Memorandum submitted by the Association
for Public Service Excellence (APSE)
The Association for Public Service Excellence
(APSE) represents officers and members involved in the management
and provision of quality public services. APSE's mission statement
positions the organisation as "networking organisation which
consults, develops, promotes and advises on best practice in the
delivery of public services". APSE is currently working with
almost 300 authorities within the United Kingdom. APSE is also
one of the 15 national organisations involved in developing the
national strategy on Skills to Grow led by CABE Space.
APSE believes that continued support and investment
in the public sector infrastructure (such as affordable housing,
transport, play and recreational facilities, a high quality public
realm and creating sustainable communities) should be the foundation
for tackling the recession. As the recession will be experienced
differently in different regions, local authorities should have
a key role to play in developing local jobs needed at their local
level. Councils throughout the UK have a critical role, more especially
at a time of economic uncertainty, in valuing and investing in
the local workforce, which in turn supports the local economy.
The public sector is a vehicle for delivering skills and training
and equipping the workforce to cope with structural changes in
the economy in the long term. APSE believes that the emphasis
on skills development should be on front line skills, which is
where they will have most impact as the interface with members
of the public.
At a time of budget constraints, with 50% of
local authorities expecting cuts in their park budgets next year
(APSE state of the market survey 2008), APSE would like to see
further clarity on the role that national government are going
to play in funding skills development. APSE welcomes the pre-budget
statement in November 2008 and Budget 2009 making available resources
for 200,000 new apprentices, as well as the recent investment
by the Department for Communities and Local Government of £1
million available for up to 60 additional local authority horticultural
apprenticeships. APSE also welcomed the Apprenticeship Bill 2008
with the regulations to encourage more employers to offer apprenticeship,
although APSE would like to see the promotion of new apprenticeships
being targeted through local authorities. APSE would like to see
more emphasis by government on high quality apprenticeship schemes,
as well as identifying and promoting areas of good practice that
already exist within local authorities. The benefits of apprenticeships
accrue not only to the local authority who is able to maintain
its workforce but also to the staff themselves who acquire skills
and quality training, the citizens receiving the services supplied
by skilled workers and the wider community benefiting from a local
skilled labour force and demand for local training colleges and
teachers.
APSE is undertaking research for the TUC on
the impact of the recession on public services. This research
will examine the social and economic role of public services both
in terms of the trade off between spending money on public sector
jobs and services rather than benefits and also the long term
cost of social breakdown on crime, education, housing, health
and cycles of poverty and unemployment, health inequalities and
improving life chances, improving educational attainment, addressing
social exclusion and poverty and creating more sustainable communities.
APSE agrees with the need for a focus on green
jobs and skills development and believes that investment can be
targeted for not only economic benefits but also to address social
and environmental concerns. Local authorities have a pivotal role
in achieving the climate change and energy targets and meeting
the Carbon Reduction Commitment, including waste management through
energy from waste and anaerobic digestion; effective energy management
and reducing carbon emissions in council buildings such as education,
leisure, housing and community buildings; street lighting; transport;
and local authorities' role in raising awareness and educating
the public on energy efficiency and reducing carbon footprint.
Local authorities can also act as a catalyst for new industries
to address key challenges around sustainability and climate change.
The challenge to reduce CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050 will require
investment in public sector jobs and skills. There are opportunities
for new skills development and training including the use of new
green technology, fitting energy efficiency equipment such as
microgenerators and solar panels. In addition, there is an opportunity
to develop a set of "green" or "environmental"
skills and careers on a holistic basis, across services as a result
of new challenges such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment, as
opposed to a narrowly defined set of skills for one department
or service. This could ultimately support skills development as
well as new career paths.
APSE believes that investing in skills brings
real benefit to local communities. In addition, investment in
public services can provide maximum value for the public pound
through procurement such as the use of community benefit clauses,
which can include issues such as local employment, training and
supply chains. APSE is conducting research into community benefit
clauses with the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES).
Our recent research report on the economic footprint of local
councils based on a study of Swindon's streetscene services highlighted
the strategic argument for local authorities to be employers and
it revealed the impact on the local economy; for example, 98%
of streetscene's employees lived within the locality and 64p of
every pound invested/spent stayed within that community.
Enclosed is a copy of APSE's research on the
Economic Footprint of Public Services.[126]
APSE will also send through a copy of the research into the Community
Benefit Clauses when this is completed.
5 June 2009
126 Not printed. Back
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