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Will regional improvement and efficiency partnerships be consigned to the dustbin of history in the big quango clear-out? Conservative council leader, Paul Bettison, says that on the contrary, their expertise and track record is needed more than ever Do extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures? You bet, but they also call for calm and sober decisions taken in the best interests of local government and the communities we serve. One such decision we've taken in the South East is to retain Improvement and Efficiency South East (IESE), our regional improvement and efficiency partnership, next year. The RIEPs haven't been an easy concept to sell, so I'm not surprised that some regions are looking to call time on their partnerships. At the same time, the outlook for national local government improvement and efficiency arrangements is uncertain. But, I see little point in creating more uncertainty when councils and their partners least need it. And rather than risk losing the expertise, capacity and intelligence that we've accumulated, we aim to give councils the confidence that high-quality support will remain in difficult times. Not only that, but we will continue to draw in customers from beyond the South East to offer them the support they will need, too. We are planning to build on our successes. Indeed, we want our customers to be the very best at adapting to the challenges thrown down by the Comprehensive Spending Review. Local government has demonstrated time and again that it can rise to a demanding financial climate, particularly when local authorities work together. But this is something else, much more intense. The LGA has said it will do all it can to minimise the effect of these cuts and encourage councils to work with other areas of the public and voluntary sector to break down bureaucratic barriers. We must also include the private sector, given the scale of commercial involvement in the delivery of council services. To achieve these aims, councils will need access to the right kind of support at the right time, and I firmly believe that IESE has shown that it's uniquely placed to accelerate the pace of transformation that's needed. This is evidenced by its performance. Our analysis shows that for every £1 invested, IESE has returned £5 in savings for councils. It's on course to deliver £160m in cashable savings over three years, and is predicted to help save councils £250m after five years. While saving money is important, it's also helping to bring about new ways of working. It's demonstrated time and again that it can offer responsive solutions to meet the circumstances of specific councils and help them adapt successfully to a rapidly-changing public sector agenda. IESE is innovative, and is recognised as having implemented some of the most innovative procurement practices found in local government today. Many of its solutions are scalable and portable across councils and across regions. Its award-winning construction framework has, so far, saved councils almost £40m, while authorities throughout the country are saving money and improving outcomes in social care placements and waste services thanks to IESE's Care Funding Calculator (CFC) and the Waste Information Network (WIN). IESE is now looking to follow the success of delivering national collaboration in construction by launching equivalent frameworks for the procurement of waste collection and corporate services. Exciting times for IESE maybe, but in truth, its products are offering councils across the country practical solutions to their challenges. Our success is founded on strong political and officer leadership, representation to councils wanting a stake in IESE, a clear vision and strategy, a demonstrable track record with a robust evidence base, and high-calibre staff. But these ingredients only combine successfully due to our ability to co-operate. Time and again, I see a failure to co-operate, whether that's councils unwilling to work with each other or with the private sector, as a barrier to achieving success. The move to greater collaboration with a range of statutory, third sector and private partners will only get stronger as community budgets and the Big Society kick in. IESE will be ideally placed to support this transition. Working with a range of partners is at the heart of the CFC and our Carebay trials, for instance, both of which are delivering significant savings, while our work with the Department of Health seeks to lever more community involvement into the market. So, what next for IESE? To cement its future beyond next year, the member board has tasked officers with establishing IESE as a public-private partnership underpinned by a sound financial model. We know we can't rely on core funding, so we need to explore a range of self-funding options. The test is whether these, whatever form they finally take, will be acceptable to our customers. I'm confident they will be. Above all, though, the success of IESE shows how local government can, when the conditions are right, take responsibility for its own future. Cllr Paul Bettison is chairman of Improvement and Efficiency South East, and leader of Bracknell Forrest Council

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WHITEHALL

Why we are keeping our RIEP next year

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