Using a Contractor in the Delivery
of Planning Services
Dave Jolley - Planning and Building Control Director
Programme
1) Background to the Partnership 2) Services and Scope
3) Why use a Contractor
4) Options available for using a contractor 5) Technical Services Commissions
6) Framework Partnerships 8) Delegated Authority Model
9) Long Term Collaborative Partnerships 10) Critical Success Factors
What is Urban Vision
The Background
Urban Vision Partnership Ltd is a fifteen year partnership created on the 1st February 2005, following Salford City
Council’s need to remodel and modernise key council services, deliver efficiencies, improve capacity, access new markets and safeguard and grow jobs in an uncertain future.
The core objectives set by the Council were to:
Improve Performance Against Key Performance Indicators
Improve Capacity Management
Deliver Efficiency Savings
Create New Market Opportunities/ Business Growth
Provide Innovative Working Arrangements
Create Opportunity to Invest in Highways
UV Partnership
Innovation
Urban Vision is an innovative model and one of the few public/private partnerships created under a secondment arrangement, the 1st of it’s kind in the UK, between Salford City Council, Capita Symonds and Galliford Try. 392 Salford City Council staff were seconded into Urban Vision whilst retaining their terms and conditions of employment.
By pooling the combined public and private sector expertise and experience of staff, Urban Vision is able to progress Local Authority and private sector objectives whilst
delivering innovation and excellence in both market sectors. We now have 50 local authority clients for planning many of whom are rural authorities.
We support our 15 year rural strategic partnership in
Breckland, Norfolk and we now have capacity partnerships with Purbeck and Newark. We also support and are
members of the Country Landowners Association.
Urban Vision deliver the
following services on behalf of the council and external clients:
> Planning;
> Development Management; > Building Control;
> Civil Engineering Design; > Highway Maintenance Services;
> Property and Estate Management Services; > Traffic & Transportation Engineering;
> Geological Services
Architecture
The Planning Market
“The market for private sector planning consultancies has
grown significantly over the last ten years and councils now
regularly use external organisations to assist them with
specialist work. What remains less common is using the
private sector to deliver mainstream planning services such
as processing applications and appeals work.”
The Audit Commission (2006):
“(Local Authorities should) balance their inclination to provide planning services
in-house with consideration of:
• solutions available through the private sector, given the current shortage of
planners and skills; and/or
• sharing planning resources with other councils, particularly to support the
preparation of local development frameworks.”
Why Use a Contractor
•
Increasing capacity when needed
•
Service resilience
•
Avoid staffing to peaks in workload
•
Interim Management
•
Save money
•
Increased competition for work amongst contractors
•
Specialist services
In-Sourcing
Local Authority
Private Sector
Partner
Simple Contract
Agreement
Ad Hoc Arrangements
Casework support
Interim Management
Service Improvement Work
Option Appraisal
Call Off Support via Framework
Local
Authority
Framework Agreement
Lot 2
Planning PolicyLot 3
Specialist PlanningLot 1
Development ControlLot 4
Building ControlFramework Arrangements
1 or 3
+companies in each category
Max 4yrs
Call off arrangement
Conditions of engagement
What are the Benefits & Key Issues?
Benefits Freedom to award contracts without the need to re-advertise and re-apply the selection and award criteria
Medium term commitment from consultants
Improvement in efficiency
Building relationships - continuity of work and continuous improvement Early involvement in casework
Key Issues
Duration restricted to 4 years
No real strategic working if more than one framework partner is selected
No scope for achieving savings
No scope for addressing reduction in workload for staff
No scope for investment in the service or staff
No link to the wider network of planning businesses
Shared Service Partnership
via Delegated Authority
Legally robust.
Several partnerships now in place that use this model.
Uses Local Government Act 1972 (S101).
A public/public shared service arrangement.
The host Council is able to use the Private Sector Partner to assist in Service delivery delegating authority if specific requirements are met.
EU Compliant procurement was used.
Service is part of the scope of the original OJEU.
Ability to work across host Council boundary.
Shared Service Partnership
via Delegated Authority
Delegating Authority Host Authority Private Sector Partner Delegation Agreement Service Contract Service DeliveryThe arrangement is intended to be achieved by:
the delegation of relevant public functions from a Local Authority to Salford using local government powers; and
the direct purchase by Salford City Council from UV of the relevant services (under it’s existing contract) in order to exercise these delegated functions
