APSE Scottish facilities management seminar: The future outlook for local authority facilities management services in an era of constraint
All Council’s in Scotland are currently reviewing all of their services in light of current and future financial settlements, this includes Facility Services. There is a recognition that a lot of costs have already been taken out of frontline services including Soft FM services. In many ways Soft FM services are at a cross roads in terms of shaping new and future directions. How do we generate the necessary efficiency savings and/or are these just simple service cuts?
Soft FM services will still be open for business. However, the future will no doubt question their nature and form. Will they be provided on an in-house basis? Will they be single services? Will they be bundled? Will they continue to be integrated? Will we see a move towards total facilities management which incorporate other service areas?
In addition, significant progress has been made in tackling the health of Scotland’s children, much of this is down to the action of local Councils through their schools and specifically Facility Services. By working collaboratively with a range of stakeholders progress is being made in addressing a range of issues associated with Scotland’s unwanted title of “sick person of Europe”.
Programmes such as “Hungry for Success” are excellent examples of early intervention programmes which are designed to create more positive outcomes for young people. Such programmes need to be developed rather than being cut according to the recent Christie Commission report into the future delivery of public services. However, this will be difficult and challenging given the fiscal outlook facing Scotland’s public sector.
Presentations
An Overview of Strategic Developments in the Facility Services market place
- State of the Facility Services market place
- Strategic Developments within the sector
- Trends in providing Facility Services
Speaker: Ian Ellison, Senior Lecturer, Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University
The Value of Soft Facilities Services – A Head Teachers Perspective
- The value of Soft FM services
- Adding value to the educational experience within schools
Speaker: Andrew Sutherland, Head of Schools, East Ayrshire Council
The HUB Initiative
- Background to the Scottish Governments Hub Initiative
- Current position and progress to date across Scotland
Speaker: Neil Grice, Programme Manager for Hub
The Policy, Service and Financial Challenges Facing the Local Government Sector
- An overview of the challenges
- What are the transformational solutions being addressed and progressed over the short, medium and longer terms
Speaker: Andrew Spowart, Principal Advisor, APSE
Reviewing Cleaning Services to Generate Efficiency Savings
- The scope to generate further efficiency savings?
- The service areas to be targeted
- The role of cost/performance indicators in managing for improved efficiency
- Improvement planning for efficiency savings
Speaker: Julie Pickering, APSE BVC Consultant
Reviewing Catering Services to Generate Efficiency Savings
- The scope to generate further efficiency savings?
- The service areas to be targeted
- The role of cost/performance indicators in managing for improved efficiency
- Improvement planning for efficiency savings
Speaker: John Bedwell, APSE BVC Consultant
The outcomes of the Brodies Public Sector Services Research Study 2010
- Key findings/detailed results
- Shared service provision and other models explained
Speaker: Jackie McGuire, Head of the Public Sector Services Group, Brodies Public Sector Services
Delivering Services Across Boundaries
- Soft FM as a shared service
- The Tayside approach explained
- Future challenges and next steps
Speaker: Iain Waddell, Managing Director, Tayside Contracts