Transforming Challenge Award

18 local authorities, including four in the East Midlands, will share a £6.9million reward for overhauling how they do business, a part of the government’s pledge to transform public services.

The four successful local authorities in the East Midlands of the Transformation Challenge Award are:

  • Lincoln FRA / East Midlands Ambulance Service awarded £60,000 for their Blue Light Integration plans;
  • Northamptonshire FRA awarded £500,000 for their Blue Light Integration plans; and
  • South Holland District Council / Breckland Council awarded £385,000 for their ICT plans; and
  • High Peak Borough Council / Staffordshire District Council awarded £200,000 for their shared services plans.

The successful schemes will:

  • Accelerate integration of local health care services;
  • Create shared finance and HR for emergency services;
  • Create a shared asset management company partnership; and
  • Use service data to drive efficiency and better delivery.

The winners of the Transformation Challenge Award will receive the funding for demonstrating their ability to remain at the cutting edge of service transformation, while delivering efficiency savings.

The award paves the way for further support for councils transforming local service delivery, enabling better outcomes to be achieved for less. In particular, as announced in this year’s Spending Review, in 2015 there will be a £100million Transformation Fund to help even more councils to set up shared services, combining their operations for service delivery, including with other public and private sector service providers.

The Transformation Challenge Award will support some of the best performing councils who are at the cutting edge of innovation and leading by example in developing best practice for the rest of country to follow.