Integrated community equipment services face mounting difficulties; the question is whether it’s better to outsource or insource; but there may be a better way writes Geoff Tucker of Norse Group
Recent developments in the ICES market have highlighted the importance of a sustainable, long-term approach to delivering this critical service. Local authorities cannot afford to be left worrying about whether their service provider will remain in business; and the choice of providers available is extremely limited. Providing community equipment to people with disabilities, the elderly and children plays an important role in helping them achieve independence and quality of life; and it means that they can continue to live in their own homes.
Many councils are considering alternative delivery options, with a growing appetite to bring the service inhouse. However, this presents some difficulties, particularly if the service has been outsourced for some time: a traditional DLO can mean significantly higher costs, and puts strain on already stretched management resources; and setting up a trading company is far from easy, and requires significant investment.
There is an alternative, which meets the desire for greater council control over the services, and crucially provides a high degree of flexibility. ICES demand is constantly changing, and is very hard to predict.; but we do know that it is growing. This makes it difficult to procure, and a fixed price contract is out of the question. Forming a partnership with an existing local authority-owned trading company (LATCo) meets both of these needs. Setting up a joint venture means that the council co-owns the company, holding shares and sitting on the board of directors. This gives a high degree of control over the service, and the partner LATCo brings commercial knowhow and operational experience, but also shares the same public service values.
Norse has been forming joint ventures with local authorities across a wide range of frontline services for over twenty, and these partnerships have a proven track record of delivering cost-efficiency, high quality and social value, with any trading surplus shared with our partners and returned to the public purse.
In difficult times, we believe that the future for ICES delivery lies in partnership working.
Norse Group is the UK’s leading LATCo. Wholly owned by Norfolk County Council, Norse has pioneered a highly successful local authority partnership model, which provides an alternative way of insourcing services. The group has joint ventures with over twenty councils across the UK, delivering highways, property, environmental and FM services as well as ICES.
