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

26 November 2012

Local businesses and voluntary organisations in Hampshire are getting extra support to navigate council procurement processes to help them gain access to public sector contracts.

Hampshire County Council is reinforcing its support for small businesses and the voluntary sector by offering help and advice on how they can do business with local government partners across the county.

It recognises that partnerships with local businesses are vital to ensure the continued growth and prosperity of the local economy. The County Council spends around £350 million procuring with Hampshire firms each year -  around 60 per cent of its total procurement, the highest since monitoring began.

The 'Doing Business With Hampshire' event, which won an award from the Federation of Small Business' Wessex Region small business friendly awards last year, attracted 90 representatives in Ashburton Hall, Winchester on 22 November.

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

"We are constantly looking for the best companies and organisations to provide Hampshire with a wide range of top level local services. The tendering process can be daunting for some - and unfortunately an ability to navigate the tendering process does not always guarantee a high quality service.

"This award-winning event explains the entire procurement process and with the added benefit that similar procedures exist for tendering with the Police and Fire services, local government and other local authorities. It creates a level playing field for all businesses and organisations that want to bid for business within the public sector and will inevitably improve the standard of services that we can deliver to Hampshire's residents."

Feedback from the event will help develop future events and show where further training is required. The event will also help the Council by improving the quality of bids and tenders, saving valuable time spent scrutinising future bids.

Neil Jones, Assistant Director of Culture, Communities and Business Services opened proceedings and highlighted the importance that the Council places on partnerships with local organisations and small businesses. Sue Dovey, from the Hampshire Voluntary Sector Consortium, then introduced the day's agenda and emphasised that it was driven by 'hot topics' chosen by participants and by feedback from the Federation of Small Businesses and voluntary sector. Four speakers then gave short presentations on key, current topics such as social value in commissioning, bid writing and available support for local businesses.

The talks were followed by round-the-table breakout sessions where the participants discussed topics of their choice with specialists - both external hosts and council officers. The morning ended with closing remarks from Tim Colman, Wessex Regional Vice Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses who reinforced the importance of the County Council's continued support to local businesses.

21 November 2012

Faster broadband speeds for Hampshire residents and businesses have come a step closer with the County Council starting the formal tender process to appoint a commercial partner.

The successful company will implement Hampshire Broadband Programme's plans to bring faster broadband to areas of the county that will not be upgraded by the commercial market. An appointment is likely to be made in February/March 2013 and, subject to State aid approval, work will start on delivering faster broadband services in the summer of 2013.

£5 million of government funding, matched by a further £5 million from Hampshire County Council and district council partners, will be used to intervene in areas where there are too few potential customers to cover the costs of the upgrade to the network infrastructure. The funding will be used to stimulate investment and finance the shortfall.

The Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber, welcomed this key milestone date.

"This is a nationally co-ordinated programme and Hampshire is keen to get started. Hampshire has been given the Government go ahead to move to this next step and secure a commercial partner. Investment in faster broadband speeds is absolutely vital for our local communities and businesses to thrive and grow.

"Up to 115,000 households and businesses in Hampshire - that's just over 20% of premises - will benefit from this public sector funding. People desperately want access to this technology that will allow them to transform the way they do business and communicate. It is a major boost for homeworkers and will benefit families who use the internet for so many different things."

The broadband sign up campaign remains vital, added Councillor Thornber:

"At this crucial point, when we are going out to tender, we want as many people as possible to sign up to our campaign. Hard evidence of demand will show the commercial partner that wins our tender that there are plenty of potential customers who want to make use of this service. This will help the programme money go further, increasing the number of locations we are able to reach with the limited funding available."

Once a commercial partner is appointed next year, the Hampshire Broadband Programme will work with them to draw up detailed plans for those areas that fall into the programme intervention area. Find out more about the Hampshire Broadband Programme.

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Hampshire County Council, in partnership with the Big Lottery funded Learning at the Centre Project at Basingstoke Discovery Centre, have been working with people who have communication difficulties to create a training film to help staff and others to communicate more confidently with people who find speech challenging.

This small group, supported by staff from the Learning at the Centre Project, Hampshire Learning Centre and Adult Services, wrote and made a short film whose key message is to "have patience and listen".

The film is sometimes challenging to watch as there are no sub-titles, but people do not speak in subtitles - patience and listening carefully with respect will provide the answers.

The film will be used as a training aid by Hampshire County Council, but with the agreement of the group who made the film it is freely available to all organisations and individuals, particularly those who come into everyday contact with people who sometimes struggle to be heard and get their point across.

The film was supported by the Learning at the Centre Project as a development opportunity for Project participants.

• Play 'How to talk with me' film

Tuesday, 30 October 2012

Maintaining strong relationships between the public sector and businesses remains crucial to the ongoing viability of Hampshire's economy according to the Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber.

The third Hampshire Business Conference, held in Ashburton Hall, EII Court, Winchester on Tuesday 23 October and facilitated by Hampshire County Council, brought together 100 local business leaders to discuss how Hampshire's businesses could position themselves to thrive.

The conference provided valuable insight for the delegates into current concerns and priorities for local businesses, as well as feedback on initiatives that the Council had developed since last year's event such as the 'Hampshire Broadband Programme', 'Invest in Hampshire' and 'Visit Hampshire' projects.

The conference showed delegates from both private and public sectors how the Council is creating the right conditions for businesses to prosper in the county, how they can benefit from measures introduced by the Council to actively grow the local economy and how smarter technology can help Hampshire's businesses to flourish. The evening ended with a panel discussion where delegates were able to quiz the speakers on aspects of business and policy.

Councillor Ken Thornber, Leader and Executive Member for Policy and Resources, welcomed the delegates and said that the full house reflected the shared enthusiasm to develop and grow Hampshire's economy.

Councillor Thornber said that a message that the Council had received from business over the last year was that, "a lack of robust broadband was one of the barriers to business, negatively impacting on efficiency and competitiveness." He spoke about the Hampshire Broadband Programme saying, "Using £5 million of government funding, matched by Hampshire County Council and district council partners, superfast broadband capable of 24 Megabits per second will be available to 90% of homes and businesses in Hampshire by 2015, with everyone else having access to standard broadband of at least 2 Megabits per second."

Another clear message from last year's conference was the need to raise the profile of Hampshire, continued Councillor Thornber:

"As a county that prides itself on its proximity to, and yet diversity from, the capital, Hampshire has enjoyed some knock-on benefit from the Olympics which brought an estimated £10-12 million for the local economy in addition to the 186 local companies that won contracts worth a total of £36 million. More work is now to be done to ensure that Hampshire becomes an essential part of the UK's international reputation. Our 'Invest in Hampshire' and 'Visit Hampshire' brands are growing and will be at the forefront of our work in attracting more business and visitors to the county."

Another request from business had been a simpler procurement process and a pared down Pre-Qualification Questionnaire was now in place for companies that wished to become Council suppliers. The Leader added, "We are also involved in a series of events to help local businesses become suppliers, from 'Meet the Buyer' to our 'Doing Business with Hampshire' conference to be held in Ashburton Hall next month that will guide you through the process of becoming a supplier."

The Leader said that this year's buzzword was 'partnership' and that private and public sectors needed to work together, pool resources, achieve more and bring maximum benefit to everyone. The two Local Enterprise Partnerships which cover the county were essential ingredients for this to happen, and Councillor Thornber welcomed Geoff French, Chair of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership to the evening's programme. Geoff French, from URS, covered the importance of environment and infrastructure for business and economic growth and the role that Local Enterprise Partnerships and others can play in delivering it.

Councillor Thornber reported that, "The recent investment plans for the Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus are a good example of how local partners can work together to deliver development and jobs that will strengthen the county's economy and its key sectors."

Councillor Thornber finished the evening by saying, "There is always potential for further progress, but Hampshire is most certainly not standing still as it strives to get fit for the future."

• Business in Hampshire

Tuesday, 30 October 2012

"Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are crucial for the continued success of Hampshire's economy and the County Council is seeking to play an important part in supporting these businesses," said Hampshire County Council's Leader and Executive Member for Policy and Resources, Councillor Ken Thornber.

The Council's proportion of spend with local businesses - 60% of total procurement expenditure - is the highest since monitoring started and the current proportion of spend with SMEs also stands at around 60%. The Council recognises that prompt and reliable payment is critically important for companies and more than 97% of 700,000 undisputed invoices that the Council processed last year were paid on time.

Councillor Ken Thornber commented:

"We cannot take Hampshire's prosperity for granted and now more than ever we need to maintain a strong, stable and sustainable economy. There are many ways in which the Council is supporting small, local businesses through these difficult economic times, such as the annual 'Meet the Buyer' event where Hampshire SMEs present their products to buyers. Last year's event clinched more than six million pounds worth of sales on the day for local companies."

Other initiatives include the 'Shop in Hampshire' website which supports independent retailers, and the business-led 'Winchester BID' programme that uses local business funding to keep the City centre "a clean, attractive, safe, vibrant and well managed place in which to shop, live, work and conduct business."

Councillor Thornber continued:

"We also host the annual Hampshire Business Conference where key speakers from private and public sector organisations explore how Hampshire's businesses can work in partnership to achieve collective growth for the county and position themselves to take advantage of current opportunities."

Hampshire County Council regularly analyses how much business is done with SMEs and local suppliers. Councillor Thornber added:

"I am delighted that our proportion of spend with them, at 60%, is consistently high. This is the result of our active approach to procurement - for instance, we procure property services according to a mixed economy strategy which actively promotes local supplier involvement. I know that trading is difficult at the moment and cash flow is absolutely critical for companies to survive and prosper, especially so for smaller businesses. That is why we pride ourselves on surety of payment and have given a commitment to small, local businesses to pay their invoices early if they ask."

Hampshire is one of the largest counties in the UK and the vast majority of it is rural. Councillor Thornber said:

"We need to make sure that the countryside's economy remains viable and sustainable, so have created projects such as the Village Community Grants scheme, running since 2008, which transforms and revitalises village shops across the county. Supporting Hampshire's local food producers is also a key factor in regenerating the rural economy and we have in place programs such as Hampshire Fare, Hampshire Food Festival and Hampshire Farmers' Markets, all of which give a boost to Hampshire's local food producers."

• Business in Hampshire

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