New improvement and efficiency social enterprise launched!

Date: Monday 12/12/11

The first-ever improvement and efficiency not-for-profit company is now up and running and open for business to all England’s councils – and it has been welcomed by the local government minister Bob Neill.

Created from the south east’s improvement and efficiency partnership, iESE is limited by guarantee and has a board of councillors. Chairman of the board is Paul Bettison.

The idea is that iESE will help councils and other local public services that are struggling to cope with the biggest financial squeeze in living memory. However, while some services will be free, the bulk of the new company’s income will be generated by fees charged to councils levied from efficiency savings. Surpluses generated will be reinvested back into iESE “to further improve the sector”.

Neill said: “The work of Improvement and Efficiency South East has helped to drive down the cost of services. It’s wonderful to see the sector building on this success by creating iESE, one of the first local authority owned mutuals, to continue to deliver sector-led improvement.”

Bettison commented: “The new company is a significant milestone for local government. Although councils face a tough future, I’m in no doubt that it will help sustain a sector-led drive towards greater improvement and efficiency. iESE Limited shows that the spirit of innovation and enterprise is alive and well in local government.”

Neil Blake, Aylesbury Vale District Council’s representative on iESE’s board, added: “Councils can no longer rely on existing ways to meet their tough savings targets. That’s why we were the first council to sign up to iESE Limited’s shared procurement service as a fresh way of helping to deliver our savings. Only by exploring new avenues like those offered by iESE Limited will councils achieve the scale of savings required.”