Sheffield became the tenth local authority to sign a contract for its BSF project. The Sheffield LEP was formed on 31 July 2007 with the Paradigm consortium. Initially the full BSF programme in Sheffield was valued in excess of £400 million. It will see the rebuilding, refurbishing and/or upgrading ICT provision for all of Sheffield's secondary schools, including those for pupils with special needs within a five year period.
Background to Sheffield LEP
The LEP is the public, private vehicle that the government have determined will help drive forward the BSF programme across the country. Eventually every Local Authority delivering BSF will have their own LEP.
Sheffield LEP Limited is a public, private partnership company and comprises of the following shareholders:
- Sheffield City Council (10%)
- BSFI (10%)
- Taylor Woodrow Construction (40%)
- HSBC Infrastructure Fund Management Limited (40%)
It has been procured under European rules whereby the description of the contract enables the LEP to provide or arrange for the provision of 'Partnering Services'. These services will include the development and implementation of a strategic investment programme for educational and associated services; programme management and project development services.
Sheffield LEP is not intended to be a big company and the small number of senior staff are seconded in from the key partners in the BSF supply chain.
A key role of the LEP will be to provide, integrate and manage supply chains and downstream contracts. The LEP will be required to provide or procure the design and construction of educational facilities through a mixture of new build and refurbishment. Such facilities may include community, health and social care provision. This is to be carried out through a mix of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Design and Build arrangements and may include delivery of hard and soft facilities management, ICT, management and support services. These facilities may be provided through separate Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) established by the LEP and with which some of the contracting authorities may contract. The contracting authorities may contract directly with the LEP, an SPV established by the LEP or, in limited circumstances the LEP's supply chain members.
The role of the LEP will cover the procurement of all New Projects anticipated within the current Partnerships for Schools (Government) funding for Sheffield City Council (SCC) for the Secondary School estate in Sheffield. With this in mind the LEP has developed, in conjunction with SCC and key supply chain partners, a New Project Approval Process (NPAP) for the BSF programme. This programme of works is subject to the satisfactory performance of the LEP against a series of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) specified within the Strategic Partnering Agreement (SPA). The SPA details the contractual obligations upon the LEP governing the delivery of the BSF Programme.
The LEP General Manager is accountable to the LEP Board and the Sheffield led BSF Strategic Board for the satisfactory performance of the LEP’s operations against the agreed LEP Business Plan.
Vision
The vision of the Sheffield Local Education Partnership (Sheffield LEP) is that the activities undertaken will result in “creating great places where Sheffield’s children and their communities can learn and flourish“.
In achieving this vision Sheffield LEP will need to work seamlessly with Sheffield City Council’s (SCC) BSF team and their stakeholders as well as supporting Partnerships for Schools (PfS) in achieving their overall objectives for the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Whilst the SPA provides the formal framework within which the LEP is to operate, the overall success of the partnership will be determined by open and honest communication, supported by a pragmatic and responsive approach.