South Derbyshire partnership leads the way

Published by Danny Calogero for Fellows Associates in Local Government and also in Communities

The first year of a pioneering partnership between South Derbyshire District Council and Northgate Public Services has been a success, both organisations announce today.

Launched on August 2nd 2010, the partnership showed an innovative response to the age of austerity by focusing on delivering better services for less.

Under the terms of the agreement, Northgate took on responsibility for managing much of the District Council’s Corporate Services and guaranteed to deliver £2.1m of savings over seven years, to continuously improve services and to create economic opportunities for the area.

Over the past 12 months, Northgate has been looking at a variety of ways of making additional savings and helping to further improve the Council’s back and front office services in areas such as Finance, Organisational Development, Revenues and Benefits, Customer Services, IT and Business Improvement. This has helped deliver positive results for local residents and the Council’s employees.

Increased staff training and investment in technology has seen service improvements including a reduction in the time taken to process a benefit claim from 23 days to 12 days. Abandoned telephone calls have reduced from 10 to 2.8 per cent. Overall, this has helped customer satisfaction to reach an all time high of 96 per cent.

One of the key features of the partnership was the creation of new jobs in the area. Working with Burton and South Derbyshire College, the partnership has been able to provide new opportunities for local residents at Northgate’s Regional Business Centre, based in Swadlincote, South Derbyshire.
Cont.

The pioneering work was recognised this year when the partnership was awarded the Government Business Outsourcing Award 2011. It has also drawn interest from across the country, with other authorities using it as an example of best practice.

Cllr Bob Wheeler, the Leader of South Derbyshire District Council, said: “I am delighted that our partnership with Northgate is helping us to continue to improve our services to the public. Northgate’s understanding of local government, its commitment to deliver on promises, and the emerging relationships built up with the Council have empowered our staff to achieve more at an already high performing authority. Our shared vision has allowed us to continue delivering high quality, efficient services and realise savings. This will continue into the future.”

Joe Bradley, Managing Director of Northgate Public Services, said: “We are proud to be working closely with South Derbyshire District Council to enhance services and deliver better for less. Together, we’ve helped to drive forward innovation and offer high performing, accessible and personalised services for residents. Northgate and the Council have fostered an extremely good relationship in which a culture of collaboration, quality and value for money is growing and getting stronger all of the time.”

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For further information

South Derbyshire District Council
Keith Bull                              +44(0)1283 228761
Carole Warburton                 +44(0)1283 595741

Northgate Public Services
Fellows’ Associates
Kathy Sutton   +44(0)20 3174 1014; +44(0)7966 890401
Danny Calogero  +44(0)20 3174 1016; +44(0)7534 189235

Note to editors

At the heart of England and the National Forest, South Derbyshire is one of the fastest growing districts in the East Midlands. Offering the blend of a growing economy, attractive countryside and numerous places for leisure and tourism, the District can truly provide an excellent place to live and work. With a population of over 91,000, South Derbyshire is home to over two hundred companies, including Toyota’s global production centre for the European region and JCB’s only diesel engine manufacturing plant.

Northgate Public Services is an innovative provider of transformation and improvement services to the public sector. It is committed to high quality public services that place individuals and their communities at their heart. Its knowledge and understanding of people’s needs are core to its business, as too, is its depth and breadth across public services.

Northgate’s task is to enhance public value through the intelligent use of people and technology; to understand why and what change is necessary; to provide new thinking leading to improved performance; and to link company rewards with positive outcomes for he communities for whom it works. It supports transformation through sustainable performance partnerships.

In the UK, Northgate works with ninety five per cent of local authorities, every police force, and a large number of health organisations, housing associations, utilities and transport companies. Founded in 1969, the company has more than 12,000 employees.