Joint Ventures – Partnerships for the Future?
The demands for place-based delivery of local public services and pressure for efficiency and rationalisation means a new wave of collaboration through formalised partnership structures is now poised to emerge. These partnerships will seek to exploit local authority assets and covenant strength over a long term period to harness private sector finance and skills.
Local authorities have been at the cutting edge of JV partnerships for many years, but central government policy has not always dovetailed with local ingenuity. Now there is a real opportunity for both central and local government to align policy, thinking and effort with local government to deliver regeneration, new social housing and other much needed infrastructure investment by combining forces with the private sector in a collaborative way.
There is an important role for the private sector advisory market to perform in these arrangements but this must be on terms acceptable to the public sector. In turn local authorities must have the confidence, understanding and knowledge required to make appropriate choices about new structures and then to set clear objectives and manage consultancy input effectively so that the public sector becomes an informed and competent partner in any new concern.
The LGA is keen to promote Total Place and to help its members deliver savings and efficiencies and will support the development of services that can deliver meaningful assistance in this area.
This why on the 3rd March 2010, Local Partnerships LLP (the successor body to the 4ps) will host a major conference to pose the following question to delegates ‘Joint Ventures – Partnerships for the Future? To be held at Local Government House in London, the conference is designed to spark a dialogue between central government (namely HM Treasury and the Communities and Local Government Department) on the one hand and local authorities on the other. Local Partnerships are soon to be owned jointly by HMT and the LGA and so are ideally placed to facilitate such a dialogue.
The conference will give the opportunity to HM Treasury to launch the final version of comprehensive guidance which has been designed to assist public sector bodies forming joint ventures with the private sector. Guidance looks at the issues associated with the creation and use of Joint Venture entities across the wider procurement spectrum, covering a wide range of corporate Joint Venture entities, in particular companies, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships.
This new publication provides help for the public sector to make more rapid progress in creating new corporate entities and joint ventures to deliver services more effectively and efficiently. The new guidance is timely and helpful to local authorities and officials from the Communities and Local Government Department (CLG) will outline plans for further, tailored joint venture guidance aimed specifically at local government (hence the conference theme - JVs – Partnerships for the Future?).
Local Partnerships is uniquely placed to make a major contribution in this area on behalf of government and the local authority sector and to help bring about the changes required. Local Partnerships will be working with HMT, CLG and individual local authorities to shape new guidance, practical templates and to develop new models at the local level for other authorities to replicate.
The conference on the 3rd March will be just the first step towards a new community of learning about JVs to be established by Local Partnerships for local government. Amongst other things we will:
- host a specific community of practice network for local authorities developing joint ventures;
- capture learning and guidance needs and develop specific skills events
- produce a model option appraisal process
- produce a model business case process
- develop a methodology for JV partner selection
Further details of the forthcoming conference can be found here.
Rob Hann is Director, Legal Services, Local Partnerships and Author/Editor of ‘Local Authority Companies and Partnerships’ published by Tottels.
