1. Portfolio/Number/Name:C/C1 Reducing unit costs in Communities
Scotland Development Programme |
2. Programme/Activity: Please
include a short description Programme - Affordable Housing
Investment Programme - Funding housing for
rent and low cost home ownership and social
and environmental improvements principally
through registered social landlords and
private developers. Activity - The goal of the housing
investment programme is to create decent
and affordable housing. It provides new and
improved housing primarily in disadvantaged
communities to replace or improve poor
quality housing. It also seeks to help
people on low incomes rent social housing
or buy a home in areas where demand exceeds
supply or where market prices are beyond
the reach of their incomes. Further details of the Affordable Housing
Investment Programme can be found by clicking
on the following hyperlink:
http://www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk/web/FILES/Investment_prog_2004.pdf |
3. Planned Savings | | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
Cash (m) | 0 | 5 | 9 |
Time Releasing (m) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4. Accountable Officer for
delivery | Nicola Munro, Head of Development
Department, Scottish Executive |
5. Project Manager | Alistair Dickson, Head of Investment,
Communities Scotland |
6. EGDG account manager | Carolyn Girvan, Scottish Executive
Efficient Government Delivery Group |
7. Quality Impact | Describe any impact on the quality
of service delivery. Be specific and
explain if the expectation is positive,
negative or neutral. There will be a neutral impact on the
quality of service delivery as these efficiency
savings will simply result in an increased
level of output (ie more new or improved
houses) for the same level of public
expenditure as a result, service delivery will
remain unchanged. |
8. Dependencies | Explain if your savings are
dependant on legislation or other
structural changes being achieved. Savings are not dependant on
legislation or other structural changes
being achieved. |
9. Description of efficiency and
actions to be taken | 9.1 How will the saving be made? Be
specific about number/size of contracts,
staff, posts dates etc In line with the focus of the Efficient
Government Plan, the savings in this
programme activity will result in enhanced
outputs from the resources Ministers have
been able to allocate in the 2004 Spending
Review. Savings will be made by reducing the
average amount of grant per unit provided
through the Affordable Housing Investment
Programme towards the total new and
improved unit approvals on an annual basis.
The effect of this will be that this will
increase the level of output from a set
amount of funding |
9.2 What action is critically
needed to secure delivery of this saving?
Be specific, and name the key action
managers if they are outwith your immediate
management chain (e.g. in an
NDPB.) Communities Scotland will promote and
incentivise larger scale and longer term
construction contracts through
collaboration among Registered Social
Landlords. They will review targets and
streamlining practices and amend financial
appraisal assumptions published in their
procedure notes. The key delivery action
managers are all contained within the
Communities Scotland structure. |
10. Impact on Staffing to achieve the efficiency
gain | If there are to be any changes in
staff numbers (at activity level) to
achieve the efficiency gain, please
indicate how many full time equivalents and
how far you expect savings to be achieved
by natural wastage (show additions as + and
reductions as -). |
| 2005- 06 | 2006- 07 | 2007- 08 |
+ | | | |
- | | | |
Net | | | |
Explanation | N/A |
11. Benefits | In general, the benefits of the
Scottish Executive Efficiency Plan are the
enhanced outputs from the resources
Ministers have been able to allocate in
SR04. But if there is a direct connection
between this efficiency saving and the
enhancement of a particular service please
describe it here. This will result in an enhancement in
an increased level of output (ie more new
or improved houses) for the same level of
public expenditure. |
12. Gross/Net Cash Savings | 12.1 Please set out the gross
recurring saving and any offsetting
recurring expenditure. Gross recurring saving: 0m in 2005/06;
5m in 2006/07; 9m in 2007/08 |
12.2 Against what budget does this
expenditure and saving fall? Communities Portfolio Budget - 3.1,
Delivering Good Quality, Sustainable,
Affordable Housing - Affordable Housing
Investment Programme |
12.3 Has this saving been built
into your budget? Yes, the outputs from the resources
Ministers have been able to allocate in the
2004 Spending Review include reference to
required savings. |
12.4 If so, what is the maximum
allowable expenditure against the budget
data, in each year, for that saving to be
delivered? Figures from Spending review 2004
settlement for Affordable Housing
Investment Programme: 414.4m in 2005/06; 408.3m in 2006/07;
466.6m in 2007/08 |
12.5 If not, how do you propose to
invest the additional cash back into public
services? N/A |
12.6 What plans do you have to
exceed the required saving? Explain by how
much in each year. (Answer here also if you
need to do this to live within your
budget) We have no specific plans to exceed the
required saving, although we would propose to
start the process of efficiency savings in
2005/06 to allow a less steep increase in the
level of efficiency savings required in 2006/07
and 2007/08. The total efficiency savings over
the period would equate to the 14m required,
but would follow a different profile from that
noted above. This would allow a more planned
and managed increase in efficiency to take
place over the three year period rather than
the current profile. |
13. Time - release savings | 13.1 Please explain any
time-releasing savings indicated at
question 3. N/A |
13.2 Please describe the method you
plan to use to calculate the cash
equivalent of those time release
savings. N/A |
14. Measurement and
Monitoring | 14.1 How are you proposing to
measure the expected efficiency benefits
(e.g. in terms of costs, level of output or
quality of service)? Savings will be made by reducing the
average amount of grant per unit provided
through the Affordable Housing Investment
Programme towards the total new and
improved unit approvals on an annual basis.
The effect of this will be that this will
increase the level of output from a set
amount of funding The calculation will be as
follows: Average grant per unit (2004/05 as at
31 Jan 05) minus Average grant per unit
(per year for the period 2005/06 to
2007/08) multiplied by Number of Unit
Approvals (per year for the period 2005/06
to 2007/08) This calculation is to be undertaken
every year in order to calculate annual
savings, and will be adjusted to current
year prices. |
14.2 What monitoring &
reporting procedures will be put in place
to measure the efficiency savings (How
often will progress towards the target be
monitored? Who will have lead
responsibility for reporting progress and
what procedures will be in place?) - How often will progress towards the
target be monitored?
Progress towards the target be
monitored on a quarterly basis and the data
for each year will be published in an
Annual Statistical Report
- Who will have lead responsibility
for reporting progress
Communities Scotland, Head of
Investment on behalf of the Chief
Executive.
- What procedures will be in
place?
Communities Scotland, Head of
Investment already has procedures in place
and responsibility for reporting progress
on an annual basis. The data for each year
is published in an Annual Statistical
Report.
|
14.3 Monitoring Data: Sources,
validation and risks - What data will be used to measure
progress? Is all the required information
quantifiable and readily available? If not
what action will be taken to rectify
this?
The data that will be used to
measure progress will be sourced from files
on the number of new and improved unit
approvals that are made on an annual basis.
The required information is easily
quantifiable, readily available and
collected in a consistent and well
understood format in line with up to date
guidance. No action is needed to update
this.
- What measures will be in place to
validate the accuracy of the data? Who will
take responsibility for this?
The accuracy of the data is
validated at an individual project level
through a well understood procedure where a
project inputter collates the data and this
data is then checked by a senior staff
member before a legally binding new or
improved unit approval is made.
- Are there any issues or risks
relating to how you plan to use the data?
(e.g. accuracy, difficulties in
collection)
No, the data that will be used to
measure progress will be sourced from files
on the number of new and improved unit
approvals that are made on an annual basis.
The required information is easily
quantifiable, readily available and
collected in a consistent and well
understood format in line with up to date
guidance. This programme is also validated
by Communities Scotland's Internal Audit
Department.
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