to the density of UK

Housing

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

cities would be a long-term process requiring the demolition of existing housing in the short-term. To solve the housing crisis now, we need construction on green belt land.

While some argue that the green belt is intended to prevent sprawl, the green belt in fact forces sprawl to spread even further out. Londoners are forced by the shortage of housing in London to move out to cities and towns like Milton Keynes, Reading, Crawley, and Colchester that lack green belts and commute back into London. This ‘leapfrog’ of sprawl is more destructive to the countryside and polluting than smart releases of green belt land closer to cities. Any loss to the environment from development could be compensated by swapping in valuable and beautiful land for protection on the outskirts of the green belt.

Britain’s housing crisis can be traced back to a range of factors, but the most important is the shortage of new homes.

By ruling out new homes on the green belt, both local and national government are leaving the lowest-hanging and largest fruit unpicked, making housing less affordable for the public. To solve Britain’s housing crisis, green belt land will have to be released – the only question is when. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.centreforcities.org

T&P Regeneration is a Geo-Environmental consultancy and contracting business which has been helping developers, contractors and civil engineers throughout the UK to identify, evaluate and resolve in-ground geotechnical and contaminated land risks for over 15 years. Traditionally we have presented our site assessments and risk evaluations within detailed technical ground investigation reports.

The application of our new aerial drone surveys and 3D sub-surface ground modelling, as demonstrated at the Contamination Expo 2017, is pushing back the boundaries of ground investigation data management and communication. The presentation of the data in a visual form to designers and regulators presents a simple improved means of conveying complex technical information and a consistent and effective mechanism for understanding and communicating key in-ground issues.

The inclusion of a combined terrain and sub-surface ground model within a BIM workflow allows multidisciplinary designs to be considered within the same coordinate system, ensuring simplified above and below ground design compilation and checking and immediate consideration of design changes.

If you’d like to know more about this new technology and our other Geo-Environmental consultancy and contracting related services including ground investigation, human health risk assessment, remedial design and remedial contracting please get in touch with us now!

Please contact us: Tel: 01179 277756 Email: info@tp-regen.co.uk www.tandpregeneration.co.uk

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Please see us at the Public Sector Show, Manchester, Stand No. B8

EVENT PREVIEW

Seeking smarter public services The public sector continues to face significant challenges and its operating environment is becoming increasingly complex. In light of this, the Public Sector Show Manchester explores the ways in which central and local government can deliver smarter and more efficient public services The Public Sector Show provides a forum for attendees to discuss and debate the key challenges facing government and services over the coming years. Through in-depth policy briefings, practical case studies and opportunities to network and share experiences with sector pioneers from across the country, attendees are able to engage with the thought-leadership and visionary thinking that will help deliver 21st century public services.

The effective use of technology is a constantly evolving requirement in the public sector, and is, therefore, a key area of November’s show. The role of digital both internally and externally poses a whole host of challenges for organisations. Public sector professionals face challenges in fostering digital innovation, promoting digital inclusion, and effectively implementing digital infrastructure and processes.

Focuses at the Public Sector Show include: the latest digital challenges and solutions across local authorities; the priorities of national bodies, including GDS’s roadmap for 2017/18; Government Transformation Strategy 2017-20; and sharing digital capability across boundaries.

Furthermore, the correlation between an effectively managed workforce and quality service delivery is no new discovery. There are many challenges across the sector in

regards to effectively growing and retaining talent, putting effective leaders in the right places and instilling pride in the modern day civil servant. This event will examine current talent retention challenges, including competing with the private sector, as well as how to develop quality people management processes and effective leadership.

Public sector bodies also face continual challenges for maximising their resources and taking the approaches needed to achieve efficiency without losing quality. The sector is looking at ways to operate more commercially, working with a business mindset and finding innovative and collaborative ways to improve their service offering. Speakers at the Public Sector Show will showcase key examples of successful cross-sector collaboration that is assisting the sector achieve value for money and create commercialism opportunities.

how these new leaders will work alongside government and local authority leaders, as well as how all local government will continue to evolve ways to meet local needs. Focuses within the show agenda include: the role of directly elected mayors and the new structure in local governance, six months in from their election successes; creating the Northern Powerhouse; and continuing the transformation of local government collaboration and organisation.

Additionally, the UK’s decision to exit the European Union has created an extended period of uncertainty. Decision makers from right across local and central government and the wider public sector need to be ready to respond to the restructuring of policy and powers, as well as prepare for the potential impact the changes will have on financing, workforce and local economies.

Public Sector Show

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

THE STATE OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR Generating almost 20 per cent of the UK’s GDP and with FDI to the region growing at twice the rate of the rest of the UK, the Northern Powerhouse has the potential to set out a radical new way to rebalance the UK’s economy to establish new engines for UK prosperity. As a key intellectual figure behind the Northern Powerhouse, Lord O’Neill of Gatley, former Commercial Secretary to the Treasury, will share his thoughts regarding the project’s progress in recent years and the six separate ingredients required to create an effective integrated economic region to help redress the economic imbalance in the UK. Following Lord O’Neill’s keynote address in the State of the Public Sector, a panel of speakers representing the Northern THE CHANGING POLITICAL Powerhouse Partnership, Transport LANDSCAPE for the North, Leeds City It has been an eventful year Council and the Department he T for city region devolution. for International Trade, e s eu Mayoral elections across will discuss the effectivlogy is a the country have led to need to promote o n of tech tly evolving a significant reshape prosperity across the n a t e of the structure of local North of England s h n t o c ent in is, government across through improved m e r i u d n req a , r many areas. There is skills, innovation, o t ec a transport great anticipation in and E public s key are

re, a therefo ovember’s of N show

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EVENT PREVIEW  culture and strengthen the Northern Powerhouse as a trading power and magnet for overseas finance.

THE HOT SEAT Nina Warhurst, the BBC’s political editor for the North West, will be chairing the event’s Hot Seat sessions, in which she will talk to Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, about the opportunities offered by city devolution and what next for the government’s devolutionary agenda, before addressing the topical issue of policing cuts with Julia Mulligan, police and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire and the City of York. For this session, Julia Mulligan will provide insights into some of the key initiatives that are transforming responsibilities of police forces, and how co-commissioning and reduction in reduplication can help deliver improved services.

Also speaking in the Hot Seat theatre is Sean Nolan, director of local government and policing at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accounting. Nolan will here discuss the steps local government and the wider public sector can take to spot the warning signs of financial strain and build long-term fiscal resilience.

There is a strong correlation between the level of local control over finances and the emergence of successful city economies. Chris Murray, director of the Core Cities Group, will share his insight into how devolution may hold the key to rebalancing UK city growth.

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY The public appetite for digital services is growing, forcing local government to seek out new technologies to meet ever-increasing expectations. Technology is pointless though without an accompanying cultural shift. Taking to the Digital and Technology theatre, Neill Crump, chief data officer for the Worcestershire Office of Data Analytics, will explore how to deliver this people-centred and sustainable change.

This encompasses how Worcestershire County Council changed its organisational culture with digital and data, exploring how digital solutions can pay dividends long term and fund future reinvestment.

Only half of the UK’s local authorities are prepared for a cyber attack so it is imperative local government develops robust cyber security measures. In the same theatre, North Lincolnshore & Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will detail how they successfully halted and recovered from the widespread ‘Globe2’ ransomware virus, covering the importance of identifying and remedying the weak links in your IT network, building resilient digital infrastructure to withstand cyber attacks and remaining technologically vigilant and developing a progressive cyber security mind set.

CROWN COMMERCIAL SERVICE As the largest public procurement organisation in the UK, the Crown Commercial Service seeks to help public sector organisations save time and money when buying common goods and services, as well as achieve maximum value and leverage commercial expertise.

Alongside a number of CCS-led seminar sessions, senior commercial experts from the organisation will be speaking in the State of the Public Sector Theatre, including Nick Caton, head of Wider Public Sector, who will be speaking about how we can help you deliver savings through better procurement.

Moreover, in the CCS Theatre, David Gigg, policy implementation, will discuss how social value has changed the landscape for designing procurements, examining how CCS is tackling issues such as modern slavery, equality and accessibility and the work that CCS is undertaking to make current and future frameworks compliant with social value policy and objectives.

Examining future vision for the Crown Marketplace programme, David Amstel, marketing and communications lead, will provide an introduction to the Crown Marketplace and explain how it will benefit buyers and suppliers, before John Malone and Kate Beckingham, head of Trading and Utilities respectively, will discuss the benefits that the CCS Utilities and Fuels team bring to the aggregated procurement of electricity, gas, fuels, water and demand management.

On Stand C2, also supporting the Public Sector Show Manchester,

The public sector is looking at ways to operate more commercially, working with a business mindset and finding innovative and collaborative ways to improve their service offering will be the Government Digital Service (GDS). Presenting in the State of the Public Sector Theatre, Kevin Cunnington, director general, will be explaining how GDS is responding to the new challenges and opportunities presented by a new government and the UK exiting from the EU. L

The Public Sector Show will be taking place at Manchester Central on 21 November 2017.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.psshowmcr.co.uk

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Document Management Written by Bob Larrivee, chief analyst, AIIM

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

PAPER-FREE

Will we ever see a paper-free public sector?

Bob Larrivee, chief analyst at AIIM, looks at the paper-free progress made by the public sector as organisations migrate to a more digital workplace Few people would dispute that a paper‑free workplace is a hugely attractive proposition.

It’s a much-discussed topic and many government departments, including the NHS and Ministry of Justice, now have targets set for going paperless.

Sustainability charity WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) has released data that reveals how the average office worker uses up to 45 sheets of paper per day.

More than half of this is considered waste. So there are obvious benefits to the environment that come with using significantly less paper.

But for many in the public sector, environmental issues are not a primary concern. What interests them is doing things quicker, smarter and more efficiently. This means both in terms of delivery of services to citizens, and also within the back‑office and administration functions in public sector bodies.

How far along are public sector organisations with paper‑free, is going totally paper-free a realistic goal and how can it be achieved?

to engage and interact with different areas of the public sector.

Each year AIIM conducts research into the paper-free workplace with both private and public sector organisations and 2016’s findings make for promising reading. The top benefit identified from going paper-free was faster customer or citizen response times.

In today’s customer-focused environment, responding to customers or citizens is a growing priority for many organisations, and higher productivity is important to every organisation.

THE BACK-OFFICE But it’s the back-office processes that I’d really like to focus on in terms of reducing use of paper. The past few years have seen a major increase in content, data and information in the public sector. This helps improve service delivery and in theory, makes for a more open form of government. Some of this content is in physical form, but much of it comes digitally, which is helping drive the move towards paper‑free processes in the public sector.

This is borne out in the findings from our recent research, Paper‑Free in 2016, Are we there yet?, that shows that significant progress has been made in the on‑going move towards going paper-free. People want to go paper-free – around two‑thirds of business executives

are People oing d used to erything ev almost om shopping fr online, banking, to and octor’s d a g n i book tment and appoin tting tax submi rns retu

DIGITAL SERVICE DELIVERY We live in the era of the connected consumer.

People are used to doing almost everything online, from shopping and banking, to booking a doctor’s appointment and submitting tax returns. The latter two would fall under the category of digital service delivery, where citizens use digital or go online

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revealed that the demand for paperless processes is on the rise – and there is less paper around. The amount of paper arriving at the door is decreasing for half of organisations (somewhat for 41 per cent and rapidly for nine per cent), while digital inbound documents are increasing for two-thirds of respondents.

Paper use in certain functions in the public sector has shown strong signs of reduction. Paper use in human resources (HR) is particularly decreasing in the areas of recruitment and employee lifecycle, and paper use is also decreasing for 41 per cent of people in accounts payables (AP) and 39 per cent in accounts receivables.

This is all enormously positive, but there is still much progress to be made. Most in the public sector are still not taking advantage of managing digitally born/ created information entirely in digital form.

THE COMFORT FACTOR The truth of the matter is that for many people, paper still just ‘feels’ right. A good example of this can be found in the review and approval of documents. 65 per cent say they are still signing contracts, orders, booking forms, and more on paper.

While more than half of respondents in our research do scan documents, this is mostly just for archiving purposes.

So why exactly does paper still exist in so many parts of the public sector? People like to have paper to read, take notes, and even share. There is a lack of comfort in the digital forms, and while this could be generational, it is just as likely to be cultural in relation to the organisation itself. Leadership must take the leading role in moving their department

GOING PAPER-FREE IN 2017 When trying to go paper-free in a public sector department, it is important to remember that taking the first step is better than taking no step at all. Anyone unsure of where or how to begin should seek professional assistance and/ or training to help them set off on the right path. This includes looking to current suppliers and service providers for guidance, as well as seeking industry advice to teach best practices.

Document Management

forward. There should be a clear vision as to why paper-free is beneficial, and the options available from capture to disposal.

Capture is one of the most important elements as it brings the information into the information ecosystem, placing under proper control, making it accessible and available for action. So it seems this would be a prime focal point for many organisations, yet when we asked about capture, only 10 per cent of respondents indicated that they capture to process and use adaptive and intelligent process workflows.

But capture should be the starting point for anyone embarking on going paper‑free, whether it is digitising paper using scanners, or capturing digitally-created information immediately and maintaining it in digital form. This is the first step to managing and ingesting information into the information ecosystem, business processes, and taking action on it sooner.

Mobile capture and the use of cloud enhance this capability by enabling the remote workforce to engage anytime, from any location, and maintain a level of engagement that mimics those workers who are local and resident within the corporate walls. This extension, resulting from being paper-free, takes operational efficiency, productivity,

When trying to go paper-free in a public sector department, it is important to remember that taking the first step is better than taking no step at all

and responsiveness to a new level. Other important factors to consider are change management and executive level support.

The fact that our research consistently highlights a lack of management initiatives for going paper-free would suggest that board members must get behind going paper‑free, sooner rather than later. Without that support, it will always be an uphill battle.

It remains unrealistic to think that all processes in the public sector will be paper-free in the near future, but there are definitely certain processes where paper can be removed. The end is in sight when it comes to going paper-free, but it remains a tiny pinprick in the distance for now. L

Bob Larrivee is vice president and chief analyst of Market Intelligence at AIIM, and an internationally recognised expert and thought leader in the fields of information and process management.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.aiim.org

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Business Show 2017

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BUSINESS SUCCESS

Starting or growing a business?

favourite business motto is ‘live by corporate standards, but breathe like an entrepreneur’.

Two other former dragons also presented keynote seminars at the November event, with Hilary Devey and Rachel Elnaugh speaking to the audience. Devey, who is also known for her roles on The Intern, The Secret Millionaire and The Business Inspector, took part in the Q&A with a Businesswoman Icon, while Elnaugh discussed the highs and lows of her entrepreneurial journey and how it led her to a deep understanding of trauma healing and the adrenaline response.

The Business Show 2017, packed with great content, speakers and exhibitors, was once again the ideal location for delegates to define the future of their business. We look at the bios and sessions of the show’s leading keynote speakers

Enterprise has never been more fashionable and it is reflected at the show. The two-day event is expected to have attracted over 25,000 businesses who attend with the primary agenda of improving and expanding their business, and to anybody who has attended the show it will come as no surprise that it’s now the fastest growing business show in Europe.

Having taken place on 16 November, the Business Show aims to progress businesses.

Packed full of the very best speakers, features, innovations, education and opportunities in the business world; the event is dedicated to guiding startups, SMEs and large corporations on their business journey. Attracting 25,000 businesses to London twice a year, the show

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS Being head of marketing strategy at Google means Raja Saggi knows the secrets to digital marketing success. In his seminar, Digital marketing best practices, Raja shared practical tips for how you can use digital advertising to conquer B2C and B2B customer acquisition, improve growth and overcome retention challenges.

Through a series of stories, advice and thought-provoking lessons, the UK’s no 1 motivational business speaker Brad Burton helped delegates discover their next steps in both life and in business. Burton founded 4Networking, the largest joined up business network, running over 5,000 business networking meetings each year.

Growing from start up to £30 million turnover in seven years has taught instantprint founders Adam Carnell and James Kinsella many lessons. Their talk, Lessons Learnt, covered their journey from starting the business and the often surprising lessons learnt along the way.

From hiring the right team to knowing when to expand, James and Adam used their experiences to discuss the best ways you can prepare your business for growth.

Steve Parish, co-owner and chairman of Crystal Palace F.C, is an exquisite businessman with an excellent insight into the business world.

In 2010, whilst still owning Tag Worldwide, the world’s leading advertising production company, Parish acquired the football club where he has acted as executive chairman for the past seven years and which he’s supported from childhood.

Since the acquisition, Parish has successfully brought the club out of administration, into the Championship play offs, and after winning the play off final in May 2013, into the Premier League where the club has enjoyed it’s longest stay to date. His time is now divided between running Crystal Palace Football Club and his growing property portfolio, along with investing in, and advising companies and mentoring young businessmen and women. His keynote Q&A answered

The rovides show p ise on expert needed ing everythve, evolve or o to impr a business in expand epartment any d dustry or in

is completely free to attend and provides world-class expertise on everything needed to improve, evolve or expand a business in any department or industry.

Keynote speakers at the November 2017 event include Dragons Den star Jenny Campbell. Born into a business-orientated family of bankers, builders and printers, Campbell, who left school at 16 and became one of the few senior female bankers at the time in the UK, is the founder of YourCash, a company she sold last year for £50 million. Previously awarded Business Woman of the Year, Jenny’s

myriad questions on his career, showcasing the journey up the ladder of success.

Ben Towers has been named by Richard Branson as ‘one of the UK’s most exciting entrepreneurs’ and at only 19 years old has recently completed a multi-million-pound merger with his marketing agency he founded when just 11. Ben was named by The Times at the top of their Super Teen Power List across the world and is an experienced speaker, who also regularly appears on TV. He may only be young but his mindset and knowledge have led him achieving great things including working with number 10, being the first ever under 18 to get a business bank account and cleverly employing himself as an apprentice. His session provided an inspirational look at how a young business‑minded teen has grown to become a multi-award winner by the age of 19.

THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS From a Rastafarian musician to a highly successful businessman, the Levi Roots brand has reached unimaginable heights since his appearance on Dragon’s Den back in 2006.

Roots delivered his inspirational business story to the Business Show, sharing insights into how he became one of the most iconic and characteristic figures in the business world.

James Gold, co-founding Skinnydip with his brother and best friend in 2011 with an idea

Growing from start up to £30 million turnover in seven years has taught instantprint founders Adam Carnell and James Kinsella many lessons.

Their talk, Lessons Learnt, covered the often surprising lessons learnt on the way to success of building a fashion, lifestyle and accessory brand, has taken the industry by storm.

Turning the ‘phone case’ into a must-have accessory, not only has Skinnydip doubled in size year-on-year, but now operates 250 retail locations in 30 countries. Alongside his co-founders, Gold has expanded his team to over 50 people around the world accelerating the brand and its impact. From an idea started in a bedroom with no financial backing, to the aforementioned global accessories brand, Gold shared the story of how being ‘fun, youthful and a little cheeky’ led to Skinnydip being at the forefront of the accessory market since its launch in 2011 and becoming one of the most successful privately-owned companies of this generation.

Lauren Pope, high profile reality TV star on The Only Way Is Essex, is also an entrepreneur whose success in the UK includes running her own hair extension business, Hair Rehab London, designing her clothing collection,

Business Show 2017

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

DJ’s all round the world, releasing hit compilation albums, being the face of her own accessory range, and signing up to top modeling agency Elite. Lauren’s session on ‘Making money doing what you love’ explored her success in all the above areas.

Bill Collison first began his shop Bill’s as a greengrocers shop in Lewes, East Sussex, before a flood forced him to start from scratch. Only this time, he added a cafe into the mix and the group was born. Now there are 76 restaurants nationwide. Using a combination of both smart management and Richard Caring’s backing, Bill’s has made an incredible jump from a fledging concept to a major national player in a remarkable record time. His Q&A explored the challenges he has faced as well as how to build success by overcoming obstacles. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk

C O N S U LT I N G

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Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

57

Learning Technologies

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

EVENT PREVIEW

Looking inside of workplace learning Learning Technologies is continuing to grow in importance, value and attendance year on year. With this in mind, Government Business looks ahead to Europe’s leading showcase of organisational learning, taking place on 31 January, and outlines some key sessions not to miss With more than 8,000 visitors, 150 free learning and development (L&D) seminars, over 200 exhibitors, two exhibition halls packed with the latest learning technologies, innovation and best practice and the industry’s leading L&D conference, the 2017 edition of Learning Technologies provided a unique and exciting environment for all those involved in workplace learning.

In 2018, when the show runs from 31 January, there will be even more to see and do and the combination of Learning Technologies and Learning & Skills has created the biggest show in the entire learning sector.

At the start of November, the event organisers announced the line-up of speakers for the 2018 event. As well as a number of leading figures in their field, there will also be case studies and insight from a host of well known companies such as Standard Life Aberdeen, The Prince’s Trust, Royal Bank of Scotland, Aviva, the Co-op Group, The Open University, Sainsbury’s, Servest, Pandora, Microsoft, Credit Suisse, State Street Global Advisors, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals India, AXA, and Virgin Atlantic.

Mark Penton, event organiser, said of the line-up: “There is a fantastic line-up of speakers for the 2018 event, including Rohit Talwar, Tony Buzan, Patti Shank, Ulrich Boser, Will Thalheimer, Charles Jennings, Connie Malamed, Jamie Good, Michael Sutton, Nigel Paine, Isabel de Clercq, Steve Wheeler and Dave Kelly. The conference will cover all the main themes affecting L&D professionals today.”

A LEADING CONFERENCE Topics on the agenda for 2018 include: emerging technologies; learning models; behavioural change; embedding learning; virtual and augmented reality; content design; learning culture; social technologies; simulations and games; artificial intelligence; video for learning; collaborative technologies; personal development; content development; predictive analytics; learning systems; games and learning;

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alignment in practice; instructional design; learning analytics; implementing learning systems; MOOCs; business-aligned learning; mentoring; micro learning; learning and the mind; and learning value.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Organisations today are equally curious, excited and scared about digital transformation. For many, one thing they are not doing, however, is managing the transformation well, or even adequately. The reason? It’s not that they don’t have the technology, says futurist, entrepreneur and author Rohit Talwar, it’s more that they lack the technological awareness and ‘new world’ mind set to make the transformation succeed.

In this opening keynote, Rohit explores some of the technological changes underway and on the horizon, and considers the implications for life as we know it.

What could these changes mean for how we learn – whether at work or in our daily lives – and how can we make best use of the amazing power of these new technologies?

Rohit will make the case that learning technologies are not just for learning how to do work better, they can and should be used to help make sense of an emerging and radically different environment. Whether it be via social tools, personalised learning, simulations or gaming, he will argue that our tools are capable of much more than we imagine. As well as improving performance, they can also help us navigate this rapidly‑changing world. The challenge for Rohit is simply put: will we just use these tools to do what we’ve always done a little differently, or are we ready – with the

help of technology – to unlock the prison doors of our thoughts and experience and see the world in an entirely new way?

The emergence of new technologies continues apace. For busy L&D professionals it can be hard to keep up with the latest developments, and figuring out how they might actually impact and support learning is even more challenging. In their emerging technologies session, Steve Wheeler and David Kelly provide a carefully curated overview of what’s hot and what’s not, and how some of the shiny new technology will help learning in the future.

Social LEARNING MODELS s i a i d With so many choices in L&D e m the g today – from which media n i m r to use to deliver digital transfo live, think e learning, to different design w w y o a h t w u B theories and approaches . t c era to content production – and int make social learning strategy becomes e w do more more important than it g n i n r lea has ever been. Having a st a than ju rd? framework for understanding and managing organisational buzzwo learning is key. Charles Jennings, co‑founder of the 70:20:10 Institute, explores the ways of working and learning that maximise the impact of learning across a range of organisations.

This includes analysing what modern workplace learning looks like, the strategies to support digital learning transformation and case study examples of what is working in practice.

There is much talk at the moment about the need to build a ‘learning culture’ in organisations, but little insight into exactly how to do it. In a session delivered by a panel of speakers, Learning Technologies brings together three people with views and experiences of just what it means and how to achieve it. Nigel Paine, managing director of Nigel Paine.Com Ltd, explores the strategic level, with practical examples; Margaret Kelsey, training manager at Barrett

Values Centre, looks at the role of values, both organisational and personal; and Tom Bailey, senior digital learning partner at AXA UK, explains how the company is successfully shifting from a training to a learning culture.

Social media is transforming the way we live, think and interact. But how do we make social learning more than just a buzzword? In this session, Gemma Critchley, head of technology and innovation for learning at Aviva, shares how she’s brought principles from digital and social media marketing into the learning space and the challenges she’s faced along the way. She will explore the collaborative technologies and techniques she’s used across organisations like BP and Aviva to develop a culture of sharing. The aim is to provide practical tips and advice on how you can make social learning work for your organisation.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT The world-renowned author, speaker and creator of the mind map, Tony Buzan, graces Learning Technologies once again thanks to demand and our endless fascination with learning and the mind. Here, he will reveal new insights into the importance of exercising our brains and keeping them fit for learning. With research into the

With so many choices in L&D today – from which media to use to deliver digital learning, to different design theories and approaches to content production – learning strategy becomes more important than it has ever been inner workings of the mind, this interactive session includes tools for expanding your own creativity, and that of your people.

He will explore: how to harness the creative power of the human mind; avoiding what gets in the way of our creativity and concentration; brain fitness and how to achieve it; when and why we need to be able to activate both sides of the brain; and the techniques for sharing these practices with your peers and colleagues.

Learning takes place in the mind, and if we don’t know how that happens, we are missing a trick. L&D can only truly function effectively if it understands what drives, supports and inhibits learning. Not all of it is predictable, and the truth is still too often shrowded in fable, myth and folklore. Our speakers are here to deliver facts and practical advice on how to use an understanding

Learning Technologies

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

of the mind in L&D. In her session on 1 February, Amy Brann, author of several books sharing insights from neuroscience to enhance the way organisations work, shares the framework Synaptic Potential use when advising companies on learning interventions.

The insight presented by next generation learning analytics is exciting. In order to make the most of this chance of better understanding the who, what, where and why of what works in learning, analytics now need to form part of the content design process. Trish Uhl, learning architect for Owl’s Ledge LLC, reveals her five tenets for tapping into this mission critical opportunity. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.learningtechnologies.co.uk

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Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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First Aid

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

HEALTH & SAFETY

The importance of public sector first aid training Government Business revisits the advice of John Cavanagh, of St John Ambulance, who wrote for the magazine last year on the importance of first aid training to the public sector workplace St John Ambulance believes that everyone who needs first aid should receive it from those around them – no one should suffer for a lack of first aid trainers. Sadly, every year thousands of people die in situations where first aid could have given them a chance to live. For example, someone could suffer from a heart attack, or a stroke, or choke on a piece of food, anytime and anywhere. As such a large proportion of people’s lives are spent in the workplace, every organisation today – regardless of whether public or private sector – has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its workers by putting in place an effective first aid strategy.

Whilst public sector organisations have a duty to protect their staff, they also have the added responsibility of ensuring the safety of members of the public.

And that is where first aid training becomes ever more essential, as all members of the public should be confident that they will receive a minimum standard of care if they were in need of medical attention, whether they are in a school, library or police station.

To help inform St John Ambulance’s strategy on how to better teach and provide first aid, much work is carried out measuring and monitoring the public’s perception of it. For example, some believe learning first aid can be time consuming, with well over a quarter (28 per cent) of 18-34 year-olds stating the reason they haven’t learnt any first aid is because of a lack of time. In fact, learning a simple life saving skill such as CPR via an online video tutorial could take less than five minutes.

Another barrier is the fear factor that can be attached to having to learn how to deal with potentially life threatening and distressing situation. This requires communicating the need to learn these skills, but in a reassuring, thorough and practical way, giving people not just the skills, but the confidence to apply them when the time comes.

For others, first aid can simply be seen as a method of dealing with cuts, grazes

and sprains, rather than an essential way of swiftly treating serious medical conditions or injuries. This is possibly the most worrying misconception that must be addressed by raising awareness of the fact that first aid training can, and does, save lives. Having someone who is first aid trained and confident enough to act in the first few crucial minutes of an emergency can be the difference between a life lost and life saved.

All NHS ambulance services must

ga Learnin e simpl kill ing s life-sav PR via an C such as ideo tutorial online vuld take co n five less tha tes minu

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respond to 75 per cent of Red 1 – immediately life-threatening – incidents within eight minutes, but for a person who has a blocked airway, they could be starved of oxygen in just three or four. This could lead to the casualty suffering irreparable brain damage or, in some cases, death, highlighting just how essential it is for someone to be on hand with the appropriate skills and confidence to carry out treatment. Many first aid situations can be treated immediately, saving a life.

With thousands of people dying annually in situations where immediate treatment could have given them the chance to live, the need for life saving skills cannot be overstated.

UNDERSTANDING FIRST AID LAW Making more people aware of the regulations that underpin first aid in the workplace can only help to foster an environment in which appropriate respect is given to first aid and first aiders. All employers, regardless of business size, have a legal obligation under The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 to protect their employees and anyone on their premises. Employers can visit the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website to view an Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) booklet offering guidance on complying with first aid duties.

While specific requirements vary depending on the nature of the business, all employers

face a ‘six pack’ of regulation under The Health and Safety at Work Act. These steps are preventative measures to reduce the need for first aid in the first place by making the workplace safer. However, despite the best preparation, accidents do happen and people can fall ill, and this is where first aid training comes in.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT STRATEGY The most successful first aid provisions are those that are tailored to the risks and unique needs of an organisation as part of a wider safety management strategy. A school, for example, will have a very different risk profile to a local authority office. This will affect the type of first aid training and equipment needed. In schools, the treatment of bleeds and head injuries is likely to be a priority, whereas office first aiders report that they are often called upon to give initial treatment to colleagues with medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart conditions.

The different types of incidents and illnesses that may occur in a specific working environment can be overlooked by a generic approach, so by tailoring their first aid provision to the needs of their employees and the public, organisations can make sure that their first aiders are trained to respond in any circumstance.

Some workplaces also present a higher

First Aid

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

By tailoring their first aid provision to the needs of their employees and the public, organisations can make sure that their first aiders are trained to respond in any circumstance risk than others; employees working in the police or NHS face greater risks than the average office worker. The comprehensiveness of the training first aiders take should be appropriate to the level of risk.

BEST PRACTICE The sensible step-by-step approach for a public sector organisation really is very simple. It should begin by setting out the legal framework of responsibilities around the provision of first aid which, as previously mentioned, underpin first aid in the workplace.

Having outlined an organisation’s legal obligation, it is equally important to also develop an environment where there is an awareness of the importance of first aid, moving away from any misapprehensions around simply providing treatment for minor injuries, but instead as a set of skills that address the most likely risks and enable people to save lives. As part of this employee education, all designated first aiders and the significance of their role should be

known and understood by the remaining workforce. In an emergency, every second counts, so understanding the impact a first aider could have on the situation and being able to locate one quickly, is critical.

For this best practice approach to work, it requires an organisation – private or public – to have a sufficient number of people that have undertaken and successfully passed a first aid training course, ideally tailored to the nature of the working environment and the people who work and use the services there.

St John Ambulance holds thousands of training courses across the country every year, including a full suite of first aid, risk assessment, fire marshal, and moving and handling courses, enabling hundreds of thousands of people to be the difference in their workplace – and outside of work – to protect their colleagues, family, friends, and members of the community. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.sja.org.uk

FIRST AID TRAINING

WH E N MINU TE S MATT ER

EMERGENCY FIRST AID AT WORK EMERGENCY FIRST AID (1/2-DAY) EMERGENCY FIRST AID AT WORK (1-DAY) ACTIVITY FIRST AID (2-DAY) PAEDIATRIC FIRST AID (2-DAY) FIRST AID AT WORK (3-DAY) WE TAYLOR-MAKE FIRST AID TO THE INDIVIDUAL ORGANISATION

T: 01252 725 656 E: admin@mcgtraining.co.uk W: www.mcgtraining.co.uk

Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Case Study

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

An impressive, flexible, stylish and unique conference and events venue in the heart of East Anglia For over 350 years Newmarket Racecourses has been synonymous with horse racing’s classic events, including the prestigious QIPCO Guineas Festival and the popular Moët and Chandon July Festival, both attracting over 45,000 guests. Though the Rowley Mile is famous for its world‑class racing, the Millennium Grandstand, opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 2000, is an equally impressive venue for non-racing events and has hosted hundreds of successful conferences and exhibitions over the years.

With a stunning backdrop of the Heath, the grandstand is situated at the heart of the racecourse and the views are really what makes it such a special place. It is a location which lends itself to any event and always offers a very special sense of occasion, thanks to the racecourse environment and its inextricable links to sporting excellence and royal history.

Situated just a few miles from Cambridge, the Rowley Mile benefits from swift and easy access thanks to its proximity to the A11 and A14. There is also a train station on the doorstep, with easy links to both

London and the North of England.

The picturesque site offers modern indoor facilities, flexible meeting rooms, stylish banqueting suites, spacious exhibition halls, beautiful outdoor spaces and ample free parking.

It is available for large scale conferences for up to 500 delegates, consumer and trade exhibitions, business meetings, interactive team building events, product launches, private parties – and in December, our renowned Christmas party nights.

A highly experienced Conference and Events team will help plan and accommodate your event needs to the highest level. Working with trusted suppliers and the in-house catering team, staff at Newmarket Racecourses will ensure your experience of hosting an event at the venue is of exceptional quality.

Here is what some of Newmarket’s previous clients have said: ‘The Rowley Mile Conference Centre offers a flexible, friendly and professional service’– Royal College of General Practitioners; ‘Fantastic venue which is a pleasure to visit, first class facilities’ – Intuit; and ‘Excellent customer service and really attentive, thank you’ – Anglian Water.

With special government rates from £37 per person + vat for 2018, there’s no better venue in the East of England to host your next event.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01638 675300 newmarket.conferences@ thejockeyclub.co.uk www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk

2018 GOVERNMENT RATES FROM £37 PER PERSON + VAT Book now on 01638 675300

WWW.NEWMARKETRACECOURSES.CO.UK

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

SOUTH EAST

Step back in time: conferencing in the South East

Conferences & Events

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

Neighbouring London, South East England boasts of rolling countrysides, chalk hills, Victorian towns and country houses. With such heritage, the region prides itself on being an ideal location for hosting conferences and meetings Generally recognised as encompassing Surrey, Kent and East and West Sussex, the South East hosts a number of glorious castles and cathedrals. Whether you’re planning an important business meeting or looking for the ideal conference venue, the south ensures your day will go off without a hitch.

There are a number of organisations across the region that can give specific support in finding and booking venues and accommodation for conferences, business meetings, exhibitions or corporate social functions, including Conference Maidstone, Hampshire Conference Bureau, Destination Southampton, Visit Brighton and Visit Surrey.

Tourism South East has launched a new business tourism campaign ‘Meet Beyond London’, encouraging domestic and international meeting professionals to host a diverse range of events outside of London. The quality of Meet Beyond London’s conference, meeting and event facilities are second to none without the cost associated with

the capital. With a wide range of unique and inspiring venues, there is something for every business need and budget.

The variety of venues across South East England mean there is something to suite all types of events, catering for a variety of functions. Why not treat your delegates to a trip on the world’s first vertical cable car – the British Airways i360, in Brighton – in between presentations; or hold your next gala dinner overlooking Henry VIII’s Tudor Warship, the Mary Rose at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard; or ensure a ‘wow’ factor backdrop for your next corporate summer BBQ by holding it within the grounds of the historic Leeds Castle in Kent?

encompasses picture postcard English villages, glorious gardens, royal palaces and ruined castles, together with beautiful stretches of waterway and opulent stately homes.

Guildford and the surrounding Surrey countryside is the ideal, accessible location for events of all types. Just 35 minutes from London by train; close to Heathrow and Gatwick and well served by M25, A3 and M3. Choose from purpose built conference hotels, country manor hotels, town centre venues close to train stations – or tranquil countryside; theatres to castles and everything in between.

Surrey, with its county town Guildford and many rural towns and villages, offers a wealth of activities to package around your event. First class entertainment, excellent shopping, rich heritage and cultural experiences are plentiful to enhance and enrich your stay. You can even explore the surrounding countryside in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for walks or cycle rides, stunning views, pub lunches and afternoon teas.

Among a number of great venue options is Guildford Castle. Its situation within superb landscaped gardens with stunning views of the town, makes it an unforgettable venue.

Alternatively, H.G. Wells Conference & Event Centre is a versatile venue that is idea for a plethora of events and with over 25 years of experience in running corporate events for both large organisations and SMEs they are committed to delivering the best possible customer service. H.G. Wells specialises in corporate E

The q of Mee uality London t Beyond ’s and eve conference are sec nt facilities o withou nd to none associa t the cost ted wi capital th the

NATURAL BEAUTY The rolling countryside and vast woodlands of Surrey make it surprising that the county is only a stone throws distance from London. Claimed to be England’s leafiest county, a visit to Surrey

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

GOLF CLUB

“No event is the same and that’s what we love!”

Harleyford Golf Club has a variety of versatile rooms to hire.

Beautiful, picturesque surroundings.

Victorian style converted barn.

Modern facilities.

Fantastic menus to suit every taste & budget.

Dedicated events team to ensure your day goes to plan.

What ever the occasion, Harleyford Golf Club is the perfect venue.

Conferences and Meetings

Bromley Court Hotel hosts flexible meetings rooms offering facilities for between 2-150 delegates in a unique setting.

We can host private dining to corporate events, incentive groups, exhibitions and product launches, training sessions and team building events in our fantastic 2 acres of landscaped gardens. We treat each and every business with the personal attention they deserve organising your event from beginning to end, with regular contact and a professional approach to your goals.

Day delegate rate packages available starting from £40 per delegate, based on a minimum of 10 delegates

For more information or to book, Phone: 01628 816 161 Email: sales@harleyfordgolf.co.uk Harleyford Golf Club Marlow LTD, Harleyford Estate, Henley Road, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, SL7 2SP

Exceptional views from inspirational spaces at the International Lawn Tennis Centre and new Tennis Players’ Venue, Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, East Sussex Superb on-site catering, AV support and convenient parking Room rates from just £120+VAT 01323 415437 ConferenceEastbourne.com conference@eastbourne.gov.uk

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GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

For more information please call our Meeting & Events Co-Ordinator on 020 8461 8608

www.bromleycourthotel.co.uk

SOUTH EAST  and private events including conferences, meetings, exhibitions, product launches, award dinners, dinner dances, weddings, Christmas parties, concerts, sporting events and more.

The professional event centre has six event spaces catering for one guest to 600 and based in the centre of Woking Town Centre they are easily accessible for all delegates and guests alike. With event management, AV, lighting and catering all provided in house, and a friendly team with years of experience, H.G. Wells Conference & Events Centre is spectacular for any shape or size event.

THE GARDEN OF ENGLAND Kent, known as the Garden of England, has breathtaking countryside dotted with orchards, vineyards, hop gardens, coasthouses and more famously the White Cliffs of Dover. The county is steeped in history and heritage, stunning gardens and world famous buildings including Leeds Castle where Henry VIII visited frequently in Tudor times, and Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn.

The South East region offers a selection of remarkable conference venues in both new and traditional settings including modern hotels, purpose built conference centres and historic houses and well as unusual venues.

In Kent you will find some of the most recognised chain hotels such as the Marriott, Hilton, Ramada and QHotels. Kent towns range from the seaside resorts of Herne Bay, Folkestone, Dover and Hythe, which are great locations for team away days. More urban areas include Ashford, Maidstone,

The South East region offers a selection of remarkable conference venues in both new and traditional settings including modern hotels, purpose built conference centres and historic houses and well as unusual venues Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells, all easily accessible from the UK motorway network.

Kent Conference Bureau is the official award winning organisation charged with promoting the county as a first class destination for conferences, incentives and events. The bureau represents over 65 of the county’s top venues and suppliers, and provides a variety of free services to help ensure each and every event is a success from beginning to end.

The friendly team at Kent Conference Bureau are dedicated to making life simpler by offering free, impartial, practical advice, and a written personalised proposal detailing rates and availability within one working day.

In addition, show-rounds of venues within Kent can be arranged to ensure the site of your choice meets your specific needs and requirements. All Kent venues have something different to offer facilitators, speakers and delegates. Your next meeting could really be the one your delegates remember.

Maidstone is the perfect place for business meetings and events. Easy access to the motorway network and a wide variety of venues in all shapes and sizes, whether

Conferences & Events

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

it be for a small meeting for two or three or a conference for thousands. Surrounded by beautiful countryside and right next to the River Medway, Maidstone nestles at the foot of the North Downs. As the county town, Maidstone has a colourful history, with many fascinating old buildings, alongside a vibrant shopping centre.

The Kent Event Centre is ‘the most flexible and versatile event space in Kent’. Set in over 200 acres, the Kent Event Centre is the largest conference facility in Kent, offering over 7,000sqm of indoor space. There are three main exhibition halls, ideal for creating stunning exhibitions, trade fairs or public shows. Three are interconnected; the John Hendry, the Maidstone Exhibition Hall, and the Astor Pavilion. The Clive Emson Conference Centre has 1700sqm of space within the single span building. In addition we also have five meeting rooms which can cater between eight-100 delegates. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.visitsoutheastengland.com www.meetbeyondlondon.com

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24/10/2017 17:02

EVENT PREVIEW

Home is where the sector meets

Homes 2017, taking place on 22-23 November, is the only event in the UK dedicated to residential development, strategic asset management and procurement solutions. Government Business looks at some of the key conference sessions Local Government Minister Marcus Jones has announced a new approach to encourage the supply of a wide range of supported housing.

As part of the government plans, a proposed ‘sheltered rent’ for sheltered and extra care housing will keep rent and service charge at an appropriate level, protecting the housing needs of older and vulnerable people.

Supported housing provides a home to some of the most vulnerable people in this country and the vast majority is provided for older people. Reforms will ensure funding certainty for the sector, and encourage long‑term investment and new supply.

Local areas will be taking a bigger role in providing short-term and emergency housing through a ring‑fenced grant to local authorities

by April 2020.

The grant will be underpinned by a National Statement of Expectation setting out

how local authorities should plan effectively for provision in their area.

Jones said: “This government is committed to boosting the supply of new homes, and helping people to live independently and with dignity for as long as possible. This is why we are giving the supported housing sector the certainty of funding they need to get building new homes. These reforms will deliver quality and value for money, funding certainty for the sector and give local areas a greater role in commissioning services.”

With over 3,000 visitors expected to attend, Homes 2017 is the ideal conference in which to explore the latest thinking about housing supply, discover the latest innovations, speak to your supply chain and be inspired by the best minds in housing.

Spread over five theatres, 120 exhibitors and 100 speakers provide the perfect

We are ee a to s startingpproaches a shift in aging assets to man e generation om and inc oss housing d acr tions an associa thorities local au

Homes 2017

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

networking environment, with 75 per cent of attendees from last year’s show rating networking as excellent. With 70 per cent of visitors from a senior decision making level or above, learning and networking is expected to improve year-on-year.

THE HOUSING MARKET AHEAD In an insightful opening keynote, two leading economists will provide an expert forecast for the UK housing market in the years ahead, discussing the short term and long term fundamentals pertinent to the UK and the potential output growth figures. The session, led by the Centre for Economics and Business Research’s Kay Neufeld and Christine Whitehead, of LSE, will also explore the role of housing associations in expanding supply and the likely impact of issues such as Brexit on construction labour and supply chain costs.

Fully funded community energy schemes are a new initiative launched by Solarplicity – one of the UK’s leading suppliers of renewable energy and the newest name to challenge the monopoly of the Big 6 energy suppliers.

In partnership with social housing providers across the UK, Solarplicity’s new community energy schemes will help tenants gain access to affordable, renewable electricity.

In this session, Tim Day, Solarplicity’s head of sales, will explore the potential of community energy schemes and how it can benefit both you and your tenants, including: how you can help your tenants save money every year on their energy bills; how your organisation can earn a share of the profits to invest in important community projects; how to improve the SAP points on your housing stock; and the ways to lower your carbon footprint and meet your CSR. Dealing with energy companies is time E

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EVENT PREVIEW

Dealing with energy companies is time consuming, complicated and often frustrating. When you consider the increasing pressure to reduce void turnaround times, the landscape becomes increasingly complex

 consuming, complicated and often frustrating. When you consider the increasing pressure to reduce void turnaround times, whilst also ensuring tenants have access to affordable warmth, the landscape becomes increasingly complex. Having worked with registered social landlords for nearly a decade, Energy Angels has developed a more comprehensive solution to void energy management. The company’s latest projects, working with Logicor Energy, further develops an approach which satisfies landlords’ practical needs for all void properties whilst also reducing fuel poverty and improving energy efficiency. Utilising the latest smart infrared heating system enables landlords to effectively decarbonise and futureproof properties, whilst also reducing heating and capital costs. This session will be led by Leigh Fairbrother and Bernie McCullagh.

THE SMART HOME PRP’s seminar at this year’s conference will explore the topic of the smart home and what it means for the future of housing. The interactive session will take an in-depth look at smart controls and systems and how they are being incorporated into residential developments. Featuring a series of short presentations, topics will include: what the drivers for incorporating smart technologies are; the benefits for residents and landlords; what the emerging and future technologies may be; and how do we future proof homes to adapt to technological advancement?

Free superfast broadband, complimentary taxi rides, no deposits, agency fees and utility bills are just a few of the perks that developers are factoring into their schemes in the emerging build-to-rent sector. In this session, led by Johnny Caddice, Harry Downes, Iain Murray and Alex Notay, you will hear from some of the innovators at the forefront of the PRS sector and how they are differentiating themselves as the market begins to mature and becomes more competitive and customer-focused.

Mears and fifteen other housing organisations have been working collaboratively to rethink the sector’s approach to organising and delivering repairs and maintenance as part of the CIH Working Together programme. This session will showcase the key findings from the Working Together to Rethink Repairs project which has produced valuable insight to help set a new agenda for repairs maintenance practitioners. The aim has been to help our sector to better focus resources on delivering core investment necessary in sustaining safe, warm and comfortable homes, all in partnership with residents and the wider landlord team.

ownership development; Best older people’s housing development; Best regeneration project; Best approach to modular construction; Best development team; Best sales and marketing team; Best architectural design; Best engineering solution; Best partnership; and Best deal. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.homesevent.co.uk

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Tailored solutions in timber We deliver made-to-measure timber window and door contracts up to £1m and beyond in the replacement and new build sectors

LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND HOUSING We are starting to see a shift in approaches to managing assets and income generation across housing associations and local authorities.

In this session, a panel of experts will explore examples of projects where innovative funding and delivery methods are showing real return on investment in the short, medium and longer term.

INSIDE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AWARDS Brand new to Homes this year, the Inside Housing Development Awards are an opportunity to celebrate the very best residential development across the UK from the past year. With thirteen categories recognising schemes, teams and solutions, there is a category to suit all the key players, including landlords, developers, architects and funders.

The categories are: Best residential development; Best affordable housing development; Best build for rent development; Best shared

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GT News

SMART CITIES

Bristol overtakes London as smartest city in UK The second UK Smart Cities Index, commissioned by Huawei UK and conducted

by Navigant Consulting, has revealed that Bristol is now the UK’s leading smart city.

Bristol and London were previously named as ‘leaders’ in the UK, with the South West city taking the next top spot. However, Bristol has moved up the rankings as a result of it taking significant steps to extend its innovation programmes and closely

integrate those initiatives into city strategy.

The Bristol Is Open project provides a large scale connectivity testbed and the new City Operations Centre ensures services are effectively implemented.

The city also leads in data access, energy innovation and community engagement.

The report, which is based on evaluations of 20 cities and their strategies, key projects and overall readiness in using

CYBER SECURITY

BROADBAND

Cyber Discovery training programme opens

Broadband boost for businesses

The government’s £20 million Cyber Discovery programme has invited young people between the ages of 14-18 to test their skills in online real-world cyber challenges to see if they have the potential of playing a role in defending the nation from future online threats.

High performing individuals, who have until early January 2018 to take the assessment, will also have the opportunity to take part in face-to-face interactions with cyber security experts and attend regional camps. This is part of the government’s National Cyber Security Programme to find, finesse and fast‑track tomorrow’s online security experts.

Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: “This government is committed to improving the skills of the next generation and encouraging the best young minds into cyber security. Cyber Discovery will help inspire the digital talent of tomorrow and give thousands of young people the opportunity to develop cutting-edge cyber security skills and fast-track future careers. This important programme is part of our £1.9 billion investment to protect from online threats and make Britain the safest place to be online.”

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As part of a £2 million trial taking place in four areas around the UK, suppliers will be offering vouchers to local businesses which can then be used to pay for the installation of gigabit speed connections.

Hoping to encourage the market to extend full fibre infrastructure in the UK by increasing demand and reducing the cost to customers, full fibre gigabit connection will allow businesses to upload and download massive files in a matter of seconds and enable the widespread use of video-conferencing throughout an organisation.

It also benefits companies in providing an unprecedented level of reliability whilst greatly enhancing resilience and allowing businesses in remote communities to compete on a technologically level playing field with those companies based in major cities who may already have full fibre connectivity.

Four areas across the UK, in Aberdeen, North East Somerset, Warwickshire and the

digital technology in order to improve civic services, also singled out Bristol for praise in community engagement, including the Citizen Sensing strategy developed by Knowle West Media Centre. This is designed to allow people to build or use sensors to tackle issues that are important to them.

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West Yorkshire Combined Authority, have been carefully selected to test the market conditions and infrastructure conditions we aim to help to create through the wider Local Full Fibre Network programme.

Matt Hancock, Minister for Digital, said: “A world-class digital communications network is essential to ensure the UK’s future competitiveness in the global market and its ability to attract investment.

Faster and more reliable connections are transforming the way we live and work, and better broadband supports businesses to grow and become more productive. These voucher pilots, alongside a range of other actions, are testament to government’s ambition for full fibre infrastructure across the UK to underpin our digital economy.”

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TRANSPORT APPS

Cardiff introduces smart parking in city Cardiff Council has launched a parking app to assist motorists in the Welsh capital find real-time available spaces in the city.

The £900,000 system, which saw the installation of 3,300 sensors in parking bays across the region, is similar to that used in Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, South Africa and Europe. However, Cardiff is the first

GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE | Volume 15.6

council in Europe to roll out this technology across its city‑wide road network.

The system operates with vehicle detection sensors, embedded into the road, detecting whether or not the parking bay is occupied using infrared technology.

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BROADBAND

TECH HUBS

Broadband and landline users to get automatic compensation

£21 million to create new tech hubs network

The regulator Ofcom has warned that broadband and landline customers will get money back from their providers when things go wrong without having to claim.

Telecoms companies do not always provide the standard of service customers expect, and customers are not always adequately compensated when service falls short. So Ofcom has set out plans for people to be compensated automatically by providers for slow repairs, missed appointments and delayed installations. This means credit on the customer’s account without having to ask.

As a result of Ofcom’s intervention, BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Zen Internet have agreed to introduce automatic compensation, which will reflect the harm consumers suffer when things go wrong.

Currently, compensation is paid out in around one in seven cases of landline or broadband customers suffering slow repairs, delayed installations or missed engineer appointments; and even then, only in small amounts.

Launching the first ever automatic compensation scheme for telecoms customers

will be complex, and requires changes to providers’ billing systems, online accounts and call centres. There will be a 15-month implementation period before it comes into effect to ensure a smooth introduction.

Consumers currently experiencing problems can find advice on Ofcom’s website.

Automatic compensation is one of several areas where Ofcom is working to protect telecoms customers. These include ensuring lower charges for landline customers; better information on broadband speeds before entering a contact; detailed information on how different providers perform; and fining companies for poor behaviour.

Ofcom is also introducing new rules to ensure all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are given clearer, more detailed information up front about what service quality to expect – including whether they can claim compensation when problems occur.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has announced a £21 million investment to create a new national network of regional tech hubs in areas across the country, including Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Birmingham.

As part of the announcement, Tech City UK and Tech North are to become a national organisation, Tech Nation, to speed up the growth of the UK’s pioneering and innovative digital companies and clusters, accelerating the roll-out its tech-hub model.

The funding will see the creation of 11 regional hubs, the first of which will be located in: Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow, Belfast, Cardiff and London.

Matt Hancock, Minister for Digital, said: “This new funding is an important part of our plans to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business, with the benefits spread right across the country. This regional network will accelerate the growth of the digital tech sector, cement the pipeline of talent and spark the next generation of innovative firms to seize the future opportunities of digitisation – bringing jobs, skills and higher productivity to our regions.”

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LONDON

Mayor launches tech initiatives to boost sector

CYBER SECURITY

Councils need further cyber funding The Local Government Association (LGA) says that councils need more funding to ensure their computer systems, infrastructure and data are protected against cyber attacks.

As part of its Budget submission, the LGA is urging for funding for councils and local partner organisations to increase their collective capacity to respond to increasingly hostile cyber attacks, which have affected 52 per cent of UK businesses.

Latest figures indicate that UK businesses were subjected to nearly 65,000 cyber attacks in the three months of April to June 2017, a rise of 52 per cent on the first quarter of 2017. With more joined-up services planned, leading to increased sharing of information and with malware attacks becoming more frequent and sophisticated, the LGA says more funding is needed to ensure local authorities do not expose themselves inadvertently to any cyber threat.

Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said: “As local authorities work even more with partners on national initiatives, councils need to share more sensitive and personal information with organisations including hospitals, GPs, care homes, schools,

GT News

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

academies, police and probationary services.

For this reason councils need to ensure confidential information is protected as securely as possible from the rising number of cyber attacks which can bring businesses to their knees, by putting their IT services out of action for days and compromising personal data. Some hackers hold their victims to ransom by demanding an extortionate fee is paid to restore IT systems back to normal, even though there is no guarantee this will happen. Investing in cyber security must be seen as an economic opportunity and we urge government to allocate funding to councils to build capacity to respond to the growing threat of cyber attacks and ensure the safeguarding of personal data is as strong as possible.”

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/y8zbkwnn

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched two major tech initiatives to boost the sector and help harness the capital’s tech talent to make life better for Londoners.

Speaking at WIRED Live at Tobacco Dock in east London, the Mayor announced that City Hall will fund 20 investment days over the next four years, to give innovative tech firms the opportunity to attract crucial funding to enable them to grow. Each event, run by the UK Business Angels Association, will focus on a specific area of tech and will offer coaching to the leaders of hose burgeoning companies.

Khan also announced that Bloomberg Associates will help shape the new Smart London Plan, in partnership with the Smart London Board. The document will outline plans to harness the new technologies being pioneered in the capital to transform London into one of the world’s leading smart cities.

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Advertisement Feature

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

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

DEMYSTIFYING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR In recent years the government has made efforts to modernise how it works.

It is the relentless pace of technological progress and the growing expectation of citizens for on-demand services that has led it to develop the Government Transformation Strategy (2017-2020), which sets out how the government will use digital to transform the relationship between the citizen and the state Digitising government will have its challenges due to the need for high levels of compliance, large volumes of personal data and a diverse range of mission-critical responsibilities. The intricate environment in which the public sector operates in means a lot of its work is complex, confidential and critical to the smooth day-to-day running of the country.

For the public sector to operate more effectively, it needs to embrace digital technologies to allow it to open up lines of communication and improve business processes.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ‘DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION’?

For many of us when we think about digital we think of a device, such as a smart phone or laptop. But digital is much more than technological advances. In essence, it’s all about connections – it’s what helps us enhance communications, transactions and networks. It gives us information at our fingertips and allows us to enhance the customer journey and provide world-class services on a large and personal scale.

When carefully managed, digital transformation will promote innovative and agile thinking, helping us to stay ahead of the curve and future‑proof our work. Essentially, digital has the capacity to transform how we do business by allowing us to work smarter and faster.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN PUBLIC SECTOR To help transform the public sector through digital, there needs to be a robust framework for innovation and change management.

The key will be to target priority areas first and seek buy-in from public servants from the beginning. For too long the public sector has maintained paper-driven and laborious manual tasks, with disparities from one department to the next.

It is clear that legacy systems need to be

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modernised, business processes streamlined and technologies such as citizen portals, biometrics and mobile workforce solutions will bring about efficiencies across departments and boost productivity. Standardisation can be achieved by introducing solutions such as process automation, digital data and networks.

The key to the successful implementation of digital business solutions is guiding employees through new procedures and helping them to harness digital skills.

Research by Equiniti has shown that empowering employees with technology which supports them in their roles improves productivity and workplace satisfaction.1 THE BACKBONE OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR Back-office processes are seen as the backbone of public sector and once these are re-shaped and digitised for public servants, front-end services will begin to improve and meet the growing demands of the population.

Citizens will benefit from a faster and more personalised service, similar to that which they receive from the private sector, such as ePayments and digital on-boarding.

Digital Transformation and digital services in the public sector are now a necessity to ensure that they meet the needs of the modern citizen, where service

accessibility is key. They have come to expect services when they want them, where they want them and how they want them and if the public sector is to keep up, they need to offer the same level of service.

At Equiniti, we believe that digital transformation provides organisations with innovative technology that de-risks projects, shortens time to value and improves the overall customer experience.

The belief is that, in essence, digital transformation enables organisations to achieve more and new with less.

The end goal has to be the creation of a digital ecosystem that all relevant stakeholders can feed in to so there is transparency and traceability for the work that the public sector does.

The result will be heightened staff productivity and world-class services for Citizens – an important foundation for economic growth. L

Driving Central Government Transformation, Equiniti 2017 1

FURTHER INFORMATION T: 02890 454166 E: enquiries@equiniti-ics.com Web: equiniti-assured.com

TECHNOLOGY

Written by Louisa Dean, Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead

Adopting a transparency manifesto

to remove disjointed, siloed systems and implement a unified ‘real-time’ digital customer services platform. We chose Jadu Continuum CXM, a ‘lite CRM’ that allows real-time updates, transparency, collaboration and instant chat for staff and residents online.

We also opted for Jadu Continuum XFP, a secure and flexible eForms solution that provides non-technical tools to build online forms. Procurement was handled through the G-Cloud. It was a rapid and efficient process; the selection was made in March 2016 and implementation began in April 2016.

The G-Cloud enabled us to ‘start Louisa Dean, communications and marketing manager small’ and iterate the roll out of digital services, learning with each service. This is for the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, looks important because, together with Jadu, at the benefits of creating a touchless digital council we based the project loosely on the Local Government Service Standards, which – The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead THE APPROACH among other things – suggests that the needs to make 40 per cent in savings across We’ve adopted what we call a ‘transparency council ‘test the service from beginning all service areas over a three-year period. manifesto’ whereby we want users to have to end with appropriate council members We’ve committed to limiting council tax complete oversight of, and ability to track or senior managers responsible for it’. rises at or below the rate of inflation, while the progress of, their interactions Very early in the project, we made further improving services for residents. with the council 24/7. We’d sure that members were closely So, savings need to be made through better previously used a legacy involved in the process. As T he ways of working and improved delivery.

CRM system that managed part of the delivery, Jadu Royal B The focus is on implementing a new 10 per cent of service filmed ‘sprint’ videos orough of Wind digital customer service strategy that requests, a forms which were recorded enables efficient self-service. Historically, product that generated by the project teams Maiden sor & 82 per cent of resident contact has come emails, as well as and shared with all a targe head set t via telephone, with only 10 per cent of Salesforce.com within senior stakeholders, o f r educin inbound contact being made online. We’ve set a customer services. including members. g and inc call contact target of reducing inbound call contact and The digital The team also reasing increasing online interaction by 60 per cent. transformation had started a blog to E

Digital Transformation

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

onl interact ion by ine 60 per cent

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GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE | Volume 15.6

 ensure that learning and discovery, as well as outcomes, were shared with the community inside local government. This transparent approach meant that everyone with an interest in the transformation to digital was kept informed and enthusiastic.

Using an ‘iterative’ roll out process, creating a roadmap of services to ‘offboard’ from our legacy CRM products, we’ve been able to prioritise our effort and time to deliver the right services in the right order.

Green waste was chosen as the first service on the new platform due to the number of residents using the service.

It’s a complex workflow and required the automation of renewals and collections and cancellations, involving a third-party contractor and is linked to payments and cash receipting, therefore requiring integration.

By making the process available online, it allows residents who wish to carry out this task online to do so, speeding up the process and giving them improved outcomes.

Green waste was followed by further waste services, parking services, democratic services, and school transport services.

One of the biggest advantages of Jadu Continuum CXM is that it provides one centralised work queue for all teams to access and manage queries with an update on the status of the case. Changes in the status trigger an email notification for the customer so they are continuously kept up to date, delivering an ‘Amazon-like experience’.

Rather than implementing an expensive solution to deliver the personalisation and account features, we used the standard out of the box features of the Jadu platform.

We leveraged a standard feature of the Jadu XFP solution that delivers a personalised ‘MyAccount’ page for customers who wish to register and track services. There is complete transparency and residents can

Digital Transformation

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

Customers now have two-way, open communication with the council and are equally involved as they can upload documents or add comments to their case, in real time see updates to their cases by their case handler or agent. They can log-in and track the progress of cases as well as receive ongoing updates on the status of their cases.

We’d initially created a ‘long list’ of all the line of business systems we felt needed to be integrated to the new digital customer platform. The list of over 20 systems ranged from revenues and benefits systems to environmental services.

Once the first phase was underway and nearing completion, we reviewed the list and based on knowledge of the new digital platform, arrived at a much shorter list of around five core systems. We are now reviewing the work we have achieved and are looking at further integration for our residents to ensure that they can complete their business online and we can reduce the number of calls in to the contact centre.

THE RESULTS The real benefit is that customers now have two-way, open communication with the council and are equally involved as they can upload documents or add comments to their case, in real time.

Most importantly, this can be done on any device (mobile or desktop). Research conducted and interpreted by Spacecraft Digital, along with website analytics, showed that a high volume of traffic to the council website comes from mobile devices and tablets. With the new digital services in place, customers can apply and pay for services,

track their service requests in real time and view all historic requests. Now, customer contact is seven days a week via a digital platform and will continue to be this way.

Systems being rationalised initially in this project will lead to over £80,000 of savings in costs per annum, including the replacement of legacy CRM, forms and customer service solutions. What is particularly great is that Jadu is training our team to use the system as they would themselves. So, in the future we can reduce our investment in Jadu professional services and yet continue to develop digital services for our residents.

Cllr Stuart Carroll, principal member for communications and public health, says: “Ensuring our entire communications strategy and work across the council is geared towards a residents first approach is imperative. That is why we are in the process of redesigning the front end of the website. As a keystone of this process has been looking at the CXM and how that works for the rest of our residents and the services they need.

“Having recently taken over the digital journey at the council which is a passion and priority of mine, I was pleased with the easy to use front end of the CXM. I very much hope that residents sign up to this system and we can offer more digital and online services to embed the principle digital by choice.”L FURTHER INFORMATION www.rbwm.gov.uk

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Data Protection Written by Victoria Cetinkaya, senior policy officer for Public Sector Engagement, Information Commissioner’s Office

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

GDPR

Setting the record straight on data protection law change Victoria Cetinkaya, from the Information Commissioner’s Office, looks at the main aims and principles of GDPR, and dispels some of the recent misconceptions Not everything you read or hear about then most of your approach to compliance the new General Data Protection will remain valid under the GDPR and Regulation (GDPR) is true. For the most can be the starting point to build from. part, writers, bloggers and expert speakers However there are new elements and have their facts straight. And what they some significant enhancements, so you will say – and sometimes challenge – helps have to do some things for the first time organisations prepare for what’s ahead. and some things differently. The GDPR will But there’s some misinformation out there include new obligations for organisations – too. Examples we’ve seen include ‘GDPR will such as reporting data breaches that pose stop dentists ringing patients to remind them a risk to individuals to us at the ICO, and about their appointments’ and we’ve even in some cases to the individuals affected. heard people saying that big fines will fund Another key change for organisations is our work. If this sort of misconception goes understanding the new rights for the public. unchecked, people lose sight of what the new Consumers and citizens will have stronger law is about – greater transparency, enhanced rights to be informed about how organisations rights for citizens and increased accountability. use their personal data. They’ll have the right The level of detail you need about the GDPR to request that personal data be deleted or will depend on your job but the key principles removed if there’s no compelling reason for apply across all sectors and all levels of staff. an organisation to carry on processing it, That means looking after people’s information, and new rights around data portability and being transparent about what you’re doing how they give consent. There’s a view from with it and keeping their privacy rights in some that the new regime is an onerous mind from the start of any project. imposition of unnecessary Many of the GDPR’s main aims and costly red tape. and principles are the same as That’s not the case. e those in the Data Protection GDPR is an evolution It will b y to r Act. So if you’re complying in data protection, o t a d l man a n properly with the current law, not a revolution. o s er

p report aeach under data br if it’s likely R the GDPlt in a risk to to resu le’s rights peop edoms and fre

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BUSTING MISCONCEPTIONS It’s this kind of myth we at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) are working to bust as we try to help organisations sort GDPR fact from fiction: Myth: The biggest threat to organisations from the GDPR is massive fines.

Fact: This law is not about fines. It’s about putting the consumer and citizen first. We can’t lose sight of that. It’s true we’ll have the power to impose fines much bigger than the £500,000 limit the DPA allows us.

It’s also true that companies are fearful of the maximum £17 million or four per cent of turnover allowed under the new law.

But it’s scaremongering to suggest that we’ll be making early examples of organisations for minor infringements or that maximum fines will become the norm. The ICO’s commitment to guiding, advising and educating organisations about how to comply with the law will not change under the GDPR. We have always preferred the carrot to the stick.

Myth: You must have consent if you want to process personal data.

Fact: Headlines about consent often lack context or understanding about all the different lawful bases businesses and

organisations will have for processing personal information under the GDPR. Consent is one way to comply with the GDPR, but it’s not the only way.

The new law provides five other ways of processing data that will in many cases be more appropriate than consent for public bodies. If you do need to rely on consent for any processing, the GDPR is raising the bar to a higher standard for consent.

Consent under the current data protection law has always required a clear, affirmative action – the GDPR clarifies that pre-ticked opt-in boxes are not indications of valid consent. The GDPR is also explicit that you’ve got to make it easy for people to exercise their right to withdraw consent.

The requirement for clear and plain language when explaining consent is now strongly emphasised. And you’ve got to make sure the consent you’ve already got meets the standards of the GDPR. If not, you’ll have to refresh it.

Myth: All personal data breaches will need to be reported to the ICO. Fact: It will be mandatory to report a personal data breach under the GDPR if it’s likely to result in a risk to people’s rights and freedoms. So if it’s unlikely that there’s a risk to people’s rights and freedoms from the breach, you don’t need to report.

Under the current UK data protection

Many of the GDPR’s main principles are the same as those in the Data Protection Act. So, if you’re complying properly with the current law, then most of your approach to compliance will remain valid under the GDPR law, most personal data breach reporting is good practice but not compulsory. And although certain organisations are required to report under other laws, like the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), – mandatory reporting of a personal data breach that results in a risk to people’s rights and freedoms under the GDPR will be a new requirement for many.

The threshold to determine whether an incident needs to be reported to the ICO depends on the risk it poses to people involved. Pan-European guidelines will assist organisations in determining thresholds for reporting, but the best approach will be to start examining the types of incidents your organisation faces and develop a sense of what constitutes a serious incident in the context of your data and your own customers.

And organisations need to remember that if there’s the likelihood of a high risk to people’s rights and freedoms, they

Compliance is a difficult subject.

Sometimes perceived as a necessary evil.

Sometimes perceived as something to be managed only as and when it comes up.

Take the forthcoming General Data Protection Requirements for example. Many believe they are too small to be impacted, many believe there is no need to be concerned.

Many may be surprised to learn that many may not be as correct as they assumed. This is because data protection applies to every organisation. Big or small, high risk or not, every organisation needs to be compliant.

Data Protection

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

will also need to report the breach to the individuals who have been affected.

We’ve provided some initial guidance in our GDPR overview that high risk situations are likely to include the potential of people suffering significant detrimental effect – for example, discrimination, damage to reputation, financial loss, or any other significant economic or social disadvantage.

If organisations aren’t sure about who is affected, the ICO will be able to advise and, in certain cases, order them to contact the people affected if the incident is judged to be high risk.

Our main aim is to help organisations get it right when it comes to using personal data – and that includes preparing for GDPR. There’s a wealth of material on our website to help. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.ico.org.uk

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Data Protection Written by Julie Nixon & Melanie Schwindt, Morton Fraser

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

DATA COMPLIANCE

GDPR: key points for local and central government Julie Nixon and Melanie Schwindt discuss data protection regulation and offer key recommendations to ensure UK companies are prepared come May next year The new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is due to take effect from 25 May 2018. The GDPR will provide individuals with more control over their personal data and will require organisations to process personal data responsibly and transparently. Given that local and central government work with significant volumes of personal data, some of which may be sensitive, GDPR compliance should be a key priority for them.

Here are some key concepts that the GDPR will implement which will have significance for local and central government.

INCREASED ENFORCEMENT POWERS Under the GDPR, data breaches could result in fines up to four per cent of annual global turnover or €20,000,000, whichever is greater. The ability of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to impose larger fines under the GDPR has already been well documented by the media.

Governmental bodies should review how they process personal data.

Data processing covers all interactions with personal data, from

obtaining the personal data to using, sharing, securing, holding and ultimately deleting it.

As such, data processing procedures should be monitored and reviewed with the aim of minimising the amount of personal data processed and retained. It is worth noting that under the GDPR, data processors – being organisations or individuals contracted to process personal information on behalf of another organisation, e.g. payroll – may also be liable for high fines.

DATA PROTECTION OFFICER Where processing of personal data is carried out by a public authority or body (except for courts acting in their judicial capacity) the public authority must designate an individual within its organisation as a data protection officer (DPO).

What constitutes a public authority or body will be determined by national law.

Where an organisation is not a public body but it carries out a public task, the EU advisory body on data protection and privacy recommends that the organisation appoints a DPO even though it is not required to do so.

PR The GD ide v will pro ls with a individuntrol over o more c rsonal data. e their p is due to This ct from e f f e e k ta 18 May 20

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LAWFUL PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA As with the current Data Protection Act, organisations will be required to identify the basis upon which they are lawfully processing personal data. The GDPR sets out six conditions for processing personal data including performance of a contract, complying with legal obligations and, specifically for public authorities, necessarily processing in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority. Additionally, there are 10 conditions for processing sensitive data such as health data.

Consent from the individual is also a valid condition for processing personal data.

The GDPR makes it clear that consent can only be relied upon if it is freely given, specific, informed and supported by a clear indication of agreement from the individual whose consent is requested. This is a higher standard than under the current legislation.

For example, it will mean that consent would not be valid if acquired for one purpose – email marketing for instance and then used for an entirely different purpose such as selling data to a third party.

Public authorities, in a position of power, are likely to find it more difficult to get valid consent as consent will not

Data Protection

be freely given if there is an imbalance in the relationship between the individual and the organisation. In effect, consent to processing should be the ‘last resort’ where there is no other lawful basis for the proposed data processing activities.

REPORTING SECURITY BREACHES A data security breach is any breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, alteration or unauthorised disclosure of personal data, whether by a third party or by a person within an organisation. Security breaches can range from external hacking attacks to accidentally addressing an email to the wrong person.

The GDPR requires that all organisations will have to report breaches that are likely to harm individuals to national authorities within 72 hours where feasible. In the UK the ICO is the relevant national authority.

If the breach has the potential to result in high risk to the affected individuals, organisations must inform these individuals ‘without undue delay’. Governmental bodies should develop a data breach response plan enabling them to respond quickly in the event of a data breach. This can include a policy of recording all security breaches and completing an assessment of potential risks to the affected individuals in each case.

The GDPR does not set an approved code of conduct or approved certification mechanism that must be complied with regarding security but instead states that organisations must ‘ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk’.

RIGHT TO ACCESS PERSONAL DATA Individuals have the right to access their own personal data held by any organisation.

This is known as a ‘subject access request’.

The rules for dealing with subject access requests will change under the GDPR. The GDPR clarifies that the reason for allowing individuals to access their personal data is so that they are aware of and can verify the lawfulness of the processing.

Organisations will have just a month to comply from the date of receipt of the request.

Where requests are complex or numerous organisations will be able to extend the period of compliance by a further two months. If this is the case the individual must be informed within one month of the receipt of the request and an explanation given as to why the extension is necessary. The organisation must provide a copy of the personal data free of charge in an accessible electronic format.

There will be different grounds for refusing to comply with a subject access request.

Additionally manifestly unfounded or excessive requests can be charged for or refused. The GDPR allows organisations to request that the individual clarifies what specific information the subject access request relates to where large quantities of personal data are relevant, which will be useful for governmental bodies.

The GDPR clarifies that the reason for allowing individuals to access their personal data is so that they are aware of and can verify the lawfulness of the processing RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN In May 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that search engines such as Google were data processors and that citizens had the right to ask that content referring to them be ‘forgotten’. As such this is one of the new rights granted to individuals under the GDPR which has generated attention. Under the GDPR an individual will have the right to ask an organisation to erase their personal data without undue delay in situations where the individual withdraws consent or no other legal ground for processing applies.

Governmental bodies will need to have clear processes in place to enable them to respond to such ‘right to be forgotten’ requests within a month (extensions may be permitted where the request is complex). It is currently unclear whether organisations may retain limited data to ensure that an individual who has asked to be forgotten is not accidentally contacted again. Guidance on this subject is awaited from the ICO and the EU advisory body.

rather than treating it as an afterthought.

All organisations will be required to perform privacy impact assessments (PIAs) where new projects may result in the processing of personal data that could result in a high risk to data subjects. So a PIA should be considered whenever appropriate such as when a new IT system for storing personal data or a new surveillance system is being put in place. Not all projects will be deemed to pose a risk to the privacy of data subjects. Governmental bodies should first ascertain the need for a PIA when undertaking a new project.

While at first glance the GDPR may seem to impose more burdens on organisations, if an organisation is already compliant with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), it should not be onerous to attain compliance under the GDPR. For example, privacy by design and data minimisation are concepts regarded as good practice under the DPA. L

PRIVACY BY DESIGN ‘Privacy by design’ appears as a central concept within the GDPR. It effectively means data protection considerations must be taken into account from the outset of designing a new process, product or service,

Julie Nixon and Melanie Schwindt advise on data protection matters at Scottish law firm Morton Fraser.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.morton-fraser.com

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CRIME

Roderick Jones interview: assessing digital crime

Cyber Security

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

Government Business interviews global security leader Roderick Jones about the current state of UK cyber security During his time as a member of Scotland Yard’s Special Branch, Roderick Jones focused on international terrorism and the protection of a prominent British cabinet member. Since then, Jones founded the cyber security firm Rubica. Here, following a number of cyber attacks on UK organisations in 2017, Government Business (GB) speaks to Roderick Jones (RJ) about digital crime and UK police force capabilities.

GB: A RECENT REPORT BY REFORM HAS ARGUED THAT A RANGE OF CHANGES ARE REQUIRED TO MAKE UK POLICE FORCES FIT TO FIGHT THE GROWING TREND OF DIGITAL CRIME. JUST HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR UK POLICE FORCES TO EDUCATE THEIR MEMBERS OF CYBER CRIMES AND THEIR ROLE IN OTHER OFFENCES? RJ: Successive governments have been proclaiming year-on-year reductions in the crime figures and using this data to design a much more reduced policing delivery in the U.K. However, when cyber crimes were added to the official crime count this year the overall crime rate doubled.

In short, crime has moved off the street and online and arguably by looking at the wrong data for years the Home Office has left UK police forces poorly equipped to handle this change. If half the crimes being committed are wholly digital in nature, and arguably most physical crimes have a digital evidential component to them, then police officers need to be fully conversant in digital crime to be effective.

GB: THE BOBBIES ON THE NET PAPER SUGGESTS THAT THE HOME OFFICE SHOULD ALSO CREATE A DIGITAL ACADEMY TO TRAIN CYBER SPECIALISTS. HOW IMPORTANT ARE CYBER SPECIALISTS IN ASSISTING THE POLICE MEET THE CHALLENGES OF CHANGING DEMANDS? RJ: Training is critical in closing the knowledge gap that exists in the UK police around digital crime. While having a certain number of specialists is important digital training should be a general requirement for police officers and should form part of the basic training curriculum in the same way that other skills are core to being a police officer.

GB: AS THE CAPABILITIES OF TECHNOLOGY EXPAND, SO DO THE THREATS. TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THE DIGITAL SIDE OF TERRORISM CHANGED SINCE YOU WERE A MEMBER OF SCOTLAND YARD’S SPECIAL BRANCH? RJ: Terrorism has almost wholly virtualised in the period from when I was in Special Branch to now. Most aspects of terrorism have moved online from recruitment, ideological engagement, communication, fundraising and training. The one element that has remained physical is the attack itself but this too is likely to migrate online.

Digital assassination of politicians by hacking their digital persona’s is possible and likely as are cyber terrorist spectaculars against infrastructure targets in the UK. It’s impossible to argue why the cyber trend in general crime won’t be fully replicated in terrorism.

GB: HOME SECRETARY AMBER RUDD HAS WARNED THAT ENCRYPTED MESSAGING SERVICES SUCH AS WHATSAPP MUST NOT OFFER TERRORISTS A PLACE TO HIDE. WHAT ARE THE DANGERS AND VULNERABILITIES OF ENCRYPTED APPLICATIONS? RJ: The current Home Secretary hasn’t shown a particularly solid command of her brief when it comes to technology.

Encryption is a fundamental part of the Internet and is used in all kinds of daily digital engagements, so weakening or requiring backdoors to encryption is a misplaced idea.

Technology development can’t be reversed and encrypted communications are now a reality for governments to manage.

There was a time prior to the mass adoption of the Internet when communications between terrorists were hard to intercept, then the Internet provided a brief window when mass interception was possible but this window was negligible when considered over the span of the 100 plus years of modern terrorism in the U.K. A variety of techniques are used to develop intelligence in order to disrupt terrorism plots, intercepting communications is only one tool in this arsenal.

GB: FOLLOWING A NUMBER OF LARGE SCALE HACKS THIS YEAR, ARE ORGANISATION’S SECURITY STANDARDS RIGID ENOUGH TO FACE CHALLENGES? RJ: No they aren’t. However, it is too easy to play the blame game because the Internet was built without any security in place because nobody thought it would be used for so many critical functions. As a society we are trying to adapt as quickly as we can to this reality and build in security after the fact. This takes time and therefore, this gap allows for the golden age of crime we are living through. L Roderick Jones is a global security leader with over 15 years of experience operating at the highest levels of the international security environment.

He is the founder of cyber security firm Rubica. Originally a service of Concentric Advisors, Rubica provides those concerned with online crime the most effective digital security available.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.rubica.com

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FRAMEWORKS

GETTING YOUR WEBSITE READY FOR GDPR If you work in a large organisation, the chances are you’ve heard the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) mentioned more than a few times since it was adopted by the EU last year This new regulation goes further than existing privacy legislation because it covers any information relating to an identified or identifiable person – which includes information such as somebody’s IP address.

When GDPR comes into effect on 25 May 2018 you will also have new responsibilities when it comes to collecting people’s data, processing that data, and what you tell people about the way you intend to use it. I’ll cover all three in this article.

THINGS TO DO NOW: Review how you ask for, record, and manage people’s consent; untick any pre-ticked consent boxes you are currently using; update forms to include information on how you will use people’s data and ask them for consent for each purpose; begin getting your users to update any existing consent that doesn’t meet the new standard; and audit your website cookies to determine which require consent.

ASKING FOR CONSENT TO COLLECT DATA The biggest implication of GDPR for web teams is the change to consent. People must now give you their explicit consent before you can use their data. This must be: freely given; specific; informed and unambiguous.

It will no longer be enough to add a pre‑ticked consent box to a form or show a message informing people that by visiting your website they agree to sharing their personal data. You must make sure that people are aware what you want to do with their data.

You will also have to get people’s consent to use their personal data for every different purpose you have in mind. GDPR also makes clear that it’s unacceptable to deny services to people unless they give you consent to use their data. So, for example, you won’t be allowed to deny visitors access to your website if they refuse to let you place tracking cookies on their device or record their IP address.

It’s vital that you record this consent so that you can prove you have abided by the GDPR if someone complains. You should store details of what a person agreed to and when they gave you permission. You must also provide a simple way for people to withdraw their consent in future if they change their mind.

PROCESSING PEOPLE’S DATA The collection, storage, or use of personal data in any way is called processing. As well as giving individuals more rights when it comes to the collection of their data, GDPR also gives people more control over how their data is processed.

You can only ask people for data that you need to do the things set out in your consent form. Data should be kept only as long as is absolutely necessary, and you must justify why you need to store it for so long. People have the right to ask you to delete or correct any of their data. They can also request a copy of it, so you need to store it in a common electronic format.

GDPR also places restrictions on processes that make an automated decision or profile people without their consent. People have the right not to be subject to a decision based on this kind of processing if it has a legal or other significant effect on them.

If you are using an automated process to profile people, you must make sure the process is fair, secure, and accurate.

THINGS TO DO NOW: Put in place a schedule for deleting old data; provide a way to people to delete

their data; allow people to request access to their data; make sure you are storing data in a commonly used electronic format that makes it easy for people to read their data or move it to another system; make it easy for people to rectify inaccuracies in their data; and review any processes that make an automated decision or profile people and ensure they comply with the new regulation.

KEEPING PEOPLE INFORMED The GDPR requires organisations to identify a lawful basis for processing people’s personal data. Consent is the most obvious basis. Other reasons include fulfilling a legal obligation, protecting a person’s well-being, or the processing being in the public interest.

You should document the kinds of processing you carry out and your legal basis for doing so in the privacy notice on your website. This should be; concise, transparent, intelligible, and easily accessible; written in clear and plain language that’s appropriate to the reading level of your audience; and available free of charge. You must also provide information on why you need a person’s data, the length of time you will keep it, and details of their rights – including the right to complain to a supervisory authority.

THINGS TO DO NOW: Review your privacy notices and make a plan to update them in good time; include information on your lawful basis for processing the data; state how long you will keep data before you delete it; and make it clear that people have the right to complain to a supervisory authority if they are unhappy.

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE The Information Commissioner’s Office has detailed information on exactly what you should include in your privacy notice. If you work for a public authority, your organisation will need to appoint a Data Protection Officer as part of complying with GDPR. This person will be a valuable source of information on all the steps you should follow to become fully compliant with the new regulation.L FURTHER INFORMATION Read this article online at: www.zengenti.com/prepare-for-GDPR

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GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE | Volume 15.6

G-CLOUD 9

CCS G-Cloud agreement reaching new heights

CCS Frameworks

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

The government and other public sector organisations have spent £1.2 billion with SMEs on cloud and digital services since 2012. With the ninth iteration of the government’s G-Cloud framework having launched in May this year, Government Business looks at the agreement in detail According to new figures, released by The Digital Marketplace was jointly the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), developed by the government Digital Service the government and other public sector (GDS) and the CCS to make government organisations have spent £1.2 billion with procurement simpler and more transparent. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) In 2016/17 it helped CCS to deliver on Cloud and digital services since 2012. £725 million in savings for taxpayers.

This means that almost half of digital Caroline Nokes, minister for government spend is going to SMEs, giving a major resilience and efficiency, said: “Small boost to the technology SME sector. businesses have an important role to play Since 2012, public sector spend has in helping government to spend taxpayers’ continued to rise for services such as Cloud money wisely. That is why we continue to storage and IT support – reaching a total find ways of improving how the public sector, of £2.6 billion spent with businesses of all schools and hospitals, for example, puts sizes. This spend, from public bodies money back into services for those they look including local authorities, the after. The money saved in Derby is NHS and central government a good example of how smart departments, has been procurement can make a real ed h c n via the government’s difference to people’s lives.” u a L 7 4 Digital Marketplace, Warren Smith, 8 , 2 h wit 9 d driving down costs director of the Digital u o , G-Cl ith s r and helping them to Marketplace, added: “We e i l p p su get the best possible are continually focused nged w has cha providing value for money. on breaking down the

of the aim re flexible a mo ntract o c m u maxim ngth le

barriers to entry for SMEs to do business with government, for example, by simplifying the application process. We are also breaking down the traditionally large contracts into smaller ones, which favour a more diverse range of suppliers and help government to buy services more efficiently.”

THE CLOUD G-Cloud 9 framework agreement, launched in May this year, is the latest iteration of the framework which allows UK public sector bodies access to Cloud computing services via a compliant procurement vehicle. New iterations of the framework are considered at a varying frequency of six to 12 months, depending on the demand for and/or availability of new services as the IT Cloud market develops.

Launched with 2,847 suppliers, the ninth G-Cloud iteration has undergone several changes with the aim of providing a more flexible maximum contract length. Earlier E

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Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) & the public sector Recruitment in the public sector has changed radically in recent years. A faster and more competitive recruitment market coupled with an increasing need to consider ‘at risk’ staff and internal candidates leave public bodies with a recruitment challenge.

Having the right staff is critical to the success of any business, and with the public sector workforce being particularly diverse and complex, any ATS solution adopted must be able to handle the complexities of recruiting for a varied set of roles, ensuring they are efficient and compliant in the face of budgetary challenges. It is critical for public sectors to be able to demonstrate efficiencies in services, and to feel confident that they are getting value for money. These platforms provide a flexible, streamlined, efficient and cost-effective recruitment solution to support any size or autonomy of organization.

ATS solutions ensure the user a simple and effective recruiting experience, helping organisations run more effectively and efficiently. From initial job specification and online advertising, to shortlisting, interview management, referencing and onboarding, the solution will allow public bodies to manage all aspects of the recruitment process. The ability to maintain overall control whilst devolving processes is key throughout organisations.

It is no secret that public bodies have been under pressure to make staff cuts and resource efficiencies through the sharing of the talent across an organisation. A fully integrated talent management module will relieve the pressure by allowing the storage of skills and assessment data for existing staff and previous applicants.

Efficiencies and reductions in time to hire are realised through the ease of creating and publishing vacancies, flexible workflows and automation of communications. Simple set up of pages, straightforward processes and manger self-service ensures the occasional users are catered for as an ATS software can be easily utilised by all areas of the business as and when recruitment is needed.

Security and compliance is paramount to public sector bodies so it is important that your ATS system provider works with PCI compliant systems and external agencies to perform annual penetration tests to protect the system accordingly and will be GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliant from May 2018.

A ‘software as a service’, giant recruit as part of giant precision, is a flexible online talent acquisition and management system. The system provides better candidate engagement, higher quality applicants, reduced time to hire, and reduced administrative costs. It uses industry standard secure processes to support and provide easy integration with HR systems, job board platforms, advertisement postings on social media sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn and your own branded job site website.

System administrators can set and define user permissions and workflows, with access restrictions available on all areas as of the administrative site - including workflows, fields access, communications and data availability. The flexible and dynamic reporting functions provide operations information to support business requirements and helps focus the path of recruitment campaigns.

The easy to follow application forms, email alerts, interview booking, online communications and onboarding all contribute to ensure a seamless positive candidate experience. Customisable responsive candidate websites allow branding in line with the using organisation’s current website. This all provides a seamless transition to the ‘jobs’ area of the site, helping to attract quality candidate applications.

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 versions of G-Cloud were designed to run parallel with its predeceasing agreement by design. However, G-Cloud 9 is being run, and will continue to run, as a single framework, requiring all aspiring and existing suppliers to have registered to offer services.

This means that buyers and suppliers will be able to use one set of contracts for all their G-Cloud services. G-Cloud 7 and G-Cloud 8 were removed from the Digital Marketplace when G-Cloud 9 service went live.

THE AGREEMENT G-Cloud 9 is a framework agreement of 12 months’ duration, however the duration may be extended for any period up to a maximum of twelve months from the expiry of the initial term, which at the moment sits at May 2018. For the use of public sector bodies, the agreement allows them to choose and purchase Cloud computing services covering infrastructure, platform, software and specialist Cloud services.

The framework is for commodity based, pay-as-you go Cloud services across three lots. Lot 1 covers Cloud Hosting (IaaS) and (PaaS). These must be Cloud platform or infrastructure services that can help buyers deploy, manage and run software and provision and use processing, storage or networking resources. Lot 2, Cloud Software (SaaS), is for applications that are typically accessed over a public or private network e.g. the internet and hosted in the Cloud. Lot 3, covering Cloud Support, is for products which help buyers set up and maintain their Cloud software or hosting services.

In order to monitor the performance and capture the benefits of the G-Cloud framework(s), it is essential that customers complete the customer benefits record form every time that they enter into a call-off agreement.

When customers are replacing ‘in-house’ software, infrastructure and platforms with Cloud based services, the whole cost of running these currently will be compared on a customer by customer basis against the new total costs. Savings will be shown by the reduction in licenses, support staff,

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

It is estimated that Derby City Council will break even within one-two years, benefitting from year‑on‑year savings of approximately 60 per cent, as well as the contractual flexibility enabling them to continually examine their IT estate equipment running and maintenance costs and capital outlay for infrastructure. In situations where the Cloud services being purchased are new (i.e the customer has not replaced an existing service provision with a Cloud service) there is still an opportunity to claim demand management savings.

A Cloud server is a virtual server (rather than a physical server) running in a Cloud computing environment. It is built, hosted and delivered via a Cloud computing platform via the internet, and can be accessed remotely. Cloud hosting services provide hosting on virtual servers which pull their computing resource from extensive underlying networks of physical web servers.

In most situations, clients can tap into their service as much as they need to, depending on their requirements at any stage. This can result in cost savings as they only have to pay for what they use, and because they can access it at any time, they don’t need to pay for additional capacity.

DERBY CITY COUNCIL Derby City Council has achieved 60 per cent savings on its data centre provision through a CCS framework. With a 15-year vision that pledges to ensure that the city of Derby is safe, strong, ambitious and resilient, the council is committed to the government’s Cloud First policy to help drive efficiencies, in both cost and performance.

After a thorough analysis to fully understand the implications of how to achieve this, as well as the impact it would have on their legacy IT estate, it was clear that whilst around 60 per cent of the council’s data applications could be moved to the Cloud, the complex nature of the legacy estate, time constraints,

and a naturally resistant supply chain, meant that a hybrid strategy – that included an on premise facility – would be required. To achieve this the council chose to use the CCS Crown Hosting Services framework.

The Crown Hosting Services framework, a partnership between CCS and Crown Hosting Data Centres, offers easy to buy, highly efficient, co-location and data hosting on a flexible contract basis using medical grade standard.

The service request process allowed Derby City Council to start detailed planning for the implementation of a mixed Cloud and legacy systems migration, and establish the necessary network links with a delayed commencement date. This enabled them to withdraw from existing contracts in a managed way and without incurring unnecessary costs.

Despite any short-term costs involved in migrating to Crown Hosting, it is estimated that Derby City Council will break even within one-two years, benefitting from year‑on‑year savings of approximately 60 per cent, as well as the contractual flexibility enabling them to continually examine their IT estate.

Alistair Taylor, senior project manager for Derby City Council, said: “The phrase ‘going the extra mile’ is often banded around as a throwaway line but in CCS’s case, this was absolutely true. From implementing diverse routes at near-impossible timescales to helping resolve supply chain issues, the team really did pull out all the stops to make ours a successful transition.

“Getting to grips with a new government IT framework could have been complicated, but everyone at CCS was out to help. In Crown Hosting Data Centres, we were looking for, and got, something that could provide E

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Over 10 years of investing in the network, not fancy advertising.

Mission-Critical networks and cloud services that sell themselves, now available on G-Cloud.

Call our dedicated team on 020 3582 8540.

gcloud@vorboss.com

G-CLOUD 9  a rapid service, from an OJEU‑compliant framework, and give us a clear and flexible programme plan to completion.”

FLEXIBILITY AND COST SAVINGS Node4 is one of the companies awarded a place on G-Cloud 9, with the N4 Private Cloud, Cyber Security Services, NetApp Private Storage as a Service (NPSaaS), Storage as a Service (STaaS), Backup as a Service (BUaaS), Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) powered by Cisco and Amazon Web Services (AWS) solutions listed on the framework, making these

available to UK public sector organisations.

Paula Johnston, head of Public Sector at Node4, said: “A number of public sector organisations are increasing their use of Cloud services due to its flexibility and cost savings. G-Cloud 9 makes it easier for organisations to check which types of suppliers meet the CCS approval criteria and readily engage with them. Being a G-Cloud9 supplier means that public sector services have better access to Node4’s solutions to run mission-critical systems and services.”

Elsewhere, as a G-Cloud 9 digital marketplace approved supplier, Kirona will offer software as a service, including its

G-Cloud 9 is a framework agreement of 12 months’ duration, however the duration may be extended for any period up to a maximum of twelve months from the expiry of the initial term, which at the moment sits at May 2018

Job Manager mobile application to enable delivery of data and services to field resources to carry out their job efficiently, eliminating paperwork, speed up job completion and support data capture on a range of platforms ad devices. Kirona’s Dynamic Resource Scheduler provides intelligent appointments and dynamic scheduling of resources or assets.

UKCloud is another vendor that celebrated its approval to the agreement. The company has committed to delivering more for less on G-Cloud 9, offering further cost reductions across its service catalogue, including its Cross Domain Security Zone (CDSZ), which will see prices fall by up to 50 percent.

UKCloud customers will also benefit from more flexible pricing on the UKCloud Oracle platform and a range of enhanced features, including data-at-rest encryption in its Cloud Storage, and Cloud GPU at no extra cost.

Simon Hansford, CEO, noted: “As a committed supporter of G-Cloud, we welcome the latest iteration which promises to be the best yet, thanks to the comprehensive consultation process undertaken by the Government Digital Service and CCSe. As a supplier to the framework since the very beginning, we are delighted to continue our tradition of releasing several new and enhanced service offerings on the innovative new G-Cloud 9.”

David Booker, CEO at Veropath, another company on the framework, commented: “We are delighted to be part of the G-Cloud 9 supplier framework. It represents a key and streamlined route to market for our Microsoft Azure Cloud-based Technology Expense Management platform, and ensures we are well-placed to build on our current success in delivering telecoms cost reduction and ongoing control to all parts of the public sector.”

As a supplier on the Digital Marketplace, Veropath can be used by organisations across the UK public sector including central government, local government, health, education, devolved administrations, emergency services, defence and not-for-profit organisations.

CCS Frameworks

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

MOBILE COMPUTING SOLUTIONS SmartTask, the leading employee scheduling and remote workforce management solution, is now available on the G-Cloud 9 Digital Marketplace. The company enables organisations to better plan and manage their workers, so they are at the right place, at the right time by combining intelligent rostering, live monitoring and integrated proof of attendance across both static and mobile teams.

Paul Ridden, CEO of SmartTask, said: “SmartTask is now established in the security, facilities management, university, care and mail sectors, so offers significant opportunities to public sector organisations that operate remote teams. Having been listed on the G-Cloud 9 Digital Marketplace, E

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PROPERTY AND SURVEYING SERVICES SINCE 1898 PROVIDING EXPERT ADVICE ACROSS GREATER LONDON, THE SOUTHEAST AND EAST ANGLIA We are proud to have a long history of providing specialist development consultancy, valuation and transactional services to the public sector, including local authorities, central government and the emergency services.

We are pleased to be a firm large enough to offer a comprehensive range of professional services, while retaining the agility to tailor those services to the individual needs of our clients.

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G-CLOUD 9  new and existing public sector customers will have greater access to our mobile computing solutions without a lengthy and costly procurement process.

“The public sector is under ever increasing pressure to provide more for less, reducing costs while at the same time improving service delivery. As a Cloud-based workforce management solution, SmartTask can achieve a wide range of business and operational objectives at a fraction of the cost of other systems in the marketplace. In fact, the breadth of functionality available and the scalable cost model supports a highly flexible roll-out without a huge upfront investment.”

One of the UK’s fastest growing travel management companies, Redfern, has also won a place on the G-Cloud 9 framework.

Redfern was listed on the previous version of G-Cloud, and is the only travel management company to maintain its place on the new, improved framework, and is only one of two to be successful in applying for the latest iteration.

Redfern’s COO Kate Wimpeney said: “We’re proud to be re-appointed to the G-Cloud procurement framework. This will increase Redfern’s presence within the public sector and will give organisations the benefit of our tRIPS booking tool designed to make booking business travel as smooth as possible, without having to go through onerous procurement processes. We’re committed to helping our customers drive down the cost of business travel and to make the process as hassle-free as possible. Admission onto the G-Cloud framework will allow us to continue to do this for the public sector.” L FURTHER INFORMATION tinyurl.com/ydymsm45

New mobile voice and data procurement Expressions of interest are now being taken from public sector organisations who want to take part in Crown Commercial Service’s latest bulk buying project.

The CCS is harnessing the buying this aggregation. These projects have power of the public sector to reduce a great track record of utilising the cost to the public purse of the buying power of the public sector purchasing mobile voice and data to leverage the best deals from services. Expressions of interest are suppliers, ensuring that public bodies now being taken from public sector can deliver efficient public services.” organisations who want to take part Each participating customer will in this latest bulk buying project. sign their own individual contract The competition will be awarded with the winning supplier. in March 2018, with customer The project is a National Further requirements being gathered between Competition completed under Lot 6 now and December. The winning of CCS’s Network Services framework. supplier will provide mobile voice The chosen supplier will be one of and data services to the public those currently appointed to this Lot. sector at the most competitive price It will put in place a mobile voice available – supporting the provision and data services contract offering a of efficient, effective public services high level of flexibility by: establishing that meet the needs of citizens. a zero line rental model for basic The most recent exercises of its connections, avoiding customers kind organised by CCS have saved incurring costs from unused lines; customers, including local authorities structuring services as ‘bolt-ons’ which and NHS trusts, on average 60 per can be added to the basic connection, cent compared to their previous bills. enabling packages to built to customer The more organisations that take specifications; and 30-day terms part, the greater the benefits will be. for ‘bolt-ons’ to enable customers to Niall Quinn, director of Technology change their mix of services during the Strategic Category said: “I’d encourage contract term. all public sector organisations who are looking to purchase mobile voice FURTHER INFORMATION and data services to consider joining tinyurl.com/y77jkdra

CCS Frameworks

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

From implementing diverse routes at near‑impossible timescales to helping resolve supply chain issues, the team really did pull out all the stops to make our’s a successful transition

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GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE | Volume 15.6

G-CLOUD 9

Making the most of the G-Cloud Jake Madders, co-founder and director of Hyve Managed Hosting, outlines some crib sheet questions to ask every Cloud provider The digital marketplace lists a wide range of Cloud providers, offering public sector organisations choice, expertise and technical capabilities. But how do you separate the good from the average? What makes the difference between an ideal partner with just the right experience and a service provider who can’t guarantee service or provision?

Choices like these can make or break a Cloud project, add huge value or cause serious delay and frustration. There are a range of key areas that most Cloud projects will touch on in one way or another, and ensuring the providers in the mix are right for your needs is vital. Here are six major areas to explore – focusing on an effective way to understand experience, pricing, skillset and service levels, among others. Think of this as a crib sheet of questions to help make the best Cloud provider choices.

PROJECT/SERVICE DELIVERY Service providers rely on teamwork to deliver specialised knowledge and technology, and their project management skills will always be put to the test.

Can they give examples of where they have delivered projects/services on time and on budget? What is their project management process and is it compatible with your needs?

ACCREDITATIONS Sometimes they are a must have and often they provide that extra level of reassurance and confidence. Either way, it’s important to understand their accreditations and qualifications.

Do they have the right accreditations, certifications and governance standards in place to meet your needs?

What he makes tetween ce b differen partner with e l an idea ight experiencr r e just theservice provid e and a n’t guarante TECHNICAL ho ca vice or w CAPABILITIES ser In choosing a Cloud supplier, vision? o r p there are some key areas to

SERVICE AND SUPPORT Great service and support is right up there with design, delivery and implementation, but can also be challenging to assess.

Where do their support services begin and end? What don’t they offer as standard? How do they provide support outside of normal working hours? What is the support process, and do they provide dedicated staff? What support systems and processes do they have in place to deal with the unexpected and unlikely?

CCS Frameworks

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

PRICING Competitive, fair and clear pricing is important for any organisation, but scrutiny of public sector spend is always a hot topic – and for very good reasons. How do they demonstrate pricing clarity and transparency?

How do they monitor and manage third party costs? Are there any scenarios where additional costs may be incurred which fall outside of their normal boundaries?

CLARITY AND PRECISION Understanding these important areas can help build your perspective on the capabilities of each Cloud provider, and how they compare against each other. Clearly it’s just as important to dig into the precise needs of your project, but having a foundation to your discussions can help move the process along with clarity and precision. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.hyve.com

focus on to really understand levels of technical expertise. What are the proven technical capabilities of the provider? Are there any gaps in their skillset?

How much in‑house expertise do they have?

If partners are involved, what is the nature of the partnership and can they demonstrate how technical excellence is shared across their teams? Are all the technical capabilities you need already in place, or will they be adding extras to deliver your project?

EXPERIENCE Focused experience is often a key factor in successful project delivery. Providers might have great general or related experience, but the more specific the better.

Do they have strong experience in your sector and with your type of project? Can they supply you with customer references that illustrate their track record? Have they experienced any serious service delivery issues or failures in the past?

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FURNITURE

New office, residential and storage furniture

CCS Frameworks

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

The Supply, Delivery and Installation of Furniture and Associated Services framework agreement provides a ‘one stop shop’ solution for purchasing new office, residential and storage furniture The process of refurbishment is becoming increasingly key as companies seek to design products that are timeless, but which also have the flexibility to be refurbished, particularly given that traditional upholstery can also take a long time to replace.

The term ‘furniture’ describes a multitude of products; from upholstered seating through to work stations, screens, school desks, chairs and hospital beds. Different to furniture for domestic use, the public sector requires furniture that has been assessed and tested for non-domestic or contract use. Each item has its own applicable performance and safety standards as well as other factors that need to be considered when specifying furniture; from the suitability of the supplier to the environmental credentials of the product. This complexity can generate plenty of opportunity for specifiers and manufacturers alike to get things wrong.

There is also a great variation in the type of furniture required in the public sector; from office seating and desks, to kitchens for housing association and council housing.

To ensure that the products you specify are suitable for the intended use, it is important that the correct factors are considered at the tendering stage and included in the final specification for potential suppliers.

Standards exist for most types of furniture but there are also standards for most constituent parts. Specifiers often fall into the trap of over specifying these elements which has the potential for restricting design and innovation, introducing superfluous, and often incorrect, requirements and increasing cost. The recommendation is to address the basic requirements such as strength, safety, stability and durability of the whole item.

Specifications must reflect the location and intended use of an item of furniture. For example there are many applicable standards for seating, reflecting different uses – such as office task chairs (eight hour use); office task chairs (24 hour/heavy duty); office visitor chairs; general non-domestic chairs (light, general or severe use, covering everything from church halls to airports); E

Differen to furni t for dom ture the pub estic use, lic s require s furnit ector ure has bee n asses that sed and te non‑do sted for m contracestic or t use

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN SPECIFYING FURNITURE Furniture needs to be safe in use, capable of delivering desired performance levels and as environmentally friendly as possible.

Whilst applicable British, European and International standards form the core of specifications, other factors are equally important. This includes: safety and performance; fire safety; ergonomics; and sustainable manufacturing.

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Wagstaff are a new supplier on the Crown Commercial Services Framework for the provision of Office & General Furniture (Lot 1 & 2 RM3812) Established in 1903 Wagstaff are one of the largest Office Furniture Specialists in the UK market, we specify, deliver and install in excess of £2.6m of furniture per month.

We would like to introduce ourselves and express our interest in working with your organisation both on a day to day basis and on any capital projects.

FREEDOM Our product independence allows you to buy all you require from one supplier.

BEST OF BOTH We offer a range of own brand products as well as being a dealer for the wider marketplace. This ensures you receive best value by providing commodity products alongside world class products, all under one roof from our supply route.

HEALTHY COMPETITION

IN YOUR INTEREST

We introduce competition between our

With our market knowledge we will

suppliers, we work for our clients to get

negotiate on your behalf allowing us to

the best value.

underwrite warranties, guarantee

SAVINGS

continuity of supply and establish

By going direct with a market leader

day two product costs

you shorten your supply chain

GO DIRECT

and reduce your cost.

You work directly with us; we will not

GUARANTEE SUPPLY

introduce you to a third party dealer who

Let us specify your product, utilise our vast

doesn’t have the same financial standing,

market knowledge and guarantee a robust

standards, accreditations, CSR etc…

supply chain.

WE ARE TRULY NATIONAL

BEST VALUE

As you can see from the map to the right

Our volume and national infrastructure

Wagstaff have a truly national network of

enables us to significantly reduce

offices and distribution hubs

your costs on the one’s and two’s.

positioned throughout the UK

To register your interest in our NEW CCS Furniture Directory email us at: businessdevelopment@wagstaffgroup.co.uk or call us on 020 3119 3130

D

Distribution Centre

M

Manufacturing Centre

R

Overseas Re-Use Hub

North East Office (Blyth) Yorkshire Office (Leeds)

W

D D

M

W

Midlands Office (Honiley)

Overseas Re-Use Hub

D

Scotland Office (Edinburgh)

D W

South West Office (Chepstow)

Wagstaff Offices

Aberdeen Office

D W

Northern Office (Leyland)

W

W

W

D

D

East Anglia Office (Diss)

D W

W D R

Southern/ Head Office (London)

www.wagstaffgroup.co.uk

FURNITURE

 chairs for outdoors; and auditorium seating (light, general, heavy or severe use).

FURNITURE AND CCS Replacing the previous RM1501 agreement, the Supply, Delivery and Installation of Furniture and Associated Services (RM3812) framework agreement began in September.

The framework, split over five lots, is designed to provide public sector organisations with a simplified means of sourcing goods and services associated to furniture.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are playing a key part in supplying furniture for the government’s network of efficient, regional office spaces, making up two-thirds of the list of successful suppliers. Each of the 12 SMEs now have the chance to share a portion of £330 million of investment as the government transforms its estate, reduces operating costs and ensures the provision of efficient, effective public services.

Sam Ulyatt, strategic category commercial director for Crown Commercial Service (CCS), says: “Small and medium-sized businesses played a big part in delivering the previous agreement, and we anticipate that widening the scope of the new framework will help them to play an even greater part in helping the public sector to deliver efficient services.”

This new framework will provide an average of five per cent savings and CCS

CCS Frameworks

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

This new framework will provide an average of five per cent savings and CCS will work on an ongoing basis directly with customers to identify new saving initiatives on a case by case basis will work on an ongoing basis directly with customers to identify new saving initiatives on a case by case basis. The framework provides highly competitive pricing for core products and excellent discount for noncore products. Prices can be improved on through conducting a further competition, where additional savings will be generated.

GOVERNMENT HUBS PROGRAMME The supply, delivery and installation of office furniture for the Government Hubs Programme includes office desking and workstations, office seating, office storage, collaboration/break out furniture, reception furniture, restaurant furniture, specialist chairs, lockers and office accessories.

The programme is transforming central government’s office estate by accommodating multi-departmental workforces in shared buildings in London and the regions. There will be 18-22 strategic hubs across the UK, located in major towns and cities. Hubs will be modern, sustainable buildings, supported

by smart technology and shared services.

The Government Hubs Programme, the first of the five lots, will reduce government buildings from 800 to around 200 by 2023.

Hubs will be truly shared spaces to enable efficient, collaborative and flexible working, driving engagement and staff productivity.

Hubs have already been announced in Belfast, Bristol, Canary Wharf, Cardiff, Croydon, Edinburgh, Leeds and Liverpool.

DIFFERING FURNITURE SPECIFICATIONS Lot 2 of the Supply, Delivery and Installation of Furniture and Associated Services agreement, known as Office Furniture, covers the supply, delivery and installation of office furniture including office desking and workstations, office seating, office storage, collaboration/break out furniture, reception furniture, restaurant furniture, specialist chairs, lockers, office accessories.

Covering residential furniture, lot 3 concerns the supply, delivery and installation of bedroom furniture, study furniture, E

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FURNITURE

The programme is transforming central government’s office estate by accommodating multi‑departmental workforces in shared buildings in London and the regions

CCS Frameworks

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

 living room furniture, dining room furniture, residential seating and associated products. Meanwhile, lot 4 involves the supply, delivery and installation of high density steel storage, including static and mobile storage systems, gondola library shelving and associated products.

Lot 5, covering repair and renovation, is for the provision of a repair and renovation service for a range of furniture products, including bedroom, dining room and office furniture, such as workstations, tables, chairs, timber and steel cupboards and steel lockers. The renovation service will include desk conversion, re-upholstery, epoxy powder re spraying, timber and metal general repair, and move management.

VALUE FOR MONEY Maximum standard rates are fixed for the first two years of the framework and may be reduced by suppliers during a further competition. In addition to highly competitive pricing for core products and excellent discount for non-core products, the agreement also allows for repair and renovation of contracting authorities’ existing furniture in place of buying new.

The delivery of savings is embedded into the pricing models through competitive rates, whilst continuous improvement measures will drive value inclusive of whole life cost. The availability of management information will allow CCS to track buying patterns to identify further savings opportunities.

Using this agreement will speed up and reduce the cost of contracting authorities’ own procurement processes. The framework has also been designed to cater for a wide range of contracting authorities, with the lot structure and ability to tailor further competitions ensuring this supports contracting authorities own delivery considerations such as SME’s and social value. L FURTHER INFORMATION ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/contracts/rm3812

Flexiform are delighted to have been re-selected to Flexiform are delighted to have been re-selected to be a key supplier to the Public Sector via the CCS be a key supplier to the Public Sector via the CCS RM3812 Office Furniture Framework.

RM3812 Office Furniture Framework.

4 Accredited supplier since 1997 4 Accredited supplier since 1997 4 Full UK coverage 4 Full UK coverage 4 Experienced with public sector organisations 4 Experienced with public sector organisations 4 Expert advice and consultancy services 4 Expert advice and consultancy services 4 Enormous range of pre-evaluated furniture 4 Enormous range of pre-evaluated furniture 4 Experienced in implementing agile workspaces 4 Experienced in implementing agile workspaces 4 Full service package from beginning of project to eventual 4 Full service package from beginning of project to eventual sustainable disposal of furniture sustainable disposal of furniture 4 Space planning and interior design services 4 Space planning and interior design services 4 Visualise your plans with our virtual reality service 4 Visualise your plans with our virtual reality service 4 Site and storage surveys to maximise space 4 Site and storage surveys to maximise space 4 UK made, specialising in bespoke furniture 4 UK made, specialising in bespoke furniture

T: 01274 706206 | E: nicks@flexiform.co.uk T: 01274 706206 | E: nicks@flexiform.co.uk

www.flexiform.co.uk www.flexiform.co.uk

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A globally recognised provider of workplace furnishings, Herman Miller’s world-class UK manufacturing facility, combined with a long history of demonstrating an ability to deliver value to the Public Sector, means that we are perfectly placed to help with your workplace needs. Not only that, but the majority of our products come with a market-leading 12 year warranty, giving you peace of mind in the future.

Herman Miller is now a Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Framework Supplier.

For more information please visit our website www.hermanmiller.com If you’d like to speak to someone directly about the benefits that working with us can bring, please contact Alex Gillies on either alex_gillies@hermanmiller.com or 07725 433027.

FRAMEWORKS

WORK HAS CHANGED. MOST OFFICES HAVEN’T

Advertisement Feature

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

In businesses across the world, the work force is changing. This is being driven by a shift in the work people are being asked to do, the tools available to complete that work and the expectations organisations are putting on their workers Herman Miller, leading office furniture manufacturer and pioneer of the modern workplace, recognised that the offices many people work in today haven’t evolved to reflect these changes.

The offices were designed to support processes, technology and business expectations from a different era. Working with thousands of companies around the world, Herman Miller has seen first-hand the way that the workplace environment affects employee engagement.

Mark Catchlove, Herman Miller’s director of Insight said: “Research has proven that by changing the office environment to reflect an organisation’s character and purpose, the office worker becomes more engaged; leading to greater prosperity for both the individual and the whole. It’s time to re-define work.”

Working with anthropologists, psychologists, ergonomists and designers the company identified something greater than products – a methodology and philosophy designed to inspire employees, increase productivity and engagement and embody a company’s culture. This is Herman Miller’s Living Office.

TAILORED OFFICE SOLUTIONS Living Office provides an updated understanding of people and their work, founded on elements that are naturally human—how people experience the world and what motivates them. Informed by

this understanding, Living Office offers tailored office solutions that cater to the diverse needs of a modern workforce as their tasks change throughout the day.

Herman Miller has created a variety of ‘settings’ to support the difference kinds of activities; focused individual work, formal and informal meetings, chance encounters with colleagues in public spaces and group or team gatherings. An office landscape with a range of settings offers employees the opportunity to choose the best place based on the task in hand.

Herman Miller also offers a wide range of office furniture to accommodate this variety – from ergonomic task chairs and desks for focused activity to furniture that encourages and supports collaborative working. No two businesses are alike, and Living Office understands that and anticipates that different companies will require a different mix of settings to create their ideal office landscape.

Catchlove explains: “Some companies are working from a late 20th century perspective that focuses on efficiency within a strict hierarchy and fixed processes. In this new

era, driven by ideas, many have yet to consider their places, tools and management procedures for success now and in the future.

“Living Office explores these issues with our customers, to develop a meaningful and measurable strategy to activate their office spaces to engage with their people.”

Herman Miller is clear that this isn’t about buying more furniture. Living Office can help reduce costs as it helps businesses to identity and eliminate underused spaces. It also serves to attract and retain talented individuals.

Catchlove concludes: “Competitive advantage is built on having the best people for your business. The workspace is a key factor when employees choose a company to work for. Once they have made that choice, they will produce their best work in a space that is designed around them.

Herman Miller furniture helps businesses to bring their Living Office to life.” L FURTHER INFORMATION www.hermanmiller.co.uk/livingoffice LinkedIn: Herman Miller Europe Twitter: @HermanMillerLtd

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APPRENTICESHIPS

£360 million through apprenticeship framework

CCS Frameworks

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

In May stem e sy 2017, th funding for the rement of The Apprenticeship Training and Related Services cu and pro eship training agreement, introduced in September 2017, is tic appren ged with the expected to invest more than £360 million in chan tion of the developing the next generation of public servants c introdu nticeship Appre vy Small and medium-sized enterprises Apprenticeship Levy, which to be apprentices.

Le (SMEs) will maintain the chance to benefit requires public sector employers Robert Halfon, Skills from the Apprenticeship Training and Related Services agreement, with the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) recently revealing that 38 per cent of the successful suppliers on the framework are SMEs. In May 2017, the system for the funding and procurement of apprenticeship training changed with the introduction of the

Businesses highlight importance of work experience

with a pay bill of over £3 million each year to make an investment in apprenticeships, representing 0.5 per cent of their annual pay bill. This means that most public bodies are now required to have some kind of apprenticeship programme. The Apprenticeship Levy also saw the government introduce new statutory targets for public sector bodies to employ their fair share of apprentices to contribute to the goal of achieving three million apprenticeships by 2020. At least 2.3 per cent of the workforce in public sector bodies will have

Minister, said of the target: “We are committed to breaking down barriers and creating a ladder of opportunity for people everywhere. For our public sector to be the very best in the world, we need talented and ambitious people of all ages and from every background.

Businesses across the country have well and truly got behind apprenticeships. Now it is time to ensure the public sector reaps the benefits of apprenticeships and young people get the opportunities they deserve.”

Employers will access the funds through E

Recent research has revealed that 93 per cent of business decision makers believe work experience should be compulsory in schools, with a staggering 92 per cent struggling to hire young people in their business due to a difficulty in finding enthusiastic young people to take positions.

UK businesses emphasise the role that work experience has on preparing young people for employment, as well as installing a strong work ethic.

UK schools haven’t had to offer compulsory work experience placements since 2012 when the coalition government scrapped the idea. As a result, 48 per cent of parents surveyed felt that they are ill-equipped when it comes to advising their kids on how to take their first steps into ever-evolving lines of work. The same number agree that work experience should be compulsory for their children, with 36 per cent believing schools should be doing more to educate parents about the different types of jobs available.

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University College of Estate Management is the only approved provider of surveying apprenticeships for the Crown Commercial Service.

We work across central and local government to develop knowledge, skills and capability in managing property and construction via our RICS-accredited surveying apprenticeship programmes.

Delivered via blended learning, we offer various RICS pathway options within: Surveying Technician apprenticeships (includes AssocRICS) and Chartered Surveyor degree apprenticeships (includes MRICS).

For more information visit ucem.ac.uk/apprenticeships

Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales

Realising your potential in the Built Environment

CCS Frameworks

APPRENTICESHIPS

 a Digital Apprenticeship Account (DAA) controlled by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). On average, the prices public bodies will pay are 22 per cent below the upper limits on apprenticeship charges set by the ESFA, delivering annual savings of up to £8 million.

This agreement supports the government to train the next generation of public servants, who will eventually be responsible for delivering efficient, effective services that meet the needs of citizens

PUBLIC SERVANTS The new CCS framework will help organisations to set up their own programmes without having to do multiple, lengthy procurement exercises to access ESFAregistered training providers. The framework, which avoids government bodies having to carry out multiple procurement exercises, saving staff time and money, will ensure public bodies achieve best value, buying as a single customer, whilst enabling them to access their levy funds to support their workforce planning strategies and meet their apprenticeship targets.

Peter Lawson, strategic category director of People Pillar at CCS, said: “This agreement supports the government to train the next generation of public servants, who will eventually be responsible for delivering efficient, effective services that meet the needs of citizens.”

Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; Lot 5 covers Finance and Tax Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; Lot 6 concerns Higher Level Digital Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; Lot 7 encompasses Digital Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; Lot 8 offers services for Customer Service Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; Loy 9 for Commercial Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; Lot 10

LOTTING STRUCTURE The framework, which will run until September 2018, is split into 12 lots, making it easier for SME providers to win places in their own field of expertise. Each lot is then subdivided into those through which civil service customers can make direct awards, and those through which all public sector customers can direct award or conduct further competitions.

The lot allocations are as follows: Lot 1 covers Leadership and Management Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; Lot 2 covers Project Management Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; Lot 3 concerns Operational Delivery Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; Lot 4 provides for Human Resources

Higher Level Leadership ad Management Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; Lot 11 covers Business and Administration Apprenticeship Training and Related Services; and Lot 12 Property Apprenticeship Training and Related Services. L FURTHER INFORMATION ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ contracts/rm3823

London apprenticeships sees continuous growth The number of apprenticeships created by London boroughs has grown for the sixth year in a row, data published by London Councils has revealed.

Just over 2,000 new apprentices were Londoners from all backgrounds to hired by boroughs and their supply apply their talents and begin their chains in 2016/17, taking the total careers with local government and number of apprenticeships created their partners here in the capital. since 2009 to more than 11,000. Efforts “This data shows that boroughs are to boost the number of apprentices excelling at helping businesses in their recruited into council supply chains supply chains recruit more apprentices, cross London were particularly but they and other employers could successful, up by 26 per cent do much more if they were able to compared to the previous year. make better use of the Apprenticeship Boroughs and their supply chains Levy. Our success also demonstrates offer apprenticeships in a range of the impact London government industries including construction, can have working together with finance and economic development. business to create new apprenticeship Peter John, deputy chair of London opportunities. That’s why we’re also Councils and executive member calling for any unspent Apprenticeship for business, skills and Brexit, said: Levy funds generated in the capital “It is fantastic news that London to be devolved to London government.” boroughs are continuing to fulfil their role as community leaders by FURTHER INFORMATION creating opportunities for young www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/node/32384

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SMALL BUSINESSES

Figures released in October 2017 reveal that central government departments spent a record £12 billion with small businesses in 2015/16 – the highest level of spend to date. Emma Jones, SME Crown Representative, outlines the work underway to ensure this amount keeps rising

It’s welcome news that government reached a record high with SME spend last year and this shows no signs of abating. In the past 12 months in my role as SME Crown rep we’ve hosted regional events and online webinars, published guides and offered advice on contracts and early engagement; all with a view to ensure small businesses consider government as a customer, and that government buyers look at SMEs as new and reliable suppliers. In the next few months, this work continues.

We have a renewed focus on connecting small businesses with

government’s largest suppliers and recently hosted a session to get under the skin of how we best make these connections so SMEs win government work, without being the lead bidder, and how the large contractors quickly identify a quality supply chain that can help them fulfil contracts.

In November, there’s a ‘Meet the Buyer’ event in Leeds; an opportunity for small businesses to hear direct from government buyers as to what they’re after, and an insight into future pipeline. We continue the programme of regular webinars where guests are government buyers or

ments e v o r p Im erway are und te an to crea nt that me environes continued e guarantnd with the spe l firms l a m s t grea ritain of B

Written by Emma Jones, SME Crown Representative

Government remains firm on SME spend target

CCS Frameworks

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

entrepreneurs who have successfully sold to the public sector, and small businesses, from anywhere, can tune in for free.

There’s activity underway to bolster Contractsfinder yet further; ensuring all central government contracts valued at over £10,000 are listed, but also now adding contracts from the large suppliers too, so this becomes the single place small businesses visit to identify relevant opportunities.

Plans for a new platform, the Crown Marketplace, are underway that will make it much easier for small businesses to create an online profile and come to the attention of buyers in the categories of common good and services. This builds on the strong track record of G-Cloud which, as of January 2017, reported 56 per cent of total sales by value and 64 per cent by volume, from all reported G-Cloud sales to date, had been awarded to SMEs. E

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Proud to be part of the Crown Commercial Service Apprenticeship Framework BPP can help develop your new and existing talent across Human Resources, Finance & Tax and Digital Technology Solutions.

Request a consultation on how we can work together to create a portfolio of connected professional education programmes that will serve your employees and organisation.

 03300 299 312 ✉ corporate@bpp.com  employers.bpp.com

SMALL BUSINESSES

Plans for a new platform, the Crown Marketplace, are underway. It will make it much easier for small businesses to create an online profile and come to the attention of buyers in the categories of common good and services  Strides have been made on prompt payment, with government paying suppliers within a 30‑day term and large companies increasingly signing up to the Prompt Payment code too. A Small Business Commissioner has been appointed to act as a first line of enquiry for small firms who are not being paid within these timeframes, with the commissioner having power to investigate and share good practice.

TOP 100 SME SUPPLIERS Those who have been successful in winning contracts are recognised and celebrated in a Top 100 SME Suppliers list which shows that regardless of geographic location or sector, small businesses are winning all kinds of work from across government departments. Inzpire, Hugh Griffiths’ East Midlands based company, is on the list, with the Ministry of Defence as a key customer.

On working with the public sector, Griffiths says: “Inzpire really values having the UK MOD as a major customer. We love the fact that our work is benefiting the UK’s Armed Forces.

Government is an excellent customer and we are proud to make our contribution to the UK.” Hugh is one of a team of 24 proven entrepreneurs who continue their work on the SME Panel, looking at all aspects of public sector procurement and suggesting revisions and consideration where they see fit. In the past 12 months the panel has looked at topics including dynamic purchasing platforms, supply chains, prompt payment and Contractsfinder.

Individual departments continue to focus attention on the SME agenda through SME champions who work on collating SME spend data, running supplier events, and connecting with SMEs through social media (such as the recently launched MOD twitter account for SME procurement) and promoting areas in which government is particularly looking for SME solutions such as the Joint Security and Resilience Centre (JSaRC), which has been established to E

Top 100 small suppliers: 1-50 1

ABV Solicitors (London)

2

Actica Consulting Limited (South East)

3

Akhter Computers Ltd (East of England)

4

Atmosphere Control International Ltd (South East)

5

Austin Hayes Ltd (Yorkshire and The Humber)

6

Aviation Requirements Ltd (South West)

7

Bhatia Best Solicitors (East Midlands)

8

Blackfords LLP (South East)

9

Britten-Norman Group Limited (South East)

10

Broudie Jackson Canter (North West)

11

Calder Conferences (Yorkshire and The Humber)

12

Cambridge Information Ltd (East of England)

13

Carwood Motor Units Ltd (West Midlands)

14

Castlerock Recruitment Group Limited (North West)

15

Centerprise International Ltd (South East)

16

Childrens Food Trust (Yorkshire and The Humber)

17

Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd (London)

18

Corporate Document Services Limited (Yorkshire and The Humber)

19

Crescent Pharma Ltd (South East)

20

Davitt Jones Bould Ltd (South West)

21

DPP Law Ltd (London)

22

Drumgrange Ltd (South East)

23

Dyrms – An Academy With Military Traditions (South East)

24

E Synergy Solutions Ltd (London)

25

East Midlands Business Ltd (East Midlands)

26

Ebeni Limited (South West)

27

Ebr Attridge LLP Solicitors (London)

28

ECS Engineering Services Ltd (East Midlands)

29

Eduserv (South West)

30

Edwards Duthie Solicitors (London)

31

Equal Experts (London)

32

Fivium Ltd (London)

33

Fordway Solutions Limited (South East)

34

George Corderoy LLP (South East)

35

Gilbert Ash Limited (London)

36

GWE Business West (South West)

37

Hall Mark Meat Hygiene Ltd (South West)

38

Harmonic Ltd (South West)

39

HCR Ltd (South East)

40

Healix International Ltd (London)

41

Health Partners International (South East)

42

Hobson & Sons (London) Ltd (Yorkshire and The Humber)

43

Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors (London)

44

honeybeerecruitment.com Ltd (London)

45

Howells LLP (Yorkshire and The Humber)

46

Ian Edgar (Liverpool) Limited (North West)

47

LMC Worldwide Ltd (South East)

48

Inzpire Limited (East Midlands)

49

Joseph Gleave & Son Ltd (North West)

50

Key Technologies Ltd (West Midlands)

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CCS Frameworks

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

SMALL BUSINESSES  help the government and UK security sector suppliers work more closely together.

Trade associations play an important role too. Tech UK hosts regular Dragons Den‑style events to connect their members with tech solutions, with buyers. The Business Services Association (BSA) actively looks at connecting their members with SMEs, and access to government contracts is one of the key topic areas of research for the ScaleUp Institute.

Those who have been successful in winning contracts are recognised and celebrated in a Top 100 SME Suppliers list which shows that regardless of geographic location or sector, small businesses are winning all kinds of work from across government departments GOVSTART The past year has also seen the opening of Govstart; an accelerator focused on transforming public services through leveraging the innovation and solutions of small and ambitious tech companies.

A cohort of companies including the likes of Adzuna and Rotageek benefit from access to mentors and experts who can help navigate the public sector procurement cycle.

I see growing appetite from SMEs to sell to government and the recent figures and Top 100 listing show they are succeeding in winning contracts.

Challenges still remain, such as matching buyers with new innovations, connecting SMEs with tier one suppliers, and the terms of certain frameworks, but improvements are underway to create an environment that guarantees continued spend with the great small firms of Britain. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.gov.uk/government/collections/ emma-jones-small-businesscrown-representative

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GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE | Volume 15.6

Top 100 small suppliers: 51-100 51

Landell Mills Ltd (South West)

52

Level Peaks Associates Ltd (West Midlands)

53

Lifecycle Sourcing Ltd (Wales)

54

Locality (London)

55

LTS International Ltd (Scotland)

56

M J Mapp Ltd (London)

57

M-Integrated Solutions Plc (London)

58

M.P.I. Aviation Ltd (East of England)

59

M4 Managed Services Int Ltd (Wales)

60

Marine Specialised Technology Limited (North West)

61

Mathematics in Education and Industry (South West)

62

Mercator IT Solutions Ltd (South East)

63

Merchant Navy Memorial Trust (South East)

64

Metcalfe Farms (Haulage) Limited (Yorkshire and The Humber)

65

Methods Group (London)

66

Migrant Helpline (South East)

67

Montagu Evans (London)

68

National Children’s Bureau (London)

69

Optima Diagnostics Ltd (South West)

70

Orostream International Contracts Ltd (South East)

71

Oxford Policy Management (South East)

72

Red Snapper Group (London)

73

Redfern Travel Ltd (Yorkshire and The Humber)

74

Redweb Ltd (South West)

75

Reeds Solicitors Ltd-Advocate (South East)

76

Russam Gms Ltd (East of England)

77

Sanctuary Personnel Ltd (East of England)

78

Savant Limited (North West)

79

Servicecare Solutions (London)

80

Services Sound & Vision Corporation (South East)

81

Software Box Ltd (Yorkshire and The Humber)

82

Solid State Plc (West Midlands)

83

Spectra Group Uk Ltd (West Midlands)

84

Sterling Energy LLC (London)

85

Supacat Limited (South West)

86

Switalskis Solicitors LLP (Yorkshire and The Humber)

87

T V Edwards Solicitors (London)

88

Teaching Leaders (Now Operating As Ambition School Leadership) (London)

89

The Berthon Boat Company Ltd (South East)

90

The Educational Recording Agency Limited (London)

91

The Risk Advisory Group Ltd (London)

92

TLM Nexus Ltd (South East)

93

Triad Group Plc (South East)

94

Tropical Health And Education Trust (London)

95

Tuckers Solicitors (London)

96

UK Cloud Ltd (South West)

97

WA Consultants Ltd (South West)

98

Wilson & Co Solicitors (London)

99

Wiltshire & Somerset Colleges’ Partnership Limited (South West)

100 Winckworth Sherwood LLP (London)

DATA MANAGEMENT

G CLOUD 9

No matter what business you are in, or how thorough your credit control procedures are, sadly there will always be occasions when recovering a debt is not possible. With the help of Informate, there is no longer any need to tolerate non-payment.

When your own attempts to collect outstanding monies have been exhausted and you have decided to seek assistance from a third party, Informate can help.

Informate can collect or purchase your aged/outstanding debts whether they have been previously returned as uncollectable, or are simply gathering dust in a filing cabinet.

Through a new process developed with Informate’s partners, the company can provide you with a solution and payment for debts which are currently dormant; parking fines, council taxes and sundry debts are all debts it can assist

For many public sector organisations such as the NHS and local government, technology has the potential to enable you to engage more effectively with your stakeholders whilst simultaneously driving down internal costs. However for many, this elusive combination – delivering more value with less overall cost – remains just that. Add to this concerns over security and availability and many public sector buyers find it difficult to work out whether technology is friend or foe.

As a technology partner with a 22 year track record of supporting clients in the third sector, ProTech is now bringing its extensive knowledge and expertise to the public sector, helping you to quickly and easily overcome your technology constraints – putting your stakeholders and internal efficiency at the top of your organisation’s agenda.

Sorting out your debts so you don’t have to

in collecting or purchasing.

The team’s knowledge in working with debtor information in the debt recovery sector gives the team at Informate perfect insight and expertise to make this an attractive proposition for local authorities.

From the outset, Informate will offer prompt action and solid advice on the way forward for you. For further information and an overview of processes, call or email the team today.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01977 624363 sales@informate.co.uk www.informate.co.uk

Delivering better value whilst keeping costs down

3D DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

WASTE MANAGEMENT

The MoonRay 3D Printer is now in the UK and being used for both rapid prototyping and medical applications thanks to the new availability of diverse and biomedically approved resins. This elegant DLP printer uses the latest ultra violet projector technology to solidify the liquid resin layers.

Each layer is just 20 microns (or a quarter the width of a human hair) thick and builds up a very faithful representation of the most complex 3D models. With a higher build speed than laser printers, this platform can turn design concepts or prototype assemblies into reality while the number of parts per build makes no difference to the printing time. Repeatability is assured with this 3D method allowing the dimensional accuracy to remain the same wherever the part is on the build platform.

This small desktop package can fit easily into an office or

With over 20 years of experience, Grabco is one of the fastest growing grab hire and aggregate companies in the area. It offers a fully insured, fully licensed, reliable and efficient service for both domestic and commercial customers.

The company aims to recycle as much debris and waste as possible to help the environment as much it can.

Grabco offers a range of high quality aggregates such as premium topsoil, standard topsoil, recycled aggregates (including concrete and shingle), type 1 MOT, cement, sand, and loads more!

As well as aggregates, the company also provides a range of top quality services which can be useful for both gardens and commercial sites.

Some of the most popular services include: waste removal, grab and tipper hire, mini digger hire, site clearance,

Products & Services

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

Through its government security accredited technology solutions, ProTech offers integrated digital and CRM solutions, together with change management services. Chosen by the UK’s most prestigious organisations, including the College of Policing and the Institute of Risk Management, ProTech is already recognised as the third most significant provider of CRM solutions through the government’s Digital Marketplace.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0121 325 2620 sales@protech.co.uk www.protech.co.uk

One of the largest grab An all-in-one system designed for your desktop hiring companies in Essex

lab environment and comes with built in software, a starter pack and wireless connection.

Prototype components designed by any CAD software or 3D digitally scanned items can be produced effortlessly and amended for prototype assembly or installation.

Distributed for Europe from Bath-based Awesome Apps Ltd, the printer is fully supported with a warranty, spares and consumables.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01242 370453 info@awe-apps.com www.moonray3dprinter.eu

groundworks, demolition, and other site-related services.

Grabco is best known for its site clearance and grab hire services for commercial sites.

Its tippers can carry up to 20 tonnes of waste whether that be brick, soil, rubble, or any other form of waste. The team knows time is precious, which is why its tippers can be on and off your site within 30 minutes of arrival to ensure as little hindrance as possible is made.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01279 600 578 info@grabco.co.uk www.grabco.co.uk

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Products & Services

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

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Bentley Copse Activity Centre is an outdoor activity centre with over 15 adventurous activities and offers a range of accommodation for groups in its extensive forest woodlands and twenty-eight acres of natural Hurtwood forest.

A not‑for‑profit organisation, the company can offer high quality adventurous activities at a lower cost than commercial providers and has been inspiring and educating children for the last 93 years.

Bentley Copse Activity Centre offers: weekend package offers for scout and guide camps; school residential and activity days; Duke of Edinburgh in the heart of Surrey Hills; weddings;

The DoubleTree by Hilton Lincoln is ideally located in the Midlands for all of your conference and event requirements. The city’s only 4* contemporary hotel and events venue sits in a prime city centre spot on Brayford Marina, offering stunning waterfront views and easy access to transport links and all major Midlands towns and cities.

The hotel has recently seen extensive developments following a £5 million investment program and now boasts seven modern event spaces catering from 2-400 people. Enjoy panoramic views of Lincoln Castle and Cathedral from two al fresco terraces, along with 160 upscale guestrooms and suites. From small meetings to large conferences, training sessions to Christmas parties – the modern, flexible spaces are perfect for any event.

Refresh, energise and recharge your event with our range of mindful menus and refreshment breaks available. Beyond the

Accommodation in the heart of Surrey Hills

children’s birthday parties; and team-building days.

Bentley Copse is open all year round to any group wishing to book to stay. Resident staff are on site to assist you throughout your visit at Bentley Copse.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01483 202 424 admin@bentleycopse.org www.bentleycopse.org

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Walton Firs has been welcoming young people to its activity centre for almost 80 years.

The centre prides itself on helping visitors to develop their self‑confidence and team‑work skills, and overcome personal challenges whilst creating some wonderful memories. Walton Firs is a hidden gem, nestled in 36 acres of Surrey countryside, just two miles within the M25.

Its charity-owned status means it is able to offer great value to its new and returning visitors.

There is a wide and diverse range of activities available for day visitors, not to mention accommodation for residential trips in dormitory‑style huts or camping for the more adventurous. Staff can help

OPEN is situated in the heart of Norwich and is now one of the largest multi-purpose function venues in Norfolk.

The conference facilities include a Banking Hall, perfect for 500 people theatre style or 250 cabaret, four various sized conference rooms and a smaller Club room, all with their own private entrance and reception lobby.

A dedicated conference team are on hand to offer advice, expertise and bespoke pricing, and the in-house catering team deliver a variety of menus from buffets to fine-dining using, wherever possible, fresh local produce.

The venue is just a few minutes’ walk away from Norwich train station or a half hour taxi ride from Norwich International Airport and is one of the most technically well-equipped venues in Norfolk complete with in-house technical support.

Also available for hire is

Great value outdoor activities within the M25

110

A conference and events venue with a view

you to arrange your visit and create bespoke packages to suit specific learning objectives whilst remaining within specified budgets.

Some recent comments include: “We love bringing our children to Walton Firs, there is so much space for them to use, with plenty of different activities to suit all ages and all within a safe environment”, and, “Our girls had so much fun taking part in the archery and climbing sessions that they have asked if they can come back before the end of the year!”

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01932 863243 info@waltonfirs.co.uk www.waltonfirs.co.uk

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

iconic warm DoubleTree Cookie welcome, the hotel provides guests with a full complement of services and amenities, including complimentary Wi‑Fi, fitness suite, Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and rooftop Electric Bar. Hilton HHonors members can also access digital amenities like digital check-in with room selection and Digital Key unlocking their room with wave of their smartphone.

Ask about special rates for Government Business Magazine readers. Contact the team by telephone or email today.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01522 565 197 events@brayfordhotels.com

OPEN – there is no other option for your venue

a climbing wall, gym and dance studio which is great for team-building events.

Every penny of profit goes towards its youth charity, OPEN Youth Trust, which aims to provide all young people the life skills and confidence to achieve full potential in life, especially those who are from a disadvantaged background.

Any queries please contact the conference team quoting GMB17.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01603 252 117 conference@ opennorwich.org.uk opennorwich.org.uk/venuehire/conference-rooms/

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

A Grade 1 listed 12th century country manor nestled in its own tranquility and picturesque private 800-acre rural estate.

Brinsop Court provides a unique setting for your business to host anything from a board room business meeting and product launches, to a theatre style conference, team building retreats and/or a corporate event for up to 100 delegates.

Escape the city business distractions. Give your team the opportunity to focus and brain storm. Let creativity and innovation flow in many of Brinsop Business’s converted modern work spaces in a calming and opulent atmosphere. Make full use of the Brinsop business facilities during your stay, multiple breakout areas, wifi throughout the house, projector and screen, flipcharts and stationary boxes, and unlimited tea, coffee and bottled water.

Enjoy the extraordinary surroundings in the scenic

Less than a mile from Junction 21 of the M5 and ideally situated for easy regional access, The Campus is an award winning building which has recently undergone total refurbishment. The Campus offers a range of modern conferencing facilities for large and small events partnered with outstanding customer service and excellent rates.

The venue’s meeting rooms can each seat eight people and suit a more intimate conference or meeting occasion.

Alternatively, the three rooms can be opened up to provide one large meeting room.

The Campus also has three large conference suites which can be adapted to seat up to 60 people in a style of your choosing including theatre, boardroom and cabaret arrangements. Or, if you require, the conference suites can be opened up to provide one large conference space. Just across the corridor is a smaller

Brinsop Court: a venue with a difference

Herefordshire countryside and take full advantage of the land and facilities for outdoor team-building activities, sport and entertainment.

When the working day is done, let your team unwind in front of the fire in the Oak Parlour, enjoy a game of tennis or snooker, or relax in the manor’s outdoor hot tub! Enjoy a magnificent 5* catered feast in the 12th century candle lit banqueting hall with a vaulted ceiling and a grand open log fire and stay in one of 18 contemporary and comfortable luxuriously decorated bedrooms.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01432 509 925 www.brinsopcourt.com

Drawing a wide range of services under one roof

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Whether you wish to hold an important seminar, a private banquet, Hintlesham Hall is the perfect choice for any event. The Hall’s five individually styled conference rooms can comfortably accommodate an intimate board meeting for four delegates up to a larger gathering of 100 delegates theatre style.

The brand new purpose built conference room has been fitted with a state‑of‑the‑art whiteboard and internet‑configured projector.

It has its own dedicated superfast broadband with enough connections to run 40 laptops. With natural daylight and black‑out facilities and direct access to the gardens, the conference room is located in a quiet part of the hotel on the ground floor where

Set on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, Buckfast Abbey Conference Centre offers a unique and peaceful venue in Devon, whilst being just a twominute drive from the A38.

There are six recently refurbished, comfortable seminar rooms with beautiful views, up-to-date technology and air-conditioning, an exclusive boardroom and the 150-seat Schiller Hall. With reliable technology and on-site support, visual and audio presentations can be seamlessly incorporated into your conference.

Buckfast Abbey Conference Centre is renowned for its locally sourced, homemade cuisine. Head chef, John Hughes, who comes from a background of fine dining and has worked at numerous top restaurants and hotels, says: “Top quality food is priority here at Buckfast Abbey. Just because it is a conference centre and not a traditional restaurant does not mean the food should

Bespoke meetings, conferences and events

you can run your meeting without fear of interruption.

The venue also offers outdoor space for team building, 32 individually designed, luxuriously furnished bedrooms, and exceptional 24 hour and 8 hour delegate rates. For further information, please contact the team either via telephone or email.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01473 652334 reservations@ hintleshamhall.com www.hintleshamhall.com

Products & Services

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

conference suite which can accommodate up to 20 people or act as a prefect break out space.

All of the meeting rooms at The Campus are air-conditioned and the conference rooms maximise natural ventilation. A range of conference equipment is also available for hire and light catering can also be provided.

For more information contact the team via telephone or email today, quoting reference 1017GOV. FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01934 427 427 campus@n-somerset.gov.uk www.the-campus.org.uk

A unique ‘get-away-fromit-all’ venue in Devon

be any different” - and food consistently rates ‘excellent’ on delegate feedback forms.

If you’re looking to book your next conference, please call, or visit the company’s website.

You’ll also benefit from a 10 per cent discount offered to all government organisations, ample free parking and the nearby Northgate House Hotel for any overnight requirements.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01364 645530 conferences@buckfast.org.uk www.buckfastconferences. org.uk

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Products & Services

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

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

The British Racing School was established in Newmarket in 1983. Since then, the school has developed and flourished to its current position as the Centre of Excellence for training in the racing industry, providing a whole range of different courses and training.

The school’s conference and events facilities are suitable for a number of different functions to suit a client’s needs, from meeting rooms and boardrooms to a lecture theatre which can accommodate 12 to 80 delegates. It can also offer a high standard of catering for your event and immaculate on-site accommodation if needed.

The facilities are extremely popular with clients, especially those looking for something a little different. As you arrive and travel up the tree lined drive you are likely to pass one of the strings of ex-racehorses being taken out for exercise and the fantastic facilities have a touch

Set in the heart of the Cheshire countryside, this delightfully quirky and intimate venue, in addition to providing musical entertainment all year around, is available for external hire. Clonter Opera Theatre offers a wide range of facilities suitable for numerous alternative activities, including conferences, training and away days and fairs.

Clonter consists of a 400-seater auditorium in which to make presentations; six adjacent break out rooms of various sizes for more interactive and intimate sessions to take place; a spacious foyer complete with bar to facilitate networking; extensive outdoor space in which to run additional activities (weather permitting) or just to take a break in between sessions surrounded by mature woodland, aiding a true break away from the city.

With the wide range of its own events, Clonter is well‑equipped, with two kitchens, to arrange catering of every kind and

The British Racing School – A remarkable venue for conferences and events a unique events venue

of racing history in every room.

Personal guided tours of the racing facilities at The British Racing School are available on request. If you prefer the more traditional conference facility experience, the school is fully equipped to provide this and its dedicated team are on hand to ensure that it meets your every need.

For more information please contact Liz Smith,Conference and Events Manager, via the details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01638 669040 events@brs.org.uk www.brs.org.uk

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

SPORTS AND LEISURE

Bells Hotel makes for a perfect conference venue in Gloucestershire, thanks to its convenient location and high quality facilities.

The hotel is located within the M5, M50, M4 triangle, which makes it conveniently placed for guests travelling from London, the Midlands, the south-west, as well as those from Wales.

Despite this, Bells Hotel is also far enough away from the hustle and bustle of city life that conference visitors can escape from the humdrum of the office and enjoy a touch of relaxation.

With a large, free car park, Bells Hotel can accommodate hundreds of cars and has space for coach parking, too.

The spacious, fully-equipped conference facilities are modern and comfortable to ensure your group, no matter how big or small, can enjoy your event to the fullest.

The hotel has a variety of conference rooms available,

Hexa Sports Ltd. was established around 35 years ago and is centrally situated in the heart of the West Midlands near to major lines of communication. With a skilled workforce and a full range of machining and fabrication equipment, Hexa undertakes the design and manufacture of a fine quality tennis court, sports ground equipment and bespoke equipment for the leisure industry.

Recent developments include the production of heavy duty steel furniture for outside use which are supplied flat-packed for ease of transport and storage, a variety of heavy duty boot‑wipers and drag brushes for artificial grass and clay surfaces.

These products complement the company’s long established range of products for tennis courts, netball, badminton, volleyball, basketball, football, cricket, hockey, rugby, line marking etc. Much use is made of thermoplastic dip coating as

organise entertainment, if required, and free car parking.

Whilst away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Clonter is only a 10 minute drive from two towns, Holmes Chapel and Congleton, and 20 minutes drive from Macclesfield and all their respective railway stations, and 5.5 miles from the M6. Shuttle minibuses can be arranged.

With the increasing speed of life, Clonter’s rural setting is increasingly being identified as the ideal alternative environment in which companies can really get away from the office for a day.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01260 224 514 events@clonter.org

A relaxing and welcoming The number one sports stay in Gloucestershire equipment manufacturers

112

ranging in size and style, to allow you to create an event which suits your needs and budget. Its dedicated team will be sure to look after all your needs and provide your guests with everything they need.

When it comes to catering, Bells has a range of options to choose from – from simple and elegant coffee and pastries, to afternoon tea, full working lunches and indulgent evening meals.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01594 832583 www.bells-hotel.co.uk

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

a preferred finishing process to ensure first class quality and a long maintenance free life of products and Hexa’s aim is to make superior quality British made products available to potential users. A web based e-commerce shop is available but special terms are available for government-based or affiliated organisations on application to the office.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0121 783 0312 sales@hexasports.co.uk www.hexasports.co.uk

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

FIRE SAFETY

Mr. Fire Safety employs some of most qualified and experienced fire safety officers currently operating in the UK – each with over 30 years’ experience in the fire safety sector, and active members of the Institute of Fire Safety Managers. Specialising in reasonable cost, high quality fire risk assessment and bespoke training packages, the team covers the whole of the UK from its base in the heart of the Midlands.

The company comes from an enforcement background so are fully conversant with the most recent fire regulations to ensure your business meets its regulatory obligations.

Working directly with you, Mr. Fire Safety helps your business to stay safe from fire, putting in place strategies and processes to reduce risk.

There may be many ways to meet the requirements of regulation; the company will discuss a variety of

T F Installations Ltd, founded in 2012, is a dedicated specialist company in fire detection, fire alarm system design and security systems.

It has quickly become one of the most respected fire system companies in London and the South East following a series of high profile installations and has developed a founding reputation for providing innovative products and superior services that meet and exceed its clients’ expectations.

The company predominantly works directly for end user clients in the commercial sector, offering a complete range of services to its clients; from sales, fire alarm system design, installation, testing, commissioning through to ongoing maintenance and technical support. This includes identifying client needs, determining options and designing systems at the most competitive cost without compromising quality.

Helping your business to stay safe from fire

options, allowing you to make informed decisions.

Having worked with local authority fire and rescue services and other fire safety consultancies, Mr. Fire Safety understands fire and why many people need help with fire safety. That’s why it has created a fire safety ‘one stop shop’, providing support services including fire door repairs, sign surveys, supply and fitting, fire extinguisher supply and maintenance. The company’s engineers also install emergency lighting and fire alarm systems.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 07951 098 662 info@mrfiresafety.co.uk

The fire detection and security specialists

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

CLEANING

Actual Support Services was established in 1973. The company carries out various services in London and South East areas.

It operates from both a London office and a Great Dunmow office in Essex, and focuses on providing its customers with a cost‑effective and reliable service.

Actual Support Services provides contract cleaning including window cleaning – traditional and via reach and wash systems. The company can supply access from its fleet of lorry-mounted access platforms, which it hires out with its IPAF operators. It also carries out a service to prevent birds roosting by installing bird spikes and netting.

Other cleaning divisions Actual Support Services has is builders handover cleaning, including: floor cleaning, carpet cleaning and flood and fire damage.

The removals division carries out domestic and commercial removals and storage, and the

Leafield Environmental’s Square Heritage hooded litter bin is being re-launched with a host of new features but still maintaining the traditional style that has made it so popular.

One of the most durable litter bins available, thanks to the double wall construction throughout the entire bin, the Heritage’s outer walls now sport ridges to prevent unwanted fly posting but the improvements are more than just skin deep.

Personalisation panels now feature on each of the four faces and each can now be enhanced with a framed polycarbonate poster cover to carry advertising promotional material or sponsorship.

All four faces have moulded chamfered apertures with extended lips that direct the litter into the 115litre plastic liner. A plate is available to blank off an aperture when the bin is to be sited against a wall. For those sited in coastal

Products & Services

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

In 2012, T F Installations Ltd was appointed an Engineered Systems Distributor (ESD) for Notifier Fire Systems, a subsidiary of Pittway Corporation of America, one of the world’s leading fire systems manufacturers. The company’s partnership with Notifier ensures that it is able to offer the best service possible – having become a specialised company with a strong reputation for the quality of installations with personal service as a local company backed by a multinational company leading the way in fire prevention technology.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01727860657 www.tfinstallations.co.uk stevem@tfinstallations.co.uk

Your number one facilities Popular heritage bin has new suit of clothes management group

company can also carry out rubbish clearance (Environmental Agency number CBDU124034).

Actual Support Services has employer’s liability and public liability of £10 million. All clients furnished with a Method Statement and Risk Assessment for each contract. All operatives are CSCS‑carded. IPAF and PASMA certificated operatives.

CHAS and SafeContractor accredited. ISO 9001 & ISO14001.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 020 7476 3596 london@actualservices.co.uk Tel: 01371 874 420 anglia@actualservices.co.uk

areas, optional pest flaps deter nuisance seagull intruders.

For smokers, optional metal stubber plates and a new 1 litre ashtray with quick release emptying mechanism are offered. The ashtray covers can now be coloured gold to match the popular decorative external banding.

The bins are also ‘sensor ready’.

They can now accommodate the fill-level sensors that turn them into Smart Bins and provide authorities with the intelligence necessary to make their litter collection operations greener and more efficient.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.leafield-environmental.com

Volume 24.6 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Products & Services

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

3D PRINTING

3D PRINTING

Central Scanning is an approved public sector and education supplier, working within the procurement framework for 3D scanners and 3D printers for all six Consortia.

Over its decade of trading, the company has built up an impressive arsenal of products that it can use to service the public sector, as well as EDU packages designed to bring 3D technology to more schools, colleges and universities.

Central Scanning’s Stratasys J750 printer has revolutionised the company’s offering of 3D printing. Just some of its impressive capabilities are automatic colour mapping for creating photorealistic models, multiple material selection, and double the average number of

AT 3D-SQUARED was established in 2007 by Andrew Allshorn and offers strategic consulting and advice for companies and organisations that have adopted or want to adopt 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing technologies.

At 3D-Squared offers an exceptional breadth and depth of knowledge of the software, hardware and material aspects that must be combined to generate best practice and results with AM. Indeed, Allshorn’s firm scooped the ‘Clogau Gold Growth through Innovation’ award at the Daily Post Achievement Wales 2011 Awards, which followed local success at the Flintshire Business Awards in the same year.

In 2017 Allshorn’s appointment as a European Ambassador for AMUG comes in recognition of his tireless work in raising global awareness of AM in various roles across more than three decades.

Allshorn says: “Lots of organisations jump into

3D scanning and printing services

Pushing the boundaries of additive manufacting tech

print nozzles for producing ultrasmooth surfaces and fine details.

The company also has an exciting addition to its range of 3D scanners coming soon: the Artec LEO arrives at Central Scanning in November, joining the Space Spider and Eva in the collection of Artec handheld scanners. Being Gold Certified partners, you can trust Central Scanning’s knowledge of these products.

To discuss any products and services for the public sector further, don’t hesitate to contact the company today on the details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01527 558 282 info@central-scanning.co.uk www.central-scanning.co.uk

this technology and end up purchasing the wrong machine for their requirements.”

With an extensive knowledge base, the company is able to call upon a well-established global network of contacts, offering comprehensive unbiased advice, on which technology best fits your schools/ colleges budget, application and materials requirements.

For more information about AT 3D-SQUARED or 3D Printing please contact the company today.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0778 971 3087 info@3d-squared.com www.at3d-squared.com

ADVERTISERS INDEX

The publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this free service Aareon Access Self Storage Actual Support Services AJC Trailers Arch Apprentices

68 CNS 77,55 Conference Eastbourne 113 Copping Joyce Surveyors 44 Corporate Governance Shop 100 Crocodile Flood Solutions

64 ICEX 88 Informate UK 57 ISS Mediclean 34 Jelf Group

66 Scarab Sweepers

20

74 Selufen 109 Shield Safety Group

77

6 Smart Employee Eyecare 52 STC Energy Management

Arden Windows

68 Croydex

68 Jockey Club

ASAP Comply

24 Data Team Business Media

20 Racecourses 62

AT 3D-Squared ATG Access Awesome Apps

114 Digital Dragons Global 32 Direct Solutions for Parking 109 Domitius Consulting

Ballyclare

14 DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel

Barrier Components

30 Energy Angels Group

74 JustPark Parking

42

42 Kier Services Housing

66

57 Kingspan Insulated Panels 110 Kyocera Document Solutions 68 LA Marketing

Storacall Technology Stripe Consulting

12 Somerset Council 4 T&P Regeneration

50 50 Inside Front Cover 90 40 111 49

113 Talenteam 59

Bells Hotel & Country Club

112 Equiniti

72 Lifetime Training

53 TF Installations

113

Bentley Copse Activity Centre

110 Evolve - Home Energy

22 Litmos Heroes

112

Blue Frog Media

114 FG Burnett

64 The British Racing School 61 The Giant Group

90 Walton Firs Activity 92 Wilo UK

110

Bookwhen 74 Flexiform BPP Professional Education

106 Ford

Brinsop Court Estate

111 Frontier Pitts

Bromley Court Hotel

64 GN Electrical

BSI Group

52 GPS Document Management

BSRIA

15 GRABCO

Buckfast Abbey Conference

111 Harleyford Golf Club Marlow

CCG

22 Herman Miller

CDG Group

52 Hesco Bastion

Cemplas Waterproofing

40 Hexa Sports

Clonter Opera Theatre

114

80 Howdens Joinery

112 Hintlesham Hall Hotel

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 24.6

104 M.C.G Training 97 Masher Brothers Back Cover MMD Monitors and Displays 33 Mr Fire Safety 20 National Car Parks 55 Navigant Consulting 109 Obillex 64 OPEN Youth Trust 98, 99 Perform Green 8 Premier Workplace Services 112 ProTech Computer Systems 111 Richard Allitt Associates

84 66 The Thames Valley Controls 66 50 Therm-eco 22 113 UK Gasifier Supplies 18, 29 38 University College of Estate 102 96 Vorboss 86 52 Wagstaff Interiors 94 110

109 Wudo Solutions 36 Zengenti

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