|
Welcome to the NAG and SOPO newsletter for 14 August 2020. Feel free to circulate to your colleagues.
This newsletter is now delivered through our corporate service that handles all our various e-bulletins.
Manage or create a subscription.
Previous bulletins can now be found here.
Personal protective equipment
The online portal for personal protective equipment (PPE) will now be made available for all CQC registered care providers. Invitations will be sent directly to care providers to register. PPE through the portal is provided free of charge and is designed to be used as an emergency supply of PPE.
Home to School Transport: Autumn term 2020
Capacity on public transport remains limited given the requirements for social distancing; this will be particularly challenging for children and young people who travel to school by bus. Local authorities therefore need to put in place local demand management solutions for public services, and supplement the public bus network, and existing home to school transport, with additional capacity, to ensure that children can travel to school safely ,and disruption for all passengers on the public network is minimised.
Part A provides guidance for local authorities on managing the capacity of, and demand for, public transport, and increasing capacity of both public and dedicated home to school services, so that children can travel safely to and from school.
Part B provides guidance about the provision of dedicated home to school transport in the autumn term.
This guidance will apply from the start of the autumn term. It applies to local authorities in England. It will also be of interest to schools and transport operators in England.
Home to School Transport – Benchmark Pricing Information/Call for pricing data
As part of the wider commercial quick reference guide sent to Local Authorities, the DfE has provided some initial benchmark pricing information for minibuses, midibuses and coaches to help assess whether value for money is being achieved (please get in touch with DfE on the address below if you’ve not seen this) DfE has collated this benchmark pricing data based upon current market intelligence and available data. To strengthen this over coming weeks we encourage you to share any pricing data you have (both recent and future) to enable us to build into our aggregation model. We of course understand the commercially sensitive nature of this information. Any updated benchmark pricing will be shared on a regular basis with you. If this would be of value, please contact DfE-CovidEnquiries.COMMERCIAL@education.gov.uk.
Repetitive Local Government tendering is undermining NHS Covid response
NHS leaders have called for the retendering of community and public health services to be 'paused' for 21 months, amid concerns about winter capacity within community health. NHS Confederation has said retendering these services "risks damaging the morale" of frontline staff as it creates an "unnecessarily uncertain future" for them.
There were also concerns about local authorities looking to retender contracts for NHS community health and public health services - to help cover a £7.6bn income shortfall for 2020-21.
There were concerns that repetitive retendering could destabilise working relationships between the NHS and local authority commissioners. It suggested retendering be paused until the end of 2021-22.
Opening up
Workforce
The National Employers for local government services have issued new COVID-related guidance on the relaxation of shielding and return to work. Sent to chief executives, HR directors and regional employer organisations, the guidance looks in more detail at what employers need to consider, in consultation with their employees, for any return to the workplace, including for the clinically extremely vulnerable and clinically vulnerable.
Non-COVID stories
Social Value Portal – Easy Guides for buyers, SMEs, VCSES
Many councils across the UK are now including standalone Social Value weightings within their procurements of at least 10% and in some cases over 20%. Suppliers bidding for work with the public sector must now have a proper Social Value offering, or risk losing out. However, this can present a real challenge to two vital elements of our economy: small businesses (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs). SMEs and VCSEs have been badly hit by the Covid-19 crisis but their long-term survival is key for the UK economy and our public sector.
This document has been developed to provide guidance to public and private sector buyers who want to ensure that SMEs and VCSEs are not disadvantaged when Social Value is included within the procurement process and are well placed to provide the relevant services directly or as a part of a supply chain. It sits alongside an additional guide specifically written for SMEs and VCSEs who are looking to submit for work with the public sector.
Brexit Preparedness - Guidance to help local councils get ready for 1 January 2021
To support councils’ preparations for leaving the EU, on 3 August 2019 Government announced £20 million of funding and a further £9 million of funding was made available for local areas on 21 August. This brings the total funding allocated by the government to help local areas prepare for leaving the EU to £77 million.
A network of 9 local authority chief executives from across England has been established to engage with councils in their regions to share information on their Brexit preparations. Each council has also been asked to appoint a Brexit Lead Officer to work with central government and local services, businesses and residents in their area to plan intensively for Brexit.
This page tells you what you'll need to do from 1 January 2021
Green Recovery Challenge Fund
The £40 million green recovery fund will open in September to fund shovel-ready projects to restore nature and tackle climate change. The aim of the fund is to support projects that are ready to deliver and focus on nature restoration, nature-based solutions and engagement with nature. In addition, projects will be expected to support and create a range of jobs in the sector to help sustain and build capacity whilst delivering against the goals of the Government’s 25-Year Environment Plan. Projects will need to complete by March 2022.
Green Homes Grant
A reminder that the Government announced further details of their new Green Homes Grant Scheme this week. This will see the Government fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements of over 600,000 homes. All local authorities in England can also bid for funding under this scheme to improve the energy efficiency of low-income households in their area, before the deadline of 1 September 2020.
Webinars / e-learning
PBA Masterclass Webinar Wednesday 19 August 2020, 10:30-12:00
The LGA is working with the Cabinet Office Fair Payment Working Group to promote prompt payment and is hosting a webinar on Project Bank Accounts (PBAs) on Wednesday 19 August at 10.30am
Join the webinar and learn about PBAs and how they can be used to deliver central government and local authority construction projects. It will be an opportunity to hear from people across government that use PBAs and put your questions to them, and dispel some of the myths that surround PBAs. There will also be case studies to demonstrate the benefits of using PBAs on both small and large construction projects. To register for the webinar, follow this link to the booking page https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pba-masterclass-webinar-tickets-116102015253
Any questions please contact Georgia.rudin@local.gov.uk.
Procurex National Engage – 9 September 2020 (Online)
An ongoing theme in today’s public sector marketplace is the need to realise improved value for money through ‘smarter’ procurement. Procurex National 2020 is designed specifically to help both buyer and supplier communities to meet the efficiency challenges of today and tomorrow, in addition to enhancing overall skills and capabilities. Find out more on the Procurex National Engage 2020 website.
|
