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EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT FUND
LEAD BIDDER - SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL
Housing & technical resources
RESPONSE REPAIR SERVICE FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES/OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR AGENCIES/SOCIAL LANDLORDS
Stage 1 application - expression of interest
Part 1: Summary Table
Bid Number (for EG Use) | |
Lead Bidder | South Lanarkshire Council Contact: John Gordon
Tele: 01355 806613
e-mail: john.gordon@southlanarkshire.gov.uk |
Brief description of the aims of the project | - To develop a 24 hour Response Repair Centre providing the contact and information centre to South Lanarkshire Council, Neighbouring Authorities, Other Public Sector Agencies including Social Landlords.
- To reduce property and staff costs.
- To improve the efficiency of service delivery through greater co-operation and access to information.
- Deliver savings in costs on time which can be re-directed.
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Clear description of what the EGF money would be used to buy | - To establish a consultancy led project to determine the IT solutions to allow Personnel from a central point to access contract information for all agencies.
- To establish a solution to allow access to all property databases from partner agencies.
- Consultancy support £75,000.
- Staff time £50,000.
- Software development £400,000
(Database and repair diagnostic systems). - Training £50,000.
- Remodelling Accommodation £250,000
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Partners to the project likely to commit resources | - Health Board
- Housing Association
- A number of other public agencies have indicated current arrangements are in place however, would commit support if approved to the second stage.
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Names of other organisations with whom the project has been discussed (to assist the introductions process) | Initial discussions have taken place with the National Health Service and Lanarkshire Primary Care Trust who have shown an interest in this project and have identified that considerable savings can be made. Links are already established with a number of Housing Associations and this bid will allow the service to be developed. |
Evidence that suggested approach has been deployed successfully elsewhere | The principles of centralised call centres are well established. The current facilities within South Lanarkshire Council for 24 hour monitoring and response are capable of being developed to provide a 24 hour Response Repair Centre and this could be further linked to the monitoring of CCTV applications Out of Hours. The current 24 hour services provided include repair reporting for property, roads and lighting, community alarm and Council and town centre CCTV monitoring. |
Are there any restrictions to potential for enlargement of the project (i.e. technology, number of partners etc) | None identified. |
Benefits projected from the project | The main benefits identified with this project would be a reduction in staff required to be available on call and a more efficient model allowing a limited number of staff to deal with potential emergency and other routine calls and enquiries on a 24 hour basis from a single location. This should result in considerable savings in staff and property costs and improve service provision |
Estimated Financial projections (Please treat these figures as indicative only) | Total | 2005 / 6 | 2006 / 7 | 2007 / 8 | 2008 / 9 |
Overall project cost | £825,000 | £75,000 | £400,000 | £350,000 | |
| Total | 2006 / 7 | 2007 /8 | 2008/9 | 2009/10 |
Estimated projected benefits | £550,000 p.a. | £75,000 | £100,000 | £250,000 | £550,000p.a. |
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Is a pilot required - see guidance notes | Yes - it is proposed that, following the roll out of the IT solutions to allow access to lists of contractors and sub-contractors for different agencies and availability of a database for property, that a pilot of the project would be required for a particular period. The purpose of the pilot would be to allow the system to be proven or further developed before being fully implemented. |
Additionally: why is EG funding required | Efficient Government funding is required to carry out an initial consultancy for contract condition analysis and to bring forward proposals for the optimum model which will allow the maximum benefit to be derived from the project. In addition, IT solutions will be required for repair diagnostic systems and also to link property databases for all partners and to identify the availability of resources within contractors and sub-contractors. It will also be necessary to support parallel systems during the pilot process which will include additional staff and property resources. |
Is this project complementary in any way to other EG work | The project may be complimentary to other Efficient Government bids which relate to the harmonisation of property databases for Public Sector agencies. |
Is 'stage 2 development funding' requested | Yes. It is considered necessary to use stage 2 development funding to support initial consultancy which will require to consider the contract condition analysis and also to model the stage 2 bid to the optimum solution. |
Part 2: Narrative Bid
Purpose of This Bid
The purpose of this bid is to establish a consultancy led feasibility study investigating the potential for a partnership approach to providing a 24 Hour Response Repair Centre and also for the monitoring of CCTV on an Out of Hour basis.
The project will be designed to provide the optimum model from a single location with an emphasis on reducing costs through the reduction staff available to deliver a 24 Hour Response Service from a single location which will improve the quality of the service and reduce property costs.
Method of Development
Proposals within this bid will include a consultancy lead feasibility study to look at the contracts in place across different agencies and to consider methods and timescales to harmonise the contracts to give common conditions and a simple method of instruction through a single contact centre. This initial consultancy will also consider the relevant IT solutions which will be required and these are likely to include common access to property databases available within each of the partner agencies and also a repairs diagnostic system which will allow on site non technical staff to more accurately assess and report repairs. This will improve the quality and speed of the service and also considerably reduce the cost of providing maintenance due to reducing down time to maintenance staff through the wrong analysis of the required repairs. This will better target both materials and the correct tradesman to respond to individual repairs. An additional aspect of the consultancy to consider appropriate Quality Management Systems be put in place for both the response from the contact centre and the overall delivery of service.
The consultancy phase of the project will also require to consider the optimum model required to deliver the service including the relevant number of staff and required skills and the appropriate property solution.
Benefits Associated With This Bid
Benefits of the proposal can be summarised as:-
1. Encouraging partnership working to improve services.
2. Improving service while reducing costs.
3. Providing a streamlined centralised model which will allow further development and improvements to both service and reduction in costs.
Encouraging partnership working
The provision of response repair solutions both within normal working hours and out of hours provision is generally provided within existing organisations and in some cases it is provided in an ad hoc basis. The proposals contained within this bid encourage a partnership approach which will allow the service to be provided in a more efficient manner and will also provide an economy of scale to smaller organisations which will allow a 24 hour efficient response service to be provided at an economic cost to the organisation.
The necessity of CCTV and the benefits that it can bring to the safety and security of both property and personnel is well established and the partnership approach contained within this bid will allow all organisations to provide a 24 hour or out of hour monitoring service on an economic basis utilising the latest technologies.
Implementing the new model quickly
Current facilities which exist and are being developed within South Lanarkshire Council will allow the proposals to be implanted and piloted within a reasonable timescale and cost.
Improving service while reducing costs
Providing a service from a centralised model will allow a reduction in the number of staff required to provide the services across all agencies but will also allow better management of the staff providing this service including training and development to ensure continued improvement to the service and also an enhanced level of expertise through the specialism which can be achieved within a centralised model. The level of service provided will be monitored and improved through the implementation of a Quality Management System to ensure correct procedures are adhered to and to continually monitor the quality of the service provided.
The cost savings identified within the bid relate to an estimated savings in staff time together with a reduction in property costs and savings which will be realised through the repair diagnostic system. In addition, there are likely to be savings which have not been quantified and a reduction in vandalism and repair costs due to the implementation of 24 hour CCTV monitoring.