Craig Ogilvie

Are you a Tameside organisation or business trading for social good? Are you looking to grow your activities? GMCVO have formed a partnership with the GM Credit Union Consortium, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Access – The Foundation for Social Investment and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to deliver local investment with real impact, this follows the success of the Access to Growth Fund which ended in 2022. Any Tameside organisation or business trading for social good and looking to grow their trading activity which has been trading for at least 6 months can apply. The offer: - Unsecured investments between £20,000 & £100,000. - Blended finance; the investment includes a grant of an average of 20% of your total investment. - An initial interest-only period of up to 6 months may be available. To learn more and apply please visit: https://lnkd.in/eaNbrbqh #tmb #tameside #funding #investment #grants #socialgood #makingadifference #businessgrowth #accessfunds #bettertogether Tameside Council

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Join the West Oxfordshire Business Accelerator programme and unlock strategies for growth 👉

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New ONS data suggests that in 2023 only 30% of job adverts in Lincolnshire could have been filled by local people! 🚨 The ONS have released a new interactive tool, based on 'statistics in development' (experimental data), that lets you search for your local authority and see how it compares to the rest of the UK for the proportion of adverts that local people have the skills to fill. ➡ https://lnkd.in/egyitG3D The data shows that Lincolnshire, where I live, ranks worst in the country for the % of job adverts that matched the skills of people in the area. The data isn't perfect. It only considers a person's skills match a job if they have every skill required, datasets will struggle to capture every skill people have, and it only looks at people in the area not already working in the occupation - so it can't really capture the real dynamics of the labour market. However, by offering a view on the skills needed in different parts of the UK, and the varying scale of 'skills gaps' in different places, this kind of data is essential for national and local decision-makers. Everyone needs skills to better match opportunities, to meet future skills needs and drive economic growth for the benefit of all. Jorge Velez and I discuss some of those themes in a recent NCUB blog: https://lnkd.in/e9RGWZ9H Interested to see what others think, and how this sort of data can be built on to provide even more insights that decision-makers can use to get skills right for the future.

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The latest LG improve published accounts tracker for 2023/24 shows half of local authorities in England have now published accounts for 2023/24. This is significantly higher than at the same point last year and, I think, reflects the hard work, focus and tenacity of local government finance teams. But an audit backlog persists and our review of delay notices identified this as the single largest factor in preventing authorities from publishing with valuation issues and resourcing difficulties also cited as reasons. #localgovernment #councils

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#Localgov in Wales need to put value for money and sustainable development at the heart of their #digital strategies, says Audit Wales has published a report on the issue, Digital by design? based on a strategy review, that identifies weaknesses in councils’ approaches to value for money in their digital investments. https://lnkd.in/euBUfTgP

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Making Our Public Sector Work Better What if such things as tighter management, more technology, and “outcomes” focus are demonstrably not enough and may even cause worse performance? This recent UK report challenges how we have been thinking about productivity in the public sector, draws on some useful studies, and argues for: - increasing relationship building ; - empowering co-design; and - building community and whanau capability. It suggests that better, more sustainable results can be delivered than from the managerial, corporate approach being taken in many places. Including here.

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Digital Planning UK Gov are through to the finals of the Digital Leaders DL100 2024 Awards in the Digital Public Service Innovation of the Year category 🏡 Voting is open via the link below and any shares would be appreciated! 🗳️ #DigitalPlanning #DoingPlanningDifferently #UKGov #LocalGov #Planning #Housing

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The BBC recently published an exaggerated article about MVDC's financial position. Like all councils we face the need to make significant savings to balance our budget in the medium term but the Council has a transformation programme in place to do just that. If the savings outlined are made, reserves will stay at sustainable levels. More information can be found below. https://lnkd.in/efP9Yxnv.molevalley.gov.uk%2F2024%2F11%2F15%2Ffinancial-position-mole-valley-district-council%2F&utm_campaign=aga&utm_source=agsadl1%2Csh%2Fx%2Fgs%2Fm2%2F4

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The Challenge of Local Government Reorganisation: https://lnkd.in/e225x5_w Article in LocalGov relating to our recent report "Lessons from new unitary councils": https://lnkd.in/eJMEJQGd #LGR #localgov

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Well worth a look

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My @UK National Audit Office colleagues have published a new report investigating delays to @Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)’s Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP). https://lnkd.in/eua4yjU7 🧓 Pensions dashboards could help 16m+ people in the UK safely view info about their pensions online. ⌛️ But it's not known when the public will have access due to delays to the PDP, which aims to provide the IT infrastructure needed to make the dashboards work. ❓ @Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) is responsible for delivering the PDP on behalf of DWP – but it has experienced capacity and capability issues, including a shortage of digital skills and ineffective governance. 🗓️ These factors have contributed to the final deadline for pension schemes to connect to the PDP being pushed back to 2026 - one year later than originally planned. 📈 Meanwhile, the estimated cost has increased by 23%. Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/eua4yjU7

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The 'Local government finance workforce action plan for England' by CIPFA and LGA calls for national, regional & local action to ensure #LocalGov finance teams can meet growing demand. The report outlines four key recommendations: - Boost leadership capacity and capability - Attract and recruit the right staff - Develop staff - Create the right environment to deliver

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On 30 July, the Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government laid a written ministerial statement in Parliament setting out proposals to tackle the local audit backlog in England. Today (9 September) the government laid in Parliament two pieces of legislation which give effect to these proposals. The measures, which are supported by all key local audit organisations, include setting a statutory ‘backstop’ date of 13 December 2024 to clear the backlog of unaudited accounts up to and including Financial Year 2022/23. The legislation includes five further backstop dates up to and including financial year 2027/28 to allow assurance to be rebuilt over several audit cycles. https://lnkd.in/eTFhzbfN

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Observing the difference in financial situations around my area. How is it where you are? What impact will it have on service delivery? Will equality impact assessments be used as part of the decision making process? Extract-Council faces going bust in two years, report says A local authority faces effectively going bankrupt in two years without more government support, a council financial forecast has said. The report to Hampshire County Council's cabinet said it would not be able to deliver a balanced budget in 2026/27 as legally required. It said it could draw on its reserves next year but would then be left with "very little wriggle room". Some of the authority's savings proposals, which aimed to generate an extra £84m, have already been criticised by some residents. Conservative council leader Nick Adams-King told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the report "points to the crisis point potentially coming in two years time". "The threat to our finances is a stark warning to the government that they must provide Hampshire with the freedoms and flexibilities for which I have been asking since becoming leader in May," he said. https://lnkd.in/er6Mb6j9 Extract—Jobs to go at Southampton City Council Dozens of posts at Southampton City Council are being cut as the council goes through a transformation plan. The Labour-controlled authority had a predicted £39m budget shortfall for 2024-25 and was granted exceptional financial support from the government. It meant it could borrow to cover revenue costs but had to take part in a review of all its services. The council leader said that exercise had cut the deficit to £26m but "difficult decisions" were being made about the workforce… https://lnkd.in/eDf9wQ8K Extract-Consultation launched on council plans to keep investing in services Residents, businesses and community groups are being encouraged to share their views on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's plans to continue its significant investment in front line services over the next year. Last night (5 November), the council’s decision-making Cabinet agreed to go out to public consultation on budget proposals that set out how the council plans to fund its services for the next year from April 2025… Co-Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Property Cllr Gavin James said: “We are extremely fortunate to be in a position that few other councils are in. We continue to deliver our key front line services and are going a step further by investing a significant amount of money each year to improve these services for our residents. This is because we have managed our finances well, despite an unprecedented rise in costs, and we must not take this for granted… https://lnkd.in/eEjXWgba

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Fantastic news - a joint bid by Suffolk County Council and Norfolk County Council has secured funding to support the region’s digital tech ecosystem. The funding is from the Barclays Eagle Labs partnership programme and will be used to deliver ‘The Future’, a joint project which aims to support and scale digital technology innovation in Suffolk and Norfolk. It’s another success for our Connected Innovation project - the country’s largest innovation network. And it will be delivered by two outstanding partners - Akcela Ventures and Innovation Labs Group The Future will: 🏠 Grow a network across the entrepreneurial stack, engaging individuals from thinking of starting a high-growth business to investors looking to support them. 🚀 Support high potential start-ups with focussed support from successful entrepreneurs and an ecosystem of support. 💰 Early-stage seed funding for ideas with high-growth potential (creating more opportunities for founders from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds). Roberta Willner Katie Snell James Allen Mike Rigby Julian Munson Matthew Jones Jai Raithatha Peter Ballard James Charles Adams Peter Brady Peter Basford Fabian Eagle FLAA Norfolk Chambers of Commerce Suffolk Chamber of Commerce University of East Anglia University of Suffolk Norwich University of the Arts Lisa Perkins Tech East

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Here’s an overview of the key measures relevant to #localgov in the Autumn Statement and how Local Partnerships is here to support 👇

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Audit Scotland Briefing - Local government budgets 2024/25 As Leader of Aberdeenshire Council, I was asked to comment on the Accounts Commission report, which was published yesterday, and this is what I said. “The Accounts Commission's report published today (15th May 2024) makes very interesting reading and it actually emphasises the real financial issues that face local authorities.  Aberdeenshire is a large and complex organisation that delivers a range of services from cradle to the grave. This year we will spend £753,000,000 on those services including care, education, roads, waste, leisure, social work, burials, streetlights, and car parks.   Aberdeenshire Council also provides civic leadership support to communities and help to those who need it most. Our communities deserve the best local services to help them to thrive and prosper.  They must have a voice in decisions that will impact on them and be resilient, so they feel able to do more for themselves. For us to meet current challenges officers have looked at the core minimum viable service we can offer, what’s statutory, ring fenced or grant funded.  We've also had to look at our offering to see if we're heavily subsidising services that we can no longer afford and that the private sector can support on a commercial basis. At the core is how we can deliver the same service in a different way – that means rationalising our assets in order to protect the core services.    The one thing for sure is local authorities cannot continue to cut services as the vast majority have already been cut to the core.”

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Alert - really useful webinar by the Lep team on innovation programmes for ag tech, food tech seafood etc and it’s supply chain . Send someone along if your thought about accessing innovation funding. Please share

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For any peers in (former) LEPs, Local Authorities and MCAs, charged with developing a Skills and Employment Strategy, I encourage you to take a look at this post 👇 #Skills #Strategy #EconomicGrowth

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