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Local Partnerships advisory body starts up
Published: 2009-09-22 09:12:32
Local Partnerships is the new organisation taking over the work formerly done by Partnerships UK (PUK) and 4ps. Jointly owned by PUK and the Local Government Association, Local Partnerships provides support and advice to local authorities and other public sector bodies on capital funding for infrastructure projects, including all PFI and PPP schemes.
Not just a simplification of the previous arrangements, Local Partnerships is also central to the government’s ambition to improve efficiency by getting multiple government organisations to work together on the provision of services. Potential partners are wide ranging and, besides local authorities, include primary care trusts, probation boards, police authorities and third sector social enterprises.
Richard Buxton, the new chief executive of Local Partnerships, said: “We will give local authorities the intelligence they need” and claimed that, despite current economic conditions, funding was still available. In terms of specific help, the new organisation will provide expert support to individual projects and advise on asset management and procurement. Supporting the Building Schools for the Future programme is a particular priority.
PUK has provided many of these services during the past four years, but there is a new emphasis on decentralisation and concentrating on local public bodies with limited resources without the skills to assess and run complex funding schemes. PUK chief executive James Stewart said that: “all political parties are signalling greater decentralisation to local bodies” and they need “trusted professional support to improve their ability to source and deliver cost-effective public services and infrastructure”.