Pathfinder Current Status

• The Pathfinder Shared Support Services Programme has now been advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union. The process of selecting our private sector partner can now begin, with perspective companies and consortiums filling out a pre qualification questionnaire.

• Communication and Change Management now has a programme of events planned in 2009.  The next key event is a joint Pathfinder areas stand at the LGA conference in July.  This should help us raise our profile with Government Departments and should stand us in good stead when we bid for funding.

• The Community Engagement programme has made enough progress as a result of the Wycombe District Pathfinder Pilot for its evaluation to begin.  The evaluation, by the Improvement and Development Agency, has included sessions with parishes, community groups and Members. The evaluation report is due late May/early June with a possible report to the Joint Improvement Board in September 2009, alongside a similar exercise by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.  For further information on the Community Engagement programme see the ‘Project Profile' on issue four of the newsletter.

• Through joined up working Procurement has made a saving of £100k on Environmental Health.  Going forward, work is in progress with the Central Buying Consortium (a group of 17 local authorities in the south east) on joint tendering for stationery.  Contracts for a joint paper sort and recycling facility and specification for a joint grass cutting contract are also in development. Procurement has also recently provided expertise on tendering and joint contracting to the Shared Services and Waste Pathfinder programmes.

• The Waste programme's Joint Waste Committee has recommended that Leaders back the creation of Joint Waste Services Contracts and a Joint Waste Collection Officer Team.

• Work has continued on business analysis involving all five authorities and procurement of joint collection/street cleansing contract by the districts. Funding and support for the ongoing Waste programme has been secured from DEFRA's Joint Waste Authority WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) and REIP (Regional Improvement Efficiency Partnership).

• Among the actions from the Pathfinder Customer Services report agreed by CADEX in March were that the decision to put Customer Services into the Shared Services tender advert would be discussed at the Leaders Group.  Also agreed was that Improvement and Efficiency South East would be approached about additional funding, and that, in principle, a new project board at director level would be established to manage the work stream from April 2009.
  

For more information call 01296 383991 or email enquiries@buckspathfinder.gov.uk

Related pages:

• The Buckinghamshire Pathfinder E-Newsletter

Delivered in partnership with:

• Aylesbury Vale District Council
• Buckinghamshire County Council
• Chiltern District Council
• South Bucks District Council
• Wycombe District Council