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In this issue:		CIPFA 2005
		Public Servants of the Year Awards 2005
		Forthcoming Conferences
		Forthcoming Events
		CIPFA in Wales Annual Conference
		Open Training Courses
		CIPFA South East Annual Half Day Conference
		New Title

CIPFA 2005

PUBLIC SERVANTS OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2005

These prestigious awards, run by Public Finance magazine in partnership with CIPFA, the Cabinet Office and the Office of Government Commerce, seek to recognise and reward excellence and outstanding achievement of individuals and teams from Britain’s 4 million public sector workers. A small number of the 17 award categories are still available for sponsorship. You can view all categories on our website at www.publicservants.org.uk.

Awards sponsors receive a generous package of benefits, including advertising in Public Finance magazine and tickets to the awards ceremony in London on Thursday 21st April. To learn more about becoming a sponsor call Mike Spray on 020 7543 5782 or email him at mike.spray@publicfinance.co.uk.

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FORTHCOMING CONFERENCES

The CIPFA Local Authority Accounting Conference - 3 & 4 March 2005, Queens Hotel, Leeds This well-established conference will once again welcome between 150 and 200 accounting and financial managers from local authorities throughout England and Wales. It offers an excellent blend of practical, technical guidance coupled with strategic sessions looking ahead to policy developments that will impact on future local government practice and planning. Read more Education Panel Finance Course: Every Child Matters, Joining Up Education, Health and Social Services - 4 March 2005, London Over 120 senior local government finance staff from education, social services and children’s services have already registered to attend this event. The day will examine the financial challenges of putting Every Child Matters into practice, and will include sessions on the new financial framework for Children’s Services, pooled budgets and stakeholder information sharing. Read more The CIPFA Audit Conference - 20-22 April 2005, Majestic Hotel, Harrogate Taking as its theme ‘New Horizons – Exploring the Broader Role of Audit’, the 20th Audit Conference will examine the ways in which the auditor’s role has expanded to encompass the issues we consider in this year’s programme. Topics include the wider role of audit in governance; the Gershon Efficiency Review; E-government in practice; and the Freedom of Information Act. The CIPFA President, Mike Barnes will give the opening address. Around 200 heads of audit - largely drawn from local government, but also from the health, central government and housing sectors - regularly attend the conference.		Central Government Finance: Recent Developments and New Challenges - Technical Update for Practitioners - 14 April 2005, London As the course title implies, central government finance staff will face a particularly challenging time over the coming months. This event will help finance team members from all central government departments, agencies and NDPBs understand the implications of the new initiatives and other critical issues: the impact of the Efficiency Programme; practical guidelines to Performance Management and Measurement; the CIPFA/Warwick Fast Track Qualification; and Risk Management. We expect an audience of between 50 and 80. Read more The CIPFA Treasury Management Conference - 10 May 2005, London This successful event is aimed at senior finance officers who hold direct or indirect responsibility for the treasury management function in their organisation within the local government, housing and education sectors. It regularly attracts over 150 attendees, and the two previous conferences have supported a lively and very popular exhibition.

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FORTHCOMING EVENTS

• The CIPFA Capital Conference – 19 May 2005 – Café Royal, London
• Current Developments in Police Finance – May 2005 - London
• The CIPFA Social Services Finance Conference – 23-24 June 2005 – Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel
• The CIPFA IT Audit Conference - July 2005 (2 days) – Midlands
• Health 2005: CIPFA’s keynote conference for NHS finance policymakers and practitioners – 6-7 October 2005 – Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth
• The CIPFA Central Government Finance Conference – 12 October 2005 - London

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CIPFA IN WALES ANNUAL PUBLIC SERVICES FINANCE CONFERENCE

This two day residential event will take place at the Holland House Hotel, Cardiff on 17-18 November 2005. Building on the success of previous events this conference promises a prestigious line up of invited speakers to present issues of national and strategic importance which impact on the Welsh public sector scene. The 2004 event attracted an attendance of over 200 made up principally of senior public sector managers and decision makers and each year the conference enables them to focus on the big picture of public service issues.

The supporting exhibition proved exceedingly popular in 2004 to delegates and exhibitors and we are again reserving a substantial exhibition area as well as the opportunity for involvement in workshop sessions - an integral part of developing a comprehensive conference programme. As is now becoming traditional, the CIPFA in Wales Annual Dinner will feature as a key element within the overall event when a number of distinguished guests will be invited to join the delegates in celebration of another successful year.

A corporate brochure will shortly be available outlining opportunities to exhibit, host workshops and sponsor various items to support the Conference. In the meantime, however, if you would like to express an early interest in any of the opportunities available to support the Conference and ensure your company's involvement please contact either maria.jones@cipfa.org or cynthia.godley@cipfa.org for further details.

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OPEN TRAINING COURSES

CIPFA is delighted to launch its Open Courses Programme for 2005. The programme offers a range of training courses in areas such as accountancy, financial management, fraud awareness, audit, corporate governance and other organisational issues relevant to the public services.

The courses on offer are either one or two days in duration and will be delivered at various locations throughout England and Wales. The training is delivered by facilitators who are recognised as experts in their fields and who will draw on their experience to ensure that the training is practical and tailored to the public sector environment.

This portfolio of open courses has been developed in response to training needs identified by leading practitioners in the public sector. The courses are designed to ensure that staff and their organisations are equipped to meet the various challenges and demands faced by the public services today. For more information, please download the Open Courses programme. (PDF size: 1465KB)

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CIPFA SOUTH EAST HALF-DAY ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND AGM 2005

Wednesday, 20 April 2005 at City Conference Centre, London EC2
Accountability/Changes in Public Sector Management

Speakers: Sir Michael Bichard, Rector, University of the Arts London; Rob Whiteman, Chief Executive, Barking and Dagenham LBC; and Diane Colley, Vice-President of CIPFA
Delegate rate: £20 + VAT
Contact: Judith Sutcliffe, CSE Communications Secretary
Phone: 01562 820263; Email: judith.dragon@ukgateway.net
You can also register online at: www.cipfa.org.uk/regions/se/events.cfm

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NEW TITLE

THE CJC GUIDE TO THE FUTURE OF LOCAL AUTHORITY HOUSING STOCKS IN ENGLAND - THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE

Whether houses are fit to live in matters even more than who own them. But how can they all be made fit? And how can this be paid for?

The Commissioning Joint Committee has published this astringent up-to-date plain English guide for decision-makers and practitioners about:

• the government’s target for all social housing to brought up to decent standards by 2010, and what it takes for houses to reach these standards
• the three exit routes out of direct management (ALMOs, large scale transfers, and PFI contracts) which ministers now offer as preconditions of additional funding for the massive programmes of improvement and refurbishment which will often be called for
• the main practical pros and cons of these exit routes, how much funding they are likely to produce, and what they may be spent on
• prudential borrowing and the other routes which do not require exit from direct management, but which for some authorities may lead to significant funding
• the different procurement and packaging strategies for major refurbishment contracts which are best suited to the funding available in each case, and which so far as we know are not addressed by any other guidance
• the main statutory provisions and the complex financial and accounting regimes within which local housing authorities have to work, and
• the voluminous guidance which often comes with the frequent changes of regime.

A full table of contents for the guide can be found on the CJC's website at
www.cipfa.org.uk/pt/CJC_download/housing_stock.doc

£95.00 per copy. Click here to order this title in the CIPFA Shop.

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