Councils have saved 1.2 billion says Audit Commission, but further back office saving will be tough / Public Technology, 10 Oct 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17479

"A new Audit Commission report on the efficiency of English councils' back office activities finds that they face an uphill struggle to contribute to a further £4.9 billion of savings before 2010. The report, Back to Front, focuses on savings from back office council operations, such as finance, human resources, IT, procurement, legal services, facilities management, marketing and communications. These areas were originally highlighted in Sir Peter Gershon's 2004 review, and have contributed £1.2 billion, over a quarter, of the £4.3 billion efficiency savings made by English councils in the last three years (equivalent to £240 a year off the average Band D Council Tax bill*)."

Roundtable: UK Public Sector Shared Services - Where Now and Where Next? / 24dash.com, 1 September 2008
http://digbig.com/4xpgn
"Sharing services has risen up the agendas of the UK’s national and local governments in recent years, propelled by political and financial trends as well as by more concrete factors such as Sir Peter Gershon’s 2004-5 Efficiency Review and Sir David Varney’s report on transformational government. In an attempt to throw some light on recent developments and to examine where shared services may be headed in future, the Shared Services & Outsourcing Network convened a roundtable debate involving a group of practitioners and advisors at local and national leve, chaired by SSON’s online editor Jamie Liddell."

Transformational government brings major improvements to public services, says report / Public Technology, 18 Jul 2008

http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=16682
"The Cabinet Office has published its latest report highlighting how and where people are benefiting from work across Government to transform our public services for the better. The Transformational Government Annual Report shines a light on progress made in ensuring our public services are always designed and delivered around the needs of the user."

Transformational Government Annual Report http://www.cio.gov.uk/transformational_government/annual_report2007/index.asp

Transformational government brings major improvements to public services, says report / Public Technology, 18 Jul 2008

http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=16682
"The Cabinet Office has published its latest report highlighting how and where people are benefiting from work across Government to transform our public services for the better. The Transformational Government Annual Report shines a light on progress made in ensuring our public services are always designed and delivered around the needs of the user."

Metropolitan Police enlists IT to transform HR for entire service/ Public Technology, 10 July 2008

http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=16556
"Steria has won a new contract with London’s Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) to transform the MPS’s Human Resources (HR) function.

The contract will support a significant improvement in the delivery of the MPS’s HR service, and will drive cost savings through the creation of a new HR Service Centre in Central London and implementation of HR business partnering."

Transformational Government Annual Report 2007 /Cabinet Office,17 July 2008
http://www.cio.gov.uk/transformational_government/annual_report2007/index.asp

"This report demonstrates how the Government has made progress towards designing and delivering public services around the needs of the citizen."

Improving corporate functions using shared services: House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts: Eighteenth Report of Session 2007-2008: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence / TSO, 8 May 2008
PDF - http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmpubacc/190/190.pdf
HC 190

Avon & Somerset Police Authority to link with councils for shared services / publictechnology.net, 27 March 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=14929
"Avon and Somerset Police Authority has joined Southwest One, a joint technology-driven venture to transform the services provided to the Constabulary and the communities it serves. Last week marked the completion of more than 12 months work with IBM and two local authorities in the area to enable the police to join the Southwest One shared services organisation as a founding member."

Government flexes its shared service muscle / silicon.com, 20 March 2008
http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39170443,00.htm
"The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has signed on to a managed desktop shared service run by Fujitsu Services. The service - Flex - was originally set up for the Cabinet Office and will cost Cafcass £25m over the next seven years."

Improving Corporate Functions Using Shared Services / National Audit Office, 29 November 2007
PDF - http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/07-08/07089.pdf
HC 9 2007-2008
"Some departments are on their way towards having a structured and strategic approach to property asset management. But central government departments are still a long way from achieving full value for money from their office accommodation, according to the National Audit Office."

[Scotland] Major VAT blunder at new police agency to cost £5m / Herald, 20 November 2007
http://www.theherald.co.uk/display.var.1844623.0.0.php?utag=32924
LUCY ADAMS
"A major blunder by civil servants and ministers means a controversial authority set up to make savings across the police service is facing a multi-million pound VAT bill. The embarrassing oversight has left the Scottish Police Services Authority without VAT exemption. It would incur a £5m annual charge if it goes ahead with plans to centralise purchasing for all eight forces. The Treasury has written to the Scottish Government to explain that the SPSA, established to ensure efficiency savings and centralise procurement, has to pay 17.5% VAT on all purchases."

London launches public services network / Computing, 26 September 2007
http://digbig.com/4trnx
Neon Kelly
"Secure connections will support 16 co-operating boroughs
A London-wide broadband network launches today, providing a common infrastructure for public services in the capital. The London Public Services Network will encourage collaboration between local authorities, central government and the NHS, by providing a secure way to share data."

Shared computer services scheme the way forward at ONS / ONS, 28 September 2007
PDF - http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/flex0907.pdf
"Parts of the office computer support operations at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are to be transferred to a shared government scheme that will see services provided by an outside supplier."

Government CIO reports on progress of shared services within central gov't / Public Technology, 18 September 2007
http://digbig.com/4tpwy
"Government Chief Information Office John Suffolk at the Cabinet Office gave a briefing on the progress made in introducing central government Shared Services. In the table "SITUATION REPORT SEPTEMBER 2007: SHARED CORPORATE SERVICES IN GOVERNMENT", he shows the 'Functions' where shared services are now live within central government."

Shared services cut costs, survey finds / InterGovWorld.com, 17 July 2007
http://digbig.com/4tftm
Tim Wilson
"Public-private shared service deals have helped to unlock US$3.3 trillion dollars in government cash globally, according to a recent report from A.T. Kearney Inc. The study found that in seven of the nine countries (Australia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States) shared services have been implemented to balance government accounts, cut costs and ease the load on taxpayers."

Shared Services in Government 2: BUILDING A PLATFORM FOR BETTER PUBLIC SERVICES AT LOWER COST / CISCO, July 2007
PDF - http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2007/eKits/AT_Kearney_Report_070307.pdf

A Litany of disasters has made shared services easy to swallow / Silicon.com, 20 June 2007
http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39167583,00.htm
Paul Bentham
"Gershon findings were a reaction to IT costs and failures to deliver benefits."

Leadership in Customer Service: Delivering on the Promise / Accenture, June 2007
PDF - http://nstore.accenture.com/acn_com/PDF/2007LCSDelivPromiseFinal.pdf

SHARED SERVICES Strategic Framework / European Services Strategy Unit, May 2007
PDF - http://digbig.com/4syyh
Dexter Whitfield
"The Shared Services Strategic Framework was developed following a research report, Shared
Services in Britain, commissioned by the Australian Institute for Social Research, University of
Adelaide and the Public Services Association. Includes nine key elements that constitute a progressive shared services strategy."

Potential to add value from Shared Services is under-exploited according to Atos Consulting / WebWire, 19 May 2007
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=36731
"Atos Consulting, the business consulting arm of Atos Origin, announced that it will be launching its new, proven quick scan Shared Services diagnostic tool at Shared Services Week in Prague, Czech Republic, on 21–23 May 2007. The diagnostic tool is designed to facilitate the assessment of progress against best practices in Shared Services organisations across the following six areas: leadership, organisation, people and culture, customer service, processes, systems and technology."