About Performance Networks

Local government is facing difficult and turbulent times with the prospects of ongoing financial constraints. The need for services to demonstrate their competitiveness, efficiency and cost effectiveness has never been greater.  There is more of a need than ever to measure your own performance.  How are you going to monitor your service, performance and value? APSE performance networks will help you with managing reductions in revenue funding and evidencing the value of your service.

What is it?

APSE performance networks is the largest voluntary public sector benchmarking service across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Used by over 200 local authorities it leads the way in local government benchmarking. The size of our membership gives added benefits to members by being able to offer a wide variety of comparator groups.

What services does it cover?

1. Building cleaning
2. Building maintenance
   
3. Civic, cultural and community venues
   
4. Culture, leisure and sport
   
5. Education catering
   
6. Highways and winter maintenance
   
7. Other (civic and commercial) catering
   
8. Parks, open spaces and horticultural services
   
9. Refuse collection
   
10. Sports and leisure facility management
    
11. Street cleansing
    
12. Street lighting
    
13. Transport operations and vehicle maintenance
14. Welfare catering

What do I get?

• Performance reports and profile information on other councils throughout the UK
  
• Personalised performance indicator standings reports
  
• Summary reports (contains all data submitted throughout the year and includes data ranges (highest, lowest and average), analysis by country, trend analysis and participation information). 
  
• Direction of travel reports
  
• Additional comparator report
  
• Access to the members only web portal
  
• Free data completion and validator training sessions
  
• Peer support visits or assistance from experienced members from other local authorities
  
• One to one training and on-site visits from APSE principal advisors
  
• Dedicated support line during the data completion process
  
• Principal advisor-facilitated benchmarking meetings
  
• Process benchmarking meetings to look at how you can deliver your service at reduced cost or increased quality

Please click here to access a full prospectus of APSE performance networks.

Recognised and robust source of performance information

Described as an important asset by Inlogov and referenced in numerous audit and inspection reports performance networks is a widely recognised source of performance information within local government.

The Communities Secretary, Rt. Hon Eric Pickles MP has referred to APSE’s performance networks as one of the ways in which local authority performance can be independently assessed following the abolition of the Audit Commission.

In response to a question  from a member of the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee on 13 September 2010 about how local authority performance would be assessed following the abolition of the Audit Commission and the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA), Mr Pickles mentioned APSE as an organisation that produced comparative performance information for local authorities.

This is consistent with the Coalition Government’s approach to performance assessment through a new national improvement and efficiency programme a key aim of which is create a “bank of productivity data” for local government which will provide better financial information with evidence on what works in reducing costs in practice.

To see the Secretary of State’s answer to the Committee play the Windows media file above.

Please contact Emma Nolan at the APSE office for further information on joining performance networks.