Edward Lord, Chairman, Local Partnerships

I am delighted to introduce this edition of The PPP Journal as Chairman of Local Partnerships – a new organisation launched in August, which works both for and with all local public bodies to deliver improved public services and infrastructure at community level, where delivery matters most.

At a time when decentralisation, joined-up working and greater efficiency are the watchwords all of us are working to, we are pleased to be the single source of truly expert advice to help local public bodies procure and deliver infrastructure and services. Local authorities, primary care trusts and other local public bodies are under huge pressure to improve services with increasingly scarce resources, making our job of providing the right advice to ensure important local projects are delivered on time and on budget more vital than ever.

Tougher economic times and stringent efficiency targets mean that we must embrace radical change. Local Partnerships' staff are recognised experts in advising local bodies on how to lever innovation in delivering measurable efficiencies. We are proud to be leading programmes that aim to deliver up to £1.8bn worth of savings across the local government sector by improving crucial back office functions. Our leading-edge pilot asset management programme in the West Midlands identified potential cashable efficiencies of £700m over 10 years for the region as a whole, comprising both capital receipts and revenue savings.

Key for us as a partner in the sector is our approach to service delivery. We are wholly-driven by the imperative to assist local public bodies to deliver real efficiencies on the ground while streamlining organisational approach.

As the general election looms and the debate turns increasingly to the need to justify spending across the board, all of us working in the sector face huge change and pressure. Each and every major political party is repeating the mantra of decentralisation and localism. As a result, collaboration among local public bodies such as primary care trusts and local authorities will become the accepted wisdom. Local Partnerships aims to provide the strategic advice and overview to allow best practice to flourish through improved services, increased development of joint commissioning and contracting requirements across boundaries.

We want to help local public bodies make sense of the options available to them by building capacity and capability. We will run training to equip local public sector staff with the skills to negotiate contracts with pinpoint accuracy, ensuring value for money for local taxpayers. Staff will learn how to constructively challenge suppliers to get the best deal and understand how to manage limited resources while continuing to deliver frontline services.

Public Private Partnerships play a vital role in the delivery of public services and, as public sector organisations strengthen further their commissioning skills, they will rely increasingly on a mixed economy of service providers, from private and third sectors. Local Partnerships – the interface between the private and public sectors – offers support and investment on PFI, PPP and other funding mechanisms, and provides advice on partnership working. Recently, we helped two PFI projects reach financial close – delivering five new fire stations in the North East and a leisure and public services complex in Wigan. Public sector bodies continue to benefit from services provided through PPP deals.

As public service delivery specialists, it is Local Partnerships' mission to enhance the quality of people's lives by giving trusted, professional support to local public bodies to improve their ability to source and deliver high-quality, cost-effective public services. We are very much looking forward to working with partners and stakeholders in the months ahead to sustain the tremendous contribution that the PPP industry continues to make.