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LGA procurement support survey – final reminder
We’ve had a great response to our survey that went recently but a number of you have asked for a bit more time so we’re extending the deadline until Friday 17 November. If you received a link we would be grateful if you could spend a little time to complete this survey, it should only take around 10 minutes and will provide us with a clearer idea about demand for any future programmes. We value all of your responses and the are instances where a council has had more than one request, for the avoidance of doubt we’d like to hear from everyone who received the link.
Councils awarded Swimming Pool Support Fund
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced that 103 councils in England will receive a share of £20 million funding through the Swimming Pool Support Fund. The first £20 million will help 196 swimming pools and leisure centres most at risk of closure or significant service reduction. The funding will also help with the recent rise in energy costs, such as paying towards immediate maintenance costs, heating and pool chemicals.
A further £40 million will be announced over the coming months to help make swimming pools and leisure centres more energy efficient, including funding new heating systems and energy saving interventions. A full list of councils and leisure centres receiving funding is available on the Sport England Website.
Funding for non-NHS organisations for one-off payments
The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that eligible non-NHS organisations such as councils, charities and social enterprises, can apply for government funding to cover the cost of their one-off payments to staff, as part of the NHS pay award. The Government has agreed to provide additional funding for organisations with contracts to deliver NHS services, which employ their staff on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts. Whilst these staff are contractually eligible for the payments, the independent organisations are responsible for making them.
Organisations will be able to apply for the funding and will need to show they have been negatively financially impacted by the pay deal. Many organisations have already delivered the one-off payments to staff but can apply to be reimbursed. The scheme will open in the coming weeks and is expected to be completed by the end of the 2023 to 2024 financial year.
Modern slavery risk assessment and due diligence guidelines for adult social care – virtual event presentations and resources
The presentation slides and resource pack are now available for the recent virtual event which launched the new 'Establishing modern slavery risk assessment and due diligence in adult social care – a commissioning officer’s guide'.
Unseen, who presented on the day about the growing number of reported cases have relaunched their App. The App provides a simple guide to recognising the signs of modern slavery and human trafficking and reporting concerns in confidence.
There is also a guide to types of modern slavery, an outline of key legislation, and an explanation of how to contact the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline in 27 languages. This latter function is useful for frontline workers communicating with a potential modern slavery victim who does not speak English.
Violation Tracker UK
Violation Tracker UK is a database of enforcement actions brought against companies by UK Government regulators. It catalogues over 90,000 cases with links to original sources. This freely-available resource can support due diligence in procurement processes, enabling council leaders to evaluate environmental, social and labour law violations to inform use of discretionary powers of exclusion.
The database is produced by Good Jobs First, a Washington DC-based non-governmental organisation focused on corporate and government accountability and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Network for Social Change.
For more details or a free demonstration contact Maia Kirby at maia@goodjobsfirst.org.
Provider Selection Regime (PSR) - Chair of the Independent Procurement and Choice Panel Role
NHS England is establishing a review panel that has oversight responsibilities for the procurement of health-care services under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) and for patient choice.
They are looking to appoint a Chair that will oversee the panel's two functions. This is an exciting opportunity to help influence patient choice and procurement in the NHS, making them work well for patients and taxpayers. As Chair, you will provide advice, scrutiny and challenge to Integrated Care Boards to ensure Choice is delivered for patients. You will also advise relevant authorities on how they have followed PSR regulations - the closing date is 21 November 2023
CCS Customer Webinar: Vertical Application Solutions
14 November 2:00pm - 3:30pm | Online
Transforming Public Procurement webinars
15, 16, 20 November | Online
Decarbonising transport
22 November 10.00am - 11.30am | Online
iNetwork Annual Conference
30 November 2023 | Manchester and online
National Children and Adult Services Conference 2023
29 November – 1 December | Bournemouth
Training opportunity for councillors - Leadership Essentials: Digitalisation
(in-person event)
Saturday 2 December – Sunday 3 December 2023 | Leeds
Crown Commercial Service Transforming Public Procurement: how we’re preparing for the new regulations webinars
Monday 4 December at 11 am
Thursday 7 December at 2:30 pm
Wednesday 13 December at 10 am
first is the LGA's membership magazine, distributed to around 16,700 councillors and local authority chief executives in England and Wales. Councillors and officers can sign up for the first e-bulletin using their council email addresses and/or access first online to browse LGA news stories, features, good practice case studies and comment pieces, including those from past issues.
For editorial inquiries, please email karen.thornton@local.gov.uk. For advertising, contact Polena Boutwood, Media Sales Executive at polena.boutwood@cplone.co.uk or on 01223 378047.
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