Bid number (for EG use) | |
Lead bidder | Aberdeen City Council - Gordon Edwards (
gedwards@aberdeencity.gov.uk)
Aberdeenshire Council - Charles
Armstrong
(
charles.armstrong@aberdeenshire.gov.uk)
Moray Council - Mark Palmer
(
mark.palmer@mail.moray.gov.uk) |
Brief description of the aims of the
project | Financial Services for North East of
Scotland. A joint approach to the provision of
financial services across the 3 Councils in the
North East. In the short term focus on the
efficiency gains available in the following
areas: - Single system for Council Tax, Non
Domestic Rates and Benefits administration
(Revenues Service)
- Single Financial Ledger System
- Single Internal Audit Services
- Single debt collection services.
Savings from: - Reduced software maintenance costs
- Reduced systems support
- Redirect Managers and Specialist staff
to other areas
- Savings from aggregated
procurement
- Improved performance in: collection
rates, benefits administration and fraud
prevention.
|
Clear description of what the EGF money
would be used to buy | To move to single systems will require the
preparation of updated system and service
specifications and tendering arrangements. c
£150,000 Testing and Implementation. c £250,000
A capital contribution to the set up costs
associated with new hardware and software. c
£1,000,000. (all costs are included as
indicative at this point). |
Partners to the project likely to commit
resources | Aberdeen City Council Aberdeenshire Council Moray Council |
Names of other organisations with whom the
project has been discussed (to assist the
introductions process) | Grampian Joint Police Board Grampian Fire and Rescue Service Grampian Joint Valuation Board North of Scotland Directors of Finance |
Evidence that suggested approach has been
deployed successfully elsewhere | There are examples in England, such as in
East Anglia where the Revenues and Benefits
services are provided using a partnership
arrangement. A structured approach to
implementation will enable the benefits to be
assessed after the feasibility study to
determine the next stages. In the unlikely circumstances that
significant savings cannot be identified then
the partners can review whether the project (or
a particular component of the project) should
continue. |
Are there any restrictions to potential for
enlargement of the project (i.e. technology,
number of partners etc) | In theory there would be no restrictions. To
ensure a reliable level of service a relatively
local presence is required and this issue would
need to be considered against potential further
cost savings from enlargement. The ultimate
scale of the project would need to be agreed
after the feasibility study, including a cost
benefit analysis, to ensure that a robust
assessment of cost and quality could be
achieved on the basis of a correct definition
of the scale of the project. Additional
potential partners: Colleges, Joint Boards. |
Benefits projected from the project | Economies of scale are targeted from this
initiative and are anticipated from a lower per
capita cost on annual software licence fees and
a single support unit to maintain the system.
For the Revenues Service efficiencies can also
be realistically anticipated from single
structure to rationalise management and
specialist functions. Internal Audit service
efficiencies can be anticipated from a single
structure operating as a joint arrangement. |
Estimated financial projections | Total | 2005/6 | 2006/7 | 2007/8 | 2008/9 |
Overall project cost | | See part 2 Narrative bid | | | |
Estimated projected benefits | | | | | |
Is a pilot required - see guidance notes | No but the project will be delivered on a
staged basis with funding clearly defined for
each stage. |
Additionally: why is EG funding required | This is a major undertaking. The 3 lead
authorities do not have the capacity for
planning/implementation which will be required
a large investment to avoid major disruption
during the transition process. |
Is this project complementary in anyway to
other EG work | This project encompasses a range of
efficiency savings described in the bidding
document and the joint working between the
Authorities will link with other bids such as
the joint North East bid to create a single ICT
infrastructure for the delivery of all public
services across Grampian. |
Is "stage 2 development funding"
requested? | Yes - further details included in Part 2
Narrative bid. |