Shropshire Capital & Assets Pathfinder Programme

What is the Capital & Assets Pathfinder?

The Capital and Assets Programme (CAP) has been developed by places and supported by Local Government Group (LGG) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). It has shown that, by adopting a strategic pan-public sector approach to customer demand, assets, and capital management at the local level ('one public sector'), money can be saved and services improved.

 In a time of fiscal restraint, close collaboration at the local level can deliver better service outcomes and reduce the cost of delivery. The original Pathfinders identified reductions in both operating space and running costs of up to 20 per cent and now the wave 2 programme has come to Shropshire.

What does this mean for Shropshire?

On 11 August 2011 Shropshire Council was selected to be one of fourteen pathfinder authorities across England in the Coalition Government's Capital and Asset Pathfinder (CAP) Wave 2 Programme. The programme stems from the 2009/10 Total Place pilots, and is closely linked with the Coalition Government's Decentralisation and Community Budgets programme. It focuses upon the more efficient use of public sector assets across the county area and will strongly influence future capital allocations and spending in the locality.

The CAP programme is designed to demonstrate how, by adopting a strategic pan-public sector approach to asset management and joining up our respective asset and accommodation plans we can improve front line services, save money, reduce our carbon footprint and share property and customer information to shape and enhance our business plans.

What does this mean for VCS organisations?

In short you could access new opportunities to share accommodation, benefit from the availability of public sector accommodation, get involved in the formation of local hubs and find ways of saving money on your accommodation costs / use of other assets, such as land.

The programme will require some key partnership working across all of our public sector bodies in Shropshire, including the Voluntary & community sector. We will all need to undertake some intensive work over the coming months in order to reap the benefits of a unified approach to public sector asset management.

Shropshire VCS has been given a great opportunity to take part in the assets pathfinder programme and the VCS Assembly would like to hear your views. You should look to respond to this if you are interested in saving money through asset management and possible partnership working. This is a great opportunity to be part of something huge that is unique and truly forward thinking.

What is required of my organisation?

To take part in the programme you will need to complete the questionnaire attached. The questionnaire is designed to be as unobtrusive as possible whilst still gaining the required information relating to your asset(s). Once these details have been collated the VCS will pass these details to Shropshire Council's asset management team to map all assets of all sectors who are taking part. This could be an excellent opportunity to work with a public body such as NHS, Fire and the Police. If you are interested in looking at better ways of managing your asset(s), If you are potentially interested in property mergers, partnership working, relocating to cheaper premises or are interested in what other assets are out there than please complete the questionnaire and send it back to david.fairclough@shropshire.gov.uk.

Shropshire Capital and Assets Pathfinder questionaire (58KB)