The latest window to apply for One Public Estate funding will open shortly, giving councils and local partners the opportunity to seek seed funding of up to £500,000 for key projects.
Despite this and the shortage of capital elsewhere, a large cohort of public sector organisations seem unwilling to take up this opportunity. Some of this resistance is around perceived:
- Time/effort
- Cost/Support
- Value
In actual fact, many people’s worries about OPE are unfounded. By collaborating with partners, OPE can be a very useful way of kick-starting projects that wouldn’t otherwise have had funding.
What’s the reason for One Public Estate?
OPE is a pioneering Government investment initiative, managed by the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Cabinet Office (CO), Government Property Unit. It brings together public sector bodies in a locality, to pool assets and bring forward joint projects. Together they develop new approaches to collaborative working and improved services for local citizens. In most cases a Local Authority is the lead partner, in a partnership of other public sector organisations, potentially including NHS and Blue Light.
OPE began as a pilot programme with 12 pilot areas in 2013. Now, 250 English councils have OPE status plus initial funding, with the target being 95 per cent by the end of 2018.
Together they expect to deliver 25,000 new homes, 44,000 new jobs, raise £415 million in capital receipts and save £98 million in running costs over the next five years.
Does it take a lot of time/effort?
In our experience, the partnerships have been quick to see benefits from coming together to discuss property issues in a common geography, sharing data and plans about future service intentions. Several times we have heard it said that just meeting around a table (often for the first time) and discussing their respective estates and plans has been mutually advantageous.
The time input for the stage one, Expression of Interest (EOI) is about four weeks, to develop a short summary of the partnership, the partners’ potential projects and the likely benefits. All the partners need to participate and sign-off the EOI to demonstrate their commitment.
The stage two, Services and Assets Delivery Plan (SADP) takes about 7/8 weeks for developing a much more detailed document that sets out the partners, the governance arrangements, the alignment with other national or regional policies, the projects and the timescales for delivering the benefits
Core benefits are measured in terms of:
- Creating economic growth (homes and jobs)
- Encourage more integrated and customer-focused services
- Generating capital receipts
- Reducing running costs.
Does it cost much to apply?
The financial cost to the partners is relatively low in that the lead partner or partners must fund stage one, the writing of the EOI, only. Once the EOI is approved, £50,000 of funding is released to help write the stage two, the Services and Assets Delivery Plan (SADP).
Busy and often stretched public sector organisations do not always have the resources in-house to take these funding opportunities forward however the stage two funding allows external support to be brought in for the development of the more detailed plan, if required.
Also, the LGA and CO provide advisors who help steer the partnerships in the right direction and towards a successful submission. Their knowledge of other OPE partnerships experience is broad and can be helpful knowledge sharing and in shaping the partners’ projects.
How much is available?
Provided the identified projects meet all or some of the core benefits then up to £500,000 is potentially available. Yes, this amount of funding will not fund a whole project but the seed finance allows projects that are otherwise stalled, to be brought forward.
Once OPE status is achieved and as new projects are identified, a partnership can apply for further funding.
Next Steps
The next window for councils wishing to join OPE is relatively short, so now is the time for prospective partnerships to discuss the benefits of an application.
For more advice on applying for OPE status visit: www.essentia.uk.com
