Gathering of the vans in Aviemore!

Its APSEs annual Transport and Refuse conference in Aviemore and there is nearly 400 people present. This event is fairly unique in the APSE calendar with a massive trade show of some 75 external exhibition stands. Everything from buses to refuse lorries is on show and a great deal of business is done on the back of our conference.

I fly into Inverness and then taxi across to the hotel just in time to catch the opening sessions of the conference, its a fairly strategic debate on climate change and is a good start.

Meet up with an APSE stalwart in the afternoon, Jim Jack, who is running a marathon on the Sunday and invites our Scottish Principal Advisor, Pat Taggart, and myself out for a short training run. Eight miles later we are back, pat and me both having felt the pace, with Jim talking about it being a light jog.

The second day also sees some insightful presentations and the conference closes with the annual dinner.

Competitiveness not contestability!

APSE holds a special forum today where we present our ideas on competitiveness to a number of invited senior local government officers and engage them in a series of facilitated discussions to gather their input on the subject.

Our concern is that the forces of darkness continue to push the outdated and failed notion of contestability as a method of improving performance in the public sector. These dinosaurs really haven't learned anything from the failures of CCT or the success of Best Value and CPA. They still think that a lowest price contest at a given moment in time will guarantee value for money and sustained improvement in the long term.

Our alternative is around a model which drives continuous improvement and on-going efficiency by rigorous challenge from elected members. Whilst we don't finalise the paper on the day we get loads of ideas and general approval of what we are attempting to do.

Roger and out!

Down in London today for the final meeting of the LGA Sustainable Procurement working group, chaired by Roger Latham, where we are finalising local governments response in this area.

Having reviewed the document on the way down I have some concerns about the way it doesn't place sustainable procurement in the context of the current challenges facing local government, efficiencies, CAA, CSR etc. I also have some issues with the fact that the language is a bit impenetrable and it could therefore do with a bit of a 'Trinny and Susannah' if anybody is going to read it. My final point is that it needs to give some best practice examples of initiatives that are taking place at present.

I state my case at the meeting and low and behold end up getting asked to provide some examples. I will never learn! However the APSE Principal Advisors sort me out with about 100 case studies within a couple of days and I throw them into the mixer.

Our Friends in the North!

In Gateshead today to check out the facilities for the annual seminar. The Sage is a purpose built conference venue and looks first class. The exhibition and seminar will be close together and the break out sessions are not to far apart. Hotels and apres conference are also close at hand.

Biggest headache is our awards dinner, where we want to have up to 800 people present. We look at the Gateshead International Athletics Stadium and after a lot of discussion decide that we can build a venue inside two massive sports halls that will look like a ballroom. It will involve curtains, lighting, carpet and audio visual investment but we can just about do it.

Its settled and we are full steam ahead for September.

Investing In our People

APSE is up for reaccreditation to IIP, and the assessors are with us all day. When I arrived in 1999 morale was at an all time low in the Association and I thought the best way of turning this around was to show that as part of the organisations recovery it would invest in its staff and create opportunities for them in the structure. Many of the APSE team took this opportunity and have been promoted several times.

Having first been accredited in 2001 its a good feeling to be successfully reassessed for a second time in 2007. Our Head of Business Resources has been a stalwart in driving our systems and processes in this area.

The people have spoken ....

Its election day 2007 and I arrive in the office after having sat up half the night watching the results, this is a long standing tradition for me and I guess for most other anoraks who find politics interesting.

Spend the morning phoning around to see how elected members who are involved in APSE have done. The incoming National Chair is my first call and I breath a sigh of relief when I hear of his success.

Speak to a long term councillor friend in Scotland who resisted the temptation to take the financial package available to stand down and who is now looking dodgy as a result of the impact of proportional representation. Being a councillor is a hard profession if he loses out he will walk away having given years and years of public service with nothing more than a thank you.