Public Sector Income Generation Seizing Opportunities

Public Sector Income Generation
Seizing Opportunities
12 October 2011, The Barbican, London

You've heard how to save money, now hear how to make money!

At the very heart of the Localism Bill measures, a general power of competence has given local councils new freedoms to run services 'free from Whitehall diktat'. The legislation gives local authorities the opportunity to innovate. Not only in service provision and driving down costs, but to own assets, develop property and generate revenue. You've heard how to save money, now hear how to make money.

At Public Sector Income Generation you can learn from trailblazing organisations that are experienced in raising millions of pounds and have developed services and business models that can boost council coffers. Income can be used to support service development, offset subsidy shortfalls and help to redistribute overheads. Given the strident public spending cuts facing the public sector every local authority has a duty to explore new opportunities to raise capital and utilise public sector resources.Having to manage with less central government funding over the next five years is a sizable challenge, the spending cuts are truly unprecedented and authorities must continue to ensure they have the adequate resources to meet the needs of their communities. To help manage the budget shortfalls local authorities have been given greater freedoms and powers to run their own affairs. At the centre of an array of measures the general power of competence means authorities will have "all the same powers that individual generally has, which will enable them to do anything apart from that which is specifically prohibited". Councils can use the power to set up banks, develop property, run new services and own assets. There are new opportunities to innovate, stimulate economic growth and reap the rewards from any funds raised.

Under proposals in the local government resource review local authorities will have greater financial autonomy and could be allowed to keep a larger share of the money they receive from business rates. The aim is to attract business into their areas, regenerate local economies and "ensure the benefits of economic growth are reflected in the resources councils have". Driving economic growth at a local level could see councils financially rewarded for supporting local firms and creating jobs rather than being reliant on central grants. There are new opportunities to utilise the public sector estate, make the most of intellectual property and collaborate with commercial partners to create revenue. At Public Sector Income Generation you can learn how to raise funds, provide a return of surplus or help to offset service charges. Income can be generated by providing chargeable services, advertising space, cash collecting services, utilising renewable energy and delivering back office functions for other organisations.

PROGRAMME

08:30

Registration and Coffee in the Networking Surgery

09:25

Chair's Opening Address
Colin Cram (confirmed)Former Chief Executive, North West Centre of Excellence and Director, Marc1 Ltd

09:35

Keynote Address
Alison Scott (confirmed)Assistant Director, Local Government Finance and Policy, CIPFA
“Generating Funds, Maximising Income and Making Partnerships Work”
Over a third of local authority income is generated locally through council tax, fees and charges, commercial rents, investments and asset sales. This fraction is only set to increase following the local government resource review. Highlighting why partnerships are becoming increasing important and what councils could be doing better to raise funds.

09:55

Paul Aitchison (invited)Commercial Director, Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust
“Sources of Discretionary Income”
Maximising additional income can to help offset the costs of services and generate income for investment. Local authorities have a flexible legal framework for charging and trading powers. Is it feasible to set up a trading company model that can carry out service work for profit? Public sector bodies should also aim to make the most of central government settlements, subsidies and dedicated grant payments that are available. It is increasingly important to establish an integrated approach to work with other public bodies, funding agencies and the private sector on cross-funding initiatives.

10:15

Main Sponsor

10:30-10:40

Question and Answer Session

10:45

Masterclass Session 1
A series of Masterclasses will run throughout the day. You have the opportunity to pick a stream from the following three topics - Public Sector Partnerships; Asset and Estate Management or Seizing the Opportunity.

11:30

Coffee in the Networking Surgery

12:15

Masterclass Session 2

13:00

Lunch in the Networking Surgery

14:00

Masterclass Session 3

14:45

Coffee in the Networking Surgery

15:15

Chair's Afternoon Address
Colin Cram

15:40

Case Study
Paul O'Brien (confirmed)Chief Executive, Association for Public Service Excellence
“Renewable Energy as a Source of Income”
The Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) have been exploring how local authorities can exploit Feed-in Tariffs to generate real new income. Income derived from renewable can not only help generate much needed revenue but can also fund other local energy projects and develop a more sustainable, cost effective and greener energy supply.

16:10

Case Study
David Lee (confirmed)Council Leader, Wokingham Borough Council
“Making the transition: How Public Services Can Spin Out Enterprises ”
A practical guide to spin out limited companies, such as Wokingham Enterprises Limited, that Wokingham Borough Council have set up to support the local economy and help create additional income.

16:30

Case Study
David Parr (invited)Chief Executive, Halton Borough Council
“How Far Can Income Generation Help to Facilitate More Efficient and Effective Service Delivery?”
Are there opportunities for public bodies to use profits to protect frontline services? Unnecessary or steep increases in fees or charges are unlikely to go down well with local taxpayers. How can the right balance be struck?

16:55

Question and Answer Session

17:15

Chair's Closing Remarks

17:20

Conference Close

UCU warns against privatisation push in higher education white paper

27 June 2011

UCU says government must look properly at warnings from funding councils, experts and America against privatisation

On the eve of the expected publication of the long-awaited higher education white paper, UCU said the government had to look properly at recent warnings against a push to allow for-profit companies greater access to higher education and taxpayers' money.

Last month a report from the government-funded Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) came to light that warned of the damage for-profit companies could do to the UK's global reputation for excellence.

The report said that:

• for-profits' short and long-term goals may not match the national interest and could lead, as in the case of Australia, to international reputational damage       
• for-profits are subject to much lighter regulation than mainstream universities and provide less public information about the service they provide to students
• for-profits and private providers offer qualifications which may not be widely recognised
• for-profits may cherry pick profitable courses and put public universities in financial danger.

The union says the report's warnings are backed up by the experience of for-profits in America. Scandals around the selling of courses to students have prompted an investigation by the US Senate into companies such as Apollo and have seen for-profits described as 'sub-prime education'. Apollo, which is subject to numerous US complaints about its course quality and unethical marketing, already owns the UK-based for-profit institution BPP.

UCU also pointed to a survey of 500 professors earlier this month which revealed that over four-fifths (85%) thought for-profit providers would offer lower quality courses than public universities, if they are given the green light to expand in the white paper.

The survey also revealed that:

• 81% of the professors questioned said they believed an expansion of for-profit providers would lead to a decline in the UK's global reputation
• 79% warned that qualifications offered by for-profits would be viewed as inferior by employers
• 80% said companies with a primary obligation to shareholders should not have access to loans funded by taxpayers' money
• 66% said there needed to be tighter regulatory checks on for-profit companies than public universities.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The government needs to look hard at the warnings coming in from its funding council, esteemed academics and America before pushing ahead with any rash plans to allow private companies greater access to our higher education system and taxpayers' money.

'The government's higher education policy is already in complete disarray after it got its sums wrong on fees. However, bringing in for-profit providers is not the answer to the current funding crisis in higher education. If the government ignores these warnings, millions of students face being ripped off by private operators whose main interest is their own profits, not education.'

• Dan Ashley
  mailto:press@ucu.org.uk

Higher education white paper could open the doors to private sector and shared services

Will the long-awaited white paper give private colleges the boost they are looking for?

• guardian.co.uk, Monday 20 June 2011 19.31 BST

Postgraduate students at BPP University College, the first private institution to be granted university college status in over 30 years. Photograph: Susan Swindells for the Guardian

As the dust settles on the launch of AC Grayling's New College of the Humanities (and rarely can so much spin and marketing have generated so many column inches), attention turns to the more serious business of the higher education white paper, expected soon.

The two are linked since this much-delayed policy paper should determine how far the government intends to push its mission to boost the private higher education market. The direction of travel was set soon after the general election, when ministers granted university college status to the BPP University College of Professional Studies.
BPP is owned by the for-profit US education corporation, Apollo Group, which runs the fast-growing Phoenix University, where student enrolment has mushroomed from about 20,000 to almost half a million over 15 years. Does the future lie with multinational, for-profit, education companies? Compared with the booming echo of the expansion plans of this commercial giant, the New College of the Humanities is muted sherry party chatter.
There is potential for the private market to expand in Britain. Globally, private institutions deliver about 30% of higher education, yet in the UK it is much less. Exactly how much less is hard to say as, according to a recent report from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce), private providers are not required to report student enrolment numbers.
BPP is currently one of only four private providers with their own UK degree-awarding powers. And, although the private sector already operates in higher education in other ways, it remains niche, providing mainly professional, graduate-level qualifications in business, management, law and finance.
So looking to the market to expand mainstream undergraduate teaching requires a leap of faith. But as well as its ideological commitment to the market, the government (or at least the Conservative bit of it) desperately wants to find ways of boosting the supply of undergraduate places at little or no cost to the taxpayer. It also hopes that competition from private providers will reduce unit costs among traditional universities.
The for-profit sector certainly sees opportunities in the UK once the cap on tuition fees rises to £9,000. The principal of BPP, Carl Lygo, told a parliamentary committee last month he has "aspirations to make a wider subject offering" than the current focus on business, law and health. He noted that Apollo already runs universities in arts, communications and wider health subjects, and that "is certainly the aspiration for BPP".
So what does the white paper need to do to boost the private sector? A big risk for private universities is that their degree-awarding powers are only granted for a six-year period. If they lose those powers, their entire business case collapses. Extending that period, or making it permanent, would encourage market entrants.
The other big issue is public subsidy. In the US, for-profit private universities rely almost entirely on student fees since they lack endowments or direct public funding. However, as a recent University and College Union study of the US model showed, there is an indirect public subsidy behind their fee income since students at private universities in the US are eligible for federal student aid. Indeed, it has been claimed that without this indirect subsidy the model would barely be profitable.
At present, in the UK most students at private institutions do not receive state financial support, although they are eligible under certain circumstances. As Lygo told MPs last month, this area is "opaque and obscure, so it is not surprising that the whole of the private sector does not know about that particular source of potential funding". Any white paper measures clarifying this could be a shot in the arm for the private sector.
But what are the risks of opening the taps to greater private provision? The universities minister, David Willetts, should know since his department received a private warning from Hefce last July and that advice has subsequently been published.
In it, Hefce highlighted the risk that private providers could cherry-pick profitable courses, ignoring the high-cost science and technology subjects the country needs. This brings the further risk of destabilising existing universities that, more altruistically, attempt to offer the full range of courses.
Hefce concluded that, taken together, the dangers of greater private sector involvement "may amount to a reputational risk for UK higher education". So, if the white paper does herald a rush to the market, ministers cannot say they were not warned.

mikebakereducation.co.uk

Three boroughs to merge libraries in an attempt to stave off closures

Anna Davis, Education Correspondent

Libraries in three London boroughs are to be merged in a bid to stop them closing down.

One set of staff will run all 21 libraries in the three areas, and residents will be able to borrow books from any of them. The plans, being drawn up by Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Kensington and Chelsea councils, should save £1 million and prevent any libraries from closing down.

Across London libraries are under threat as councils try to cut costs. In Lewisham there are plans to close five of the borough's 12 libraries, and across London 25 could be closed in the next 12 months.

Councils involved in the library merger plan said it would save save money because people would no longer do "duplicate" jobs. Under the proposals, 10 people working in management will lose their jobs, and four new posts will be created.

Greg Smith, Hammersmith and Fulham's council cabinet member for residents' services, said the move would boost literacy in the capital.

Praising the Evening Standard's literacy campaign, he said residents will have access to about one million books if the plans are approved.
He added: "Libraries are a vital part of a modern thriving society and the Standard's campaign to boost literacy is a fantastic initiative.

"Our plans to secure the future of 21 libraries shows that there is an alternative to the lazy option of simply shutting libraries."

Other cost-saving proposals include combining fostering and adoption services, youth offending services and environment management teams. Collectively they must save £100 million by 2014/15.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23961506-three-boroughs-to-merge-libraries-in-an-attempt-to-stave-off-closures.do

UCL outsourcing plan may break law, union says

UCL outsourcing plan may break law, union says

AMOSSHE, the Student Services Organization Events

AMOSSHE is the UK Student Services Organization.   They inform and support the leaders of student services, and represent, advocate for, and promote the student experience.  149 UK higher education institutions are members  of AMOSSHE.

AMOSSHE promotes the development and sharing of good practice within student services in the HE sector at a national level.  They hold several training events throughout the year, an annual conference, provide policy briefings for members, and facilitate regional and special interest discussions.  They  work closely with influential sector groups and policy makers to promote and represent our member interests.

AMOSSHE has been awarded funding from the HEFCE LGM panel for a project exploring the value and impact of services that support students.  The value and impact project runs from April 2010 to July 2011.  The project will develop a toolkit for student services departments to improve their information, management practice, and the overall student experience

In 2010, AMOSSHE embarked on a £135,000 national project to develop tools for managers of services that support students to understand the value and impact of those services. This was made possible through generous support from the HEFCE LGM fund, and considerable contributions in kind from colleagues across UK higher education.

The value and impact project (VIP) is nearing the end of its 15 months, and will culminate with the launch of the toolkit in June. The launch events will discuss this new approach to management as key to our professionalism, outline the journey so far and challenges encountered, offer insights from the pilot HEIs and, of course, a detailed overview of the toolkit and first steps in understanding value and impact.  Details of the speakers for each event are available at www.amosshe.org.uk/events.

AMOSSHE are delighted to be hosting two free launch events, and welcome not only AMOSSHE members but HE professionals from across the sector.  These are being held on 9 June (University of Sheffield) and 13 June (Woburn House, London).  Details about the events are available on our website; if you would like to book please register at www.amosshe.org.uk/event. 

You may also be interested in the AMOSSHE Annual Conference 2011 ‘Taking the Lead in Collaborative Working’ 6 – 8 July 2011, Newcastle.  The programme includes a mix of keynote presentations on each day, strategic workshops, networking opportunities and knowledge community meetings.  The conference includes a plenary and workshop on the value and impact approach.  If you would like to attend, please visit www.amosshe.org.uk/event.

AMOSSHE  look forward to seeing many of you at the VIP launch events in Sheffield and London. 

Need to save some money? Try private accommodation

By Simon Baker

As state cash dries up, university plots £200m deal to outsource campus halls. Simon Baker reports

A university is looking to hand over the running of its campus accommodation to a private company in a £200 million landmark deal being described as "the direction of travel" for a sector starved of government investment.
Under the plan, the student accommodation office at the University of Reading and more than 4,000 rooms will be managed by University Partnerships Programme (UPP).
It would be the largest residential investment by a company into a UK university to date and would make Reading the first in the sector to form a long-term partnership with the private sector for its entire on-campus student accommodation estate.
Sean O'Shea, chief executive of UPP, said the Reading deal - which is still subject to contract - was a "pathfinder". The university was being a "pioneer", he added, by committing to a project that would last for decades.
UPP already provides more than 20,000 student rooms across 11 UK universities. A common arrangement is for an institution to lease land to UPP, which then develops the student accommodation and collects the rental income it generates. In return, the university receives a lump sum and sheds construction and maintenance costs.
The Reading plan would take the model a stage further: UPP would take over the day-to-day running of accommodation, although the institution would still be responsible for student welfare, grounds maintenance, security, IT and catering.
Alex Massey, author of a recent Policy Exchange report on how universities can save money by outsourcing, said such arrangements would become "increasingly common" as capital expenditure by government dried up.

"By outsourcing student accommodation management, universities can save money and focus resources more closely on the core functions of teaching and research," he said.
Mr O'Shea said UPP was talking with universities about extending its "product offering" to cover academic and social facilities.
He added that private investors were increasingly interested in the "steady" long-term returns from such projects. He also raised the prospect of academics themselves taking a key stake in such schemes through their own pension funds putting up capital.
"I certainly think that pension funds will be looking to invest in higher education because it is a very high-value sector, it is an ethical thing to do and it produces steady, predictable returns - and there are not many other sectors that do that at the moment."
Mr O'Shea also insisted that staff who were transferred to the private sector as part of the projects would not lose out on terms and conditions. "Keeping them motivated, trained and skilled is fundamental to the successful delivery of our business," he said.
If UPP, which is currently the "preferred bidder" for the Reading project, completes the deal, it would start by taking over the operation of 2,623 rooms in the next academic year before going on to manage almost 900 new rooms being built for 2012-13.
It would then develop a further 650 new rooms and catering hubs to complete the current Whiteknights campus project.
simon.baker@tsleducation.com.