Thursday, 21 March 2013

Joint press release from Hampshire County Council and BT

More than 57,000 business and residential premises in Hampshire are set to benefit from superfast broadband connections to the internet following a £13.8 million deal with BT to provide a county-wide high speed network.

Hampshire County Council has today signed a contract with BT to build on the existing commercial footprint in the county so that at least 90% of all premises will have access to super-fast broadband by the end of 2015, and supporting the council's goal of ensuring everyone else will have access to at least 2Mbps (Megabits per second) broadband.

Hampshire County Council together with district and borough partners has invested £5 million in the project and were awarded the same figure from BDUK. BT is contributing an additional £3.8 million towards the cost of installing the new fibre infrastructure bringing the total investment in the project to just over £13.8 million.

The first communities to benefit from this project are expected to have access to the high-speed technology by the end of this year, with the programme due to be completed by the end of 2015. Without the intervention of the Hampshire Broadband Programme around 20% of premises in Hampshire would not have been able to access fibre broadband services.

One of the first areas to see improvements will be the Solent Enterprise Zone which is being developed at Daedalus in Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire. Daedalus, the former airfield of the Royal Navy, is one of 24 enterprise zones being set up nationally to support local economic and employment growth.

Commenting on the contract award Councillor Ken Thornber, Leader of Hampshire County Council said: "This is a great day for Hampshire and it marks the culmination of many months of hard work. I am very pleased that BT can now start work on putting in the necessary infrastructure that will benefit so many businesses and households, predominantly located in the less populated and 'harder to reach' areas of Hampshire.

"Access to the internet and fast broadband is crucial to the on-going social and economic prosperity of the region. Putting in this network infrastructure is as important as other major transport infrastructures like roads, rail, and airports. This exciting development will ensure that Hampshire continues to be a great place to live, work and thrive. Encouraging and enabling people and businesses to get online is one of our top priorities. It will allow Hampshire residents and businesses to transform the way they live, work and communicate benefiting from new social and economic opportunities as well as reducing the costs of public services."

Bill Murphy, managing director, Next Generation Access, BT, said: "This is fantastic news for Hampshire and this project will move the county well and truly into the broadband fast lane with fibre being rolled out to more than nine out of ten properties in the county. We are proud to be involved in this important programme which will boost the local economy and keep Hampshire connected and competitive for the future."

Communications Minister Ed Vaizey said: "This is brilliant news - this ambitious project is going to deliver superfast broadband to more than 57,000 businesses and homes in Hampshire. The UK already does more business online than any other European country, and widespread access to superfast broadband will provide a tremendous boost to Hampshire's local economy."

Openreach, BT's local network division, will now begin the work on surveying locations across the county. This will allow BT to refine its draft designs to roll out fibre across the county to ensure as many premises as possible can receive super-fast broadband.

Alternative broadband technologies may be used alongside future fibre innovations to connect the hardest to reach premises that are scattered throughout the county. These properties currently have speeds of less than 2 Mbps or no access to broadband at all.

More than 19,000 households and business have registered their support for the Hampshire Broadband Programme. Driving up demand is a crucial part of delivering a successful project.

Councillor Thornber added: "High levels of demand demonstrate that there are plenty of potential customers who want to make use of this service. We want to encourage even more residents and businesses to register so that we can push beyond what we have committed to today and ensure that more premises receive faster broadband in the future."

• Find out more about the Hampshire Broadband Programme

Tuesday, 12 March 2013

ISSUED ON BEHALF OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL, HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE, AND HAMPSHIRE CONSTABULARY

The first phase of joint working arrangements between Hampshire County Council, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and Hampshire Constabulary is set to begin this Spring.

A programme of joint working has been agreed across a number of the three organisations' support functions to protect and improve frontline services, and save money. This will allow them to develop new and innovative ways of working as well as responding to reduced levels of Government funding and additional operational pressures. Identifying opportunities for efficiencies and service improvements, and sharing resources is key to this.

April marks the first phase of collaborative working when three areas from the three organisations will combine as 'early adopters'. The County Council, Fire and Rescue Service, and Police will merge their finance, procurement and property services functions, as these areas have been identified as being able to be delivered more quickly. Individual teams for each area will now begin to work jointly, ahead of future full integration across the range of combined services.

The overall joint working programme is exploring opportunities and developing plans to share various service areas that each organisation currently manages separately, within an integrated structure:

• Procurement (early adopter)
• Information and Communications Technology (ICT) *
• Finance and Payroll (early adopter - Finance)
• Human Resources
• Occupational Health and Wellbeing

Joining up these functions could deliver combined savings of up to £4million each year, which would then be used to lower each organisation's overall costs and protect frontline services.

The three partners are also taking forward proposals for cooperative working within:

• Transport and Fleet Management
• Estates and Property Management (early adopter)
• Facilities Management
• Training/Learning and Development
• Media and Corporate Communications
• Research and Analysis

These would expand joint working and could deliver combined annual savings of up to £300,000.

Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber, said: "Our three organisations have a strong track record in partnership working and these 'early adopter' functions illustrate the early benefits that can be achieved from this successful, established relationship.

"Joint working is vital to creating a sustainable future for all three of our organisations and builds on our individual transformation programmes which for the County Council, has already seen us balance our budget and deliver a significant savings programme. £130million of recurring savings have been achieved over two and half years by modernising and reshaping our services to make them more efficient, protecting frontline services, and driving down costs, in response to ongoing reductions in our funding from Government, and at a time when many public sector organisations are simply cutting services."

Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, Simon Hayes, said: "The work this Spring to implement these first three support functions is positive progress towards fully integrated joint working and its objective to protect the high standards of policing delivered by Hampshire Constabulary and secure future resilience by closer cross-agency working, reducing running costs and improving support services. This early progress in combining our property functions in particular, has allowed us to begin a significant area of work with the support of our County Council colleagues, to review and re-evaluate our built estate which will see a comprehensive strategy developed over the coming months."

Royston Smith, Chairman of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority added: "This is the first example of joint working of this type between a Police Force, a Fire and Rescue Service and a County Council in England, and by sharing our support functions we can improve overall services together, reduce our costs and significantly increase the resilience of our organisations in the long term. This will benefit all Hampshire residents."

A phased approach to the design, build and implementation of each service is currently underway which is expected to take between one to three years to complete.

Thursday, 28 February 2013

How do you help disabled and disadvantaged people find fulfilling and rewarding jobs?

That's what a group of Hampshire businesses will be finding out when they pay a visit to the charity Careers Development Group's (CDG) offices in Southampton on 6 March. CDG merged with Shaw Trust at the end of last year to create a new charity and together they offer support for people across Hampshire with disabilities who face disadvantages in gaining unemployment. During 2011-12, together they supported 46,000 people on their journey into employment.

The visit, organised by Hampshire County Council under the Hampshire Ambassadors scheme, will be attended by around 30 Hampshire Ambassadors from companies including small consultancies through to 'blue chip' organisations. The Ambassadors will discover what services are offered by CDG and Shaw Trust, which includes matching the requirements of businesses to pre-screened candidates based on ability, temperament, skills, experience and attitude. These candidates will have already received sector or employment training, work placements and trials. The charity also continues to support workers with career development opportunities following their recruitment.

The Hampshire Ambassadors scheme aims to stimulate investment and encourage business development in the county. More than 1,200 Ambassadors - during the course of their professional and private lives - promote business and support Hampshire's economy. Every month a group of Ambassadors visits leading-edge companies in Hampshire with the aim of encouraging other local firms to strive for business excellence, develop their own best practice and improve competitiveness.

Shaw Trust is the UK's largest third sector provider of employment services for disabled and disadvantaged people, helping them achieve a more self reliant and rewarding life, leading to work, inclusion and independence. The charity recently merged with Careers Development Group (CDG), a leading back-to-work charity helping those who are unemployed to find and sustain employment.

Councillor Ray Ellis, Executive Member for Economic Development and Rural Affairs at Hampshire County Council, said:

"Hampshire Ambassadors play an important role in raising the profile of commerce and industry in the county. Business growth is vital for our continued prosperity and yet the work that companies do often goes unnoticed by the wider public. A visit from the Hampshire Ambassadors helps to highlight and showcase the achievements and successes of our local businesses.

"Shaw Trust provides an invaluable service to Hampshire businesses by sourcing trained, dedicated and enthusiastic candidates to help companies retain a fulfilled and diverse workforce that benefits the business as a whole. Jobs give people independence and pride and help them participate more fully in society. Shaw Trust provides a win-win solution for both businesses and job seekers."

Roy O'Shaughnessy, CEO of the Shaw Trust said:

"We are thrilled to be hosting the Ambassadors event next month, and looking forward to welcoming local businesses to our office in Southampton. This will be a great opportunity not only for guests to learn about the services we offer across the county, but also for us to share and discuss ideas with them."

• The Shaw Trust

Friday, 08 February 2013

In the wake of fresh concerns over horsemeat being found in some meat products sold in supermarkets across the country, parents of Hampshire schoolchildren and the families of residents in Hampshire County Council care homes are being reassured that beef in their meals is 100% beef.

Hampshire County Council provides around 8.5million meals each year to people in its care, some of whom are vulnerable. Hampshire's meals contain locally sourced ingredients such as Hampshire beef and pork, and meatballs and beef burgers on the lunchtime menu for schoolchildren are produced locally from Laverstoke Park Farm near Overton, which contain 100% beef.

With the price of a school meal once again frozen at £2 - for a fifth year in a row - free range eggs from the New Forest are also used, as well as apple juice from Selborne, and fish from well-managed, sustainable fisheries.

County Council Leader, Councillor Ken Thornber, said: "As we are serving around 45,000 meals each day to Hampshire pupils we have to be very sure about food safety. We take the food chain back to source by looking at where the food comes from, and we also carry out strict hygiene and cleanliness checks in school kitchens to ensure that the meals served to children remain of the highest standard. What's more, our school meals service remains the only one in the country to hold the Hyperactive Children's Support Group Award for the removal of over 70 additives in food that may cause children a behavioural or medical issue, such as colourants, sulphites and trans fats.

"In addition, our Hampshire Scientific Service check at source, all the suppliers of food provided by the County Council, and carry out stringent checks throughout the year, from supply to kitchen and all the stages in between, which also include verifying the authenticity of ingredients. We are unique in that few other local authorities do this.

"We also enforce standards through our Trading Standards Service and we have a higher focus than many authorities in this area. The food that we supply tends to be provided by local suppliers. By working with them through Trading Standards and monitoring the food we purchase, we believe we are helping local companies meet their statutory obligations, helping them stay in business, and ensuring the wellbeing of Hampshire residents.

"As a result of this thorough approach, we have been hailed an example of good practice and will continue to monitor the food we buy and supply, to ensure that we continue to meet our responsibilities, and provide reassurance to the people of Hampshire."

• Further information about the Hampshire Scientific Service

Thursday, 17 January 2013

2013/14 will see Hampshire County Council's business and central support functions play a vital role in the next phase of the Authority's transformation into a modern business delivering public services.

The Policy and Resources £95million budget proposals will be considered by the Council Leader, Councillor Ken Thornber at his Decision Day on 24 January 2013. Early and decisive action to respond to the national deficit reduction programme, achieving savings of £100million over the last two years, has put the Council in a strong position to tackle the tougher funding challenges expected from 2015/16. The Council will build on its transformation programme over the next two years to drive out further savings.

Streamlining central support functions and attracting income and resources through ongoing collaborative work with similar organisations, lie at the heart of this work to ensure residents continue to receive quality services at the lowest cost. The Council will move ahead with the next phases of important work to integrate its professional and support services to cut costs even further, as well as sharing those functions with Hampshire Constabulary and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The programme to make more efficient use of Hampshire's buildings estate aims to deliver £2million of savings each year, and the Council will continue to lead on work exploring the benefits and possible savings of similar work with other public sector partners in Hampshire.

£1.9million has been earmarked to provide early help and support to around 1,600 families under the Supporting Troubled Families Programme. The development of rural Broadband remains a priority and work will progress to help secure faster broadband speeds to areas that will not be upgraded by the commercial market.

A range of grant funding is also recommended to be set aside in order to benefit groups including voluntary organisations, as well as funding for improvements to Hampshire's village halls and community buildings.

Within the proposed capital budget, there is £22.4million for the maintenance and upkeep of school buildings. Capital funding will also be made available for conservation work to help find solutions to rising sea levels, increased flooding and erosion that threaten Hampshire's coastal sites.

Government will also provide revenue funding to support the County Council in delivering significant new public health responsibilities from April.

• Agenda and papers for the meeting of the Executive Member for Policy and Resources on 24 January 2013

Thursday, 25 October 2012

Following today's announcement by car maker Ford to close its Southampton Transit van plant, Councillor Thornber, Leader of Hampshire County Council, commented:

"This is obviously a major blow and will have an impact well beyond the immediate area of the factory. The first priority will be to support the Ford workers to find alternative employment or even to start their own businesses. Hampshire County Council will be working with Southampton City Council and other local partners to mitigate the impact, and will be supporting the Solent LEP and others in pressing the case for Government help for the local economy. There will be a profound impact from the factory closure on both the economy and the community. As a council we are committed to supporting the local economy and always looking to improve Hampshire's standing in an increasingly competitive global market, to increase inward investment. Our aim is to support the necessary structures and conditions, for companies large and small to grow and prosper in Hampshire and create new jobs and opportunities for local people."

• Comment by Hampshire County Council Leader on Ford plant closure in Southampton