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10.00 – 11.00

Setting the scene for the future
Speakers:
Ian Watmore, Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office

11.30 – 12.30

Working in partnership – central and local government 
"The Central Local Partnership" how do we get the most out of the Central Local Partnership in the new localist world? What challenges are there to sustain this relationship in a period of financial austerity?

Speakers:
Sir Bob Kerslake, Permanent Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government
Stephen Hughes, Chief Executive, Birmingham City Council

Collaboration, Collaboration, Collaboration
The session will showcase the Civil Service English Regions (CSER) programme, which started as an innovative pilot programme in West Midlands.

It will cover what CSER is and what it does, which is departments working collaboratively together for the benefit of staff, departments and tax payer.

The session will feature;

• the award winning Civil Service West Midlands vacancy filling pilot, which went  on to become national policy
• examples of how departments are sharing assets and expertise
• staff experiences via a video

There will be a discussion on future CSER projects with an opportunity for audience participation including a Q&A session.

Speakers:

Stephen Hillier, Interim Chair, CSER National Steering Group
Ian Watmore, Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office
Ann Chinner, SRO, Civil Service West Midlands
Simon Sharpe, CSER Programme Estates Lead for London, HMRC Estates

Kids Taskforce
Kids Taskforce is a national child safety organisation that teaches young people how to stay safe and avoid risk.  The organisation is a Community Interest Company that works in partnership with the emergency services and the Professional Footballers’ Association to create safety learning programmes for primary and secondary schools.  Its aim is to set a national standard for the safety information given to children and to ensure that every child receives that information.  The programmes are delivered in the classroom by the teacher, supported by outside agencies such as the police and fire service where appropriate.  Evaluations have shown the programmes to be effective in improving relationships, boosting confidence and tackling issues such as bullying (www.kidstaskforce.com).

Speakers:
Sharon Doughty - President Founder of Kids Taskforce

It's not all about costs
Civil servants are rightly focusing on the cutting of costs, which shines the spotlight on staff cuts as the prime means of achieving targets. There are however, other ways of closing the gap.

Joint Ventures or Partnership with the private sector will enable Civil Servants to broaden their horizons, by working on non departmental programmes, possibly across other departments or even with the private sector.

We also look at the large shortfall in revenue collection, which could contribute to targets. In the same way that your TV licence is collected by the private sector, a private sector partner could stem the £billions in lost revenue, through non collection of rents, license fees, court fees and other collectable income. The target could be to raise collection rates from 70% in some departments, to over 95%.

Speakers:
Fiona Spencer, Director of Shared Services, Home Office
Brig. Mark Armstrong, Director of Infrastructure Land Forces, Defence Estates
Jonathan Goring, Managing Director, Capita Symonds

13.00 – 14.00

Learning to thrive – the focus is on you

• A highly interactive introduction to future learning
• An opportunity to build your own approach to learning

The way of learning is changing in the Civil Service.  This session will introduce you to how Civil Service Learning will equip you with the knowledge and tools to enable your progress.

It promises to be a highly interactive session which captures the best ideas and the future of learning in the Civil Service. This session will give you an insight into your learning potential and introduce you to some effective learning methods.

Attendance at this session is a must for all civil servants.

Speakers:
The session will be introduced by Kevin White HR Director General Home Office and Head of Civil Service Learning and facilitated by Carol Pedley and Clement De Souza from the National School of Government.

‘Saving the world one person at a time!’  Working in partnership to tackle intergenerational worklessness in Bentilee and Townsend.
The session will cover tackling intergenerational worklessness in social housing where not working is the norm.  We will look at the demographic characteristics of the area where rates of ESA and Incapacity Benefit are three times the National average, and our response to this in terms of our project design.  With our partners we will explain how a targeted approach to partnership engagement has been mutually beneficial and helped deliver result.  Finally we will use case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach and the differences this makes to peoples lives.

Speakers:
Michelle Huffadine, Jobcentre Plus
Neal Hopkins, EIPC (Social Landlords)
Kerry Fullwood, Start-Up Support Worker
Karen Kidd, Jobcentre Plus

Birmingham UpRising – developing a new generation of public leaders
The session will provide an overview of the programme, why it was developed in Birmingham, the contents of the programme, what we are trying to achieve, how we have worked with partners and will hear from two participants on how they are benefiting from the programme and future plans.

Speakers:
Waheed Saleem, Chair of the Steering Committee to the Birmingham Uprising Programme
Zehra Zaidi, Birmingham Uprising Project Leader
Tom Carter, Upriser
Dominka Kaczkowska, Upriser

The role of 'Continuous Improvement' in responding to the deficit
An overview and case study from HMRC

Continuous Improvement (CI) approaches, such as 'Lean', are now an established part of public sector delivery, as has been the case in the private sector for some years.  These approaches incorporate streamlining process, building management capability and engaging frontline staff - all with a focus on the customer.  This session will provide an overview, and case study from HMRC, of how CI is being used to meet substantial reductions in spending.  The session will include practical examples of delivering efficiency whilst improving customer service.

Speakers:

Tristan Chapman, Head of the Capability Building Programme, National School of Government/Cabinet Office
Chris Simpson, Deputy Director, ‘PaceSetter’ continuous improvement programme, HM Revenue and Customs

14.30 – 15.30

The Way Ahead
Different methods of public service delivery

The session will look at different methods of public service delivery, in particular looking into the shift to online services and how we can make ‘channel shift’ work for the service user.

The panellists are:
Ian Watmore, Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office
Paula Vennells, Chief Executive, Post Office Limited
Sharon Cooper, Director Product Strategy and Innovation, Directgov

Business, Employment and Skills
With the world economy beginning to recover from recession, what are the prospects for the future of the West Midlands economy?  What will the impact of Government policy be? Panellists will debate prospects for business, employment and skills and answer questions from the floor.

The panellists are:
David Rowe, Director Warwick Science Park (Chair)
Professor Helen Higson, Pro-Vice Chancellor Aston University
John Rider, Regional Chair Institute of Directors
Philip Rutnam, Director General, Business and Skills, Department for Business and Skills

Leadership and engagement – how your impact makes a difference
Leadership, engagement and change – why they are all about you

The Civil Service is facing unprecedented challenge to operate with diminishing resources yet still achieve quantity and quality. Your personal leadership and engagement has never been more important to make the difference. Join us to see, hear and share the innovative and sustained approach that one department took and the performance and behaviour results that they achieved at junior through to senior levels.”

Speakers:

Jan Jones, Senior HR Business Partner, Department for Work and Pensions
Jackie Bannister, Department for Work and Pensions

Modernising Civil Service HR
Building Civil Service capability as we modernise HR - an interview with Chris Last, HR Director General DWP and Head of Government HR Operations and Kevin White, HR Director General Home Office and Head of Civil Service Learning.

Speakers:
Chris Last, HR Director General DWP and Kevin White, HR Director General Home Office and Head of Civil Service Learning will be interviews by Joanna Rodrigues, Programme Manager, Next Generation HR Programme

Safeside – Improving Lifeskills
Safeside
- History And Rationale
- Experiental Learning – Teaching Safety, Lifeskills And Citizenship.
- The Use Of Volunteers To Deliver Education & Big Society

Speakers:

Pete Wilson, Safeside Manager,West Midlands Fire Services

Volunteering - A Force for Change
Volunteering is a powerful force for change, underpinning the government’s strategy to build a civil society.  With a broad base of voluntary and community organisations across the Midlands this session will take a practical look at the impact that volunteering has on the work of these organisations, as well as on the regional community and on the volunteers themselves. Birmingham Voluntary Service Council will showcase local volunteer projects that illustrate the value and impact of strategic partnerships between the voluntary and public sectors and participants will have the opportunity to hear about initiatives developed to support active citizenship.  The Office for Civil Society will talk about their work to promote participation by civil servants in volunteering, sharing examples of successful Employer Supported Volunteering Programmes and highlighting the benefits of volunteering which can help to develop individuals and bring new skills and new perspectives to the Civil Service.
The session will also provide an opportunity to hear about the work of the Civil Service Benevolent Fund, the in-house charity for the Civil Service and look at practical examples of the local help and support delivered by the Fund, through its volunteers.

Speakers:
Tracey O'Brien, Director of Policy and Programmes, Birmingham Voluntary Service Council
John Knights, Office for Civil Society
Richard Corden, Trustee, Civil Service Benevolent Fund and Chief Executive, Commission for the Compact.

16.00 – 17.00

Question Time
Since the General Election in May 2010, the Civil Service has embarked on a period of major change.  The Coalition Government has had to make some difficult decisions and all Government Departments have had to make significant savings as we have begun to tackle the deficit.  At the same time, the Government has set out a radical vision for the future of public services which will require us to innovate, develop new partnerships across the public sector and beyond, learn new skills and be more accountable to the communities we serve. 

In meeting these tough challenges we need to recognise that change brings opportunity for the future.  We are already beginning to develop new ways of working.  The speakers in this session will briefly outline what they see as key challenges and opportunities for the future and highlight some of the changes already underway before taking questions from the floor across the full range of issues facing the Civil Service and public service delivery.

Speakers 

Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice
Robert Devereux, Permanent Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions

Last updated 403 days ago by Daniel Atkinson