AUTOMATE PUBLIC SECTOR AND CUT HALF A MILLION JOBS SAYS THINK TANK

Headlines: February 7th, 2017

Half a million jobs could be cut in the public sector with a full scale automation programme argues the Reform think tank in a new report.

The report calls for a thorough overhaul across the public sector to explore where artificial intelligence, chatbots and drones could be used to reduce demands for people.

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EXTENSION OF UNIVERSAL CREDIT DRIVING UP DEBT

Headlines: January 16th, 2017

Research published today by the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) and the Association for Retained Council Housing (ARCH) charts the impact of Universal Credit on the rent arrears of households living in council owned homes. More than two years into the programme to transform the payment of six major benefits the new arrangements continue to have a devastating impact on families, and their ability to maintain rent payments.

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SHARED SERVICES, PARTNERSHIP WORKING AND CO-FUNDING COMBINE TO GIVE ANSWERS TO FAQs

Headlines: January 10th, 2017

A new public sector co-funding and collaboration platform has been launched by five local authorities to deliver a new approach to customer service content management.

The project has developed the new approach based on crowdsourcing knowledge from specialists across local authorities, and sharing what is common to all.

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EXTRA FUNDING LEAVES SOCIAL CARE IN DEEP CRISIS

Headlines: December 15th, 2016

The government has announced an extra £3.5b funding for social care in England up to 2020. The announcement has met with responses ranging from derision to anger.

Much of the extra funding will come from council tax rises, but there is ambiguity about how the total increase will be found.

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CITY SMARTCARDS GIVE BETTR ACCESS TO PUBLIC SERVICES

Headlines: December 8th, 2016

Research from Matica Technologies AG shows that nearly two-thirds of citizens in four EU countries believe that access to multiple public services through a single smartcard is essential for effective service delivery in their local area.

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Headlines: December 1st, 2016

PUBLIC SECTOR JOB SATISFACTION AT FOUR YEAR HIGH

Job satisfaction in the public sector is at its highest level in four years according to the latest CIPD/Halogen Employee Outlook report.

The survey found that two-thirds of staff in the public sector were satisfied with their jobs. This is the highest level for that sector since autumn 2012. However, public sector employees still report higher levels of pressure and exhaustion at work than any other sector. Two in five public sector workers say they are under excessive pressure at work at least once a week and nearly half say they come home from work exhausted either always or often. This compares with 33%of employees across all sectors.

Claire McCartney, Associate Research Adviser at the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, commented: “It’s fantastic to see such a leap in job satisfaction in the public sector since our last survey in the spring, Previous research has shown that the public sector also has the highest levels of absence and number of employees coming into work ill by some margin, so it’s crucial that employers address these issues before workers burn out and satisfaction levels take a nose dive.”

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PUBLIC SECTOR PROCUREMENT GETS REFRESHED WITH TEA AND COFFEE FRAMEWORK

Headlines: November 22nd, 2016

Tea and coffee specialists Ringtons has been awarded a place on a sought-after national framework for public sector buying organisation ESPO following a comprehensive tender process.

As one of a select number companies to be appointed to the speciality fine food and drink framework (74), Ringtons’ tea, coffee, edibles, hot beverage equipment, and associated sundries will be available to ESPO members across the public sector for an initial two year period.

ESPO was established in 1981 to assist public sector bodies achieve cost savings for goods by carrying out a tender process on behalf of organisations and in-turn appointing proven companies to its framework agreements. Users benefit from knowing framework approved companies have undertaken a substantial procurement procedure which ensures they comply with ESPO’s pre-agreed terms and conditions, its required experience and service levels, and select companies offer an appropriate range of goods and services.

Compliant with UK and EU procurement legislation, the place on the framework will see Ringtons products and equipment made more readily available to all public sector organisations including schools, local authorities, police forces, charities and NHS bodies that fall under the remit of the six member authorities of ESPO.

Established in 1907 Ringtons operates a traditional doorstep delivery service, out of home hot beverages division, and comprehensive online store. Using over 100 years of experience, Ringtons’ coffee, tea and infusions are blended in its own UK factory in the north east of England ensuring high quality and freshness.

John Broad, National Manager for Ringtons said: “In an increasingly competitive marketplace ESPO provides a fail-safe solution to local authorities who can rely on the organisation to have carried out all of the hard work needed to find suitable suppliers who can offer quality services at competitive prices. We already work with a number of local authority organisations, but being appointed by ESPO will grow our exposure and winning a place on this competitive framework is a significant achievement for Ringtons. We look forward to building our relationship with ESPO members and in-turn our coffee, tea, edibles and more being enjoyed by the wider audience this introduces us to.”

ESPO is jointly owned by its six member authorities: Leicestershire County Council, Lincolnshire County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Norfolk County Council, Warwickshire County Council, and Peterborough City Council.

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SOME COUNCILS WILL GAIN FROM FUNDING CHANGES BUT OTHERS WILL LOSE

Headlines: October 25th, 2016

Major changes to councils’ funding are making councils much more dependent on the amount of council tax and business rates raised locally. The Business Rates Retention Scheme currently allows local areas in England to keep up to 50% of the growth in their business rates revenues that result from new developments.

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SOCIAL CARE RECRUITMENT TO BENEFIT FROM A VALUES BASED APPROACH

Headlines: September 29th, 2016

Skills for Care is working with Oxfordshire County Council and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) in the South East to show employers how they can adopt a values and behaviours-based approach to recruitment and reap the benefits.

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CIVIL SERVICE HR TURNS PROFESSIONAL

Headlines: September 29th, 2016

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between
CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, and the Civil Service to support greater professionalisation across the Service.

There are around 4,000 staff in Civil Service HR who will benefit from the arrangement, which comes at a crucial time, given the inevitable changes taking place in the UK Civil Service in response to the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.

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