Spring series for the frontline

Spring series for the frontline

With a new year upon us, APSE is hosting a range of 'Spring Series' roundtables - free for APSE members - exploring a variety of topics across local authority frontline services, including the planned reorganisation of local councils in England.

Book your place below: 

Agency Agreements in Leisure 

Wednesday 22 January , 10.30-12.30, MS Teams

Topics include:

• Agency Agreements in Leisure - Lisa Forsyth, Managing Director, Max Associates

• VAT Background and recent changes - Nick Burrows, Managing Director, PSTAX

• Contracting and procurement considerations - Louis Sebastian, Partner, Trowers & Hamlins LLP

Discussion -  A ruling on VAT in March 2023, has returned millions to local authorities that manage leisure facilities in-house, however this didn’t apply to those that outsource operations to not-for-profit trusts. For those that outsource, an 'Agency Agreement' set-up is proposed for use by local authorities that could benefit trusts by up to £78 million a year across the UK.

Book your place here

Defining and measuring productivity in frontline services

Friday 21 March 2025, 11.00pm - 12.30pm, MS Teams

Led by Debbie Johns, Head of APSE Performance Networks, Jen Woolford, Director of Public Policy Analysis, Office for National Statistics (ONS), and Richard Heys, Deputy Director and Deputy Chief Economist, ONS. 

Topics include: 

• What measures are used nationally to assess productivity levels? 
• How can these measures translate to a public policy context? 
• What are the challenges with productivity measures? 
• Despite budget reductions and an increase in demand for services, how is local government performing in productivity across key frontline services?

Book your place here