West London Alliance
Councillor Briefing 2006
The West London Alliance (WLA) is a partnership of the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow formed in 1998. The WLA’s aims are:
· To lobby for the interests of West London
· To develop collaborative strategies and initiatives on key issues such as transport and economic development
· To improve provision of public services in West London through sharing knowledge, expertise and resources, undertaking joint ventures, and securing additional resources
Collectively the WLA councils spend in excess of £3.9bn on public services in West London, employ around 28,000 staff and have 368 elected members.
About West London The six boroughs that make up West London are home to 1.4 million people, its population greater than the UK’s second city, Birmingham. On an international scale, West London’s economy is estimated to be larger than Frankfurt. It has the world’s busiest international airport at Heathrow; 67,000 businesses; 750,000 jobs; and the UK’s biggest industrial estate at Park Royal. Overall, West London contributes some £27 billion a year to the UK economy.
The WLA is a founder member of the West London Partnership (WLP), which brings together the public, private and voluntary sectors in West London to promote the economic, social and environmental interests of West London. Along with the WLA, its members are West London Business, a business membership and networking organisation, the West London Network of voluntary and community groups, the London West Learning and Skills Council and the Strategic Health Authority. The WLA has developed a very close working relationship with the business sector in West London in order to achieve its aims.
Drivers for West London collaboration
· Boroughs and their partners need to join together to make their voice heard in the London and national context where there is competition for scarce resources and for favourable policy attention
· Central and regional government recognise that London is so large and diverse that for many key issues such as housing, economic development, transport, spatial planning and sport and physical activity there is a need for a sub-regional approach (see below for more information on this). They also acknowledge that they cannot effectively deal on all issues with 32 boroughs individually and need to work through partnership arrangements
· Boroughs, businesses and voluntary and community organisations have recognised that these same issues cannot be adequately tackled within each borough individually and that a collaborative response is often required
· A partnership of six boroughs offers opportunities to develop practical collaborative and shared approaches to improving efficiency and delivering better services. A partnership of around six boroughs is about right for the delivery of practical projects; a much larger alliance could be too unwieldy and complex
West London plans, strategies and programmes include –
· Mayor’s London Plan and Sub-regional Development Framework (GLA)
· Learning and Skills Strategic Area Review and strategy (LSC)
· Mayor’s Economic Development Strategy and programmes (LDA)
· West London Sport and Physical Activity Partnership Board (Sport England)
· Tourism Strategy (LDA and Visit London)
· West London Integrated Network Transport Plan – in preparation (TfL)
· Business Services and Inward Investment – West London Business
· Housing Strategy and services (includes Kensington and Chelsea council)
· Creative Industries Strategy and Programme (LDA)
· City Strategy Pilot to help get people into work (DWP)
· Capital Ambition - sub-regional programme proposal for local authority capacity building (London LAs and Dept. of Communities and Local Government)
· West London Local Resilience Forum
· Government Office for London – sub-region (includes Kensington and Chelsea council)
The current West London’s boundaries reflect the LSC and London Plan area. For housing purposes the WLA works in partnership with Kensington and Chelsea council and on social services and health the WLA has included Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea councils in meetings. The alterations to the London Plan propose the inclusion of Kensington and Chelsea in West London.
Efficiency and Effectiveness
There are a number of acute pressures on local authority finance:
· Last year’s grant settlement was not favourable for local authorities in London. There is concern that this trend will be continued in the next Comprehensive Spending Review
· Demographic trends will increase the pressure on finances and financial settlements
· The government expects that councils will make year on year efficiency gains in line with the Gershon proposals. These require councils to realise efficiencies of 7.5% of their 2004/5 baseline expenditure by 2007/08 i.e. savings of £3.225bn
· Inflation in the public sector is higher than the general rate
· Councils will expect to minimise increases to council tax levels or indeed reduce them over the next 4 to 8 years
Whilst boroughs will aim to tackle these financial pressures internally, they will also need to explore and deliver on savings gains through collaborative action in the areas of joint procurement and the shared delivery of services, particularly looking at back office services. The WLA partnership and governance arrangements provide a practical structure in which to develop programmes and projects to achieve the substantial savings that are needed. It is also able to add its voice to lobbying for a fair financial settlement for London and, in particular, West London.
WLA activities include:
· Improving council efficiency through innovative and collaborative approaches to procurement, such as e-auctions, which lead to major cost savings
· Developing proposals for the provision of shared service delivery where there are likely to be business benefits from doing so
· Exchanging knowledge and expertise between councils to improve services, for instance in e-government
· Arguing with our business partners for the investment needs of West London through a targeted communications plan aimed at Government and the GLA
· Representing council and local community interests in the development of a DWP sponsored West London City Growth Pilot aimed at helping people on benefits, lone parents and other groups not in work, into employment
· Developing a West London Strategic Transport Group to promote transport investment and improvements in West London and, through the WLA Transport Implementation Group, securing annual funding of up to £2m from Transport for London to implement sub-regional transport projects
· With its partners in the WLP, producing and delivering on an Economic Development Strategy for West London to promote sustainable economic growth, competitive businesses and thriving communities where all are able to share in the benefits of growth
· Promoting a more sustainable West London through collaborative approaches to spatial planning, working with the GLA on the London Plan and Sub-regional Development Framework and developing good practice and co-ordinated planning
· Supporting initiatives to promote community cohesion, originally by securing Home Office over £500,000 funding for a cohesion programme in West London, and now through a series of awareness raising events and co-operative activities that have built on this programme
· Developing proposals for a new Urban and Sustainable Design Forum for West London, to bring together the public sector with designers, developers and special interest groups to encourage good environmental practice and exemplary design
· Through the West London Housing Strategy group (which includes Kensington & Chelsea Council) working co-operatively to deliver more affordable homes and better services through such initiatives as the West London lettings system (LOCATA), bringing empty properties back into use (EMPRO) and improving provision for homeless people
The WLA is supported by a secretariat of three staff. The main force driving achievement within the WLA are the topic and theme based working groups of officers from each borough. Some working groups also have councillor involvement. The working groups exist because there has been a clear business imperative identified for them. The WLA groups cover a wide range of areas from planning, transport and regeneration through to e-government, procurement and property and asset management. The WLA is funded by member contributions and income it secures to support its activities.
Not all WLA activity has to involve every council on every occasion; it provides a framework in which inter-borough collaboration and joint initiatives can be facilitated and supported. So for instance, through the procurement group Hammersmith and Fulham and Ealing councils collaborated on a reverse e-auction for office supplies which resulted in savings of £2m to the councils. A similar co-operation between Harrow and Hounslow Councils resulted in potential savings of 18% on IT hardware and software.
The value of the work of the WLA and its groups has been recognised in London over the last few years. For instance, the London Development Agency’s, Chief Executive has said that West London “is the best organised …. within London and this is exemplified in the strength and impact of its partnership work” and the e-government group and the LOCATA system gained a National e-government award for their achievements.
More Information on the WLA can be obtained from the Chief Executive’s office or the WLA Secretariat -
Ian Nichol, Director
Tel. 0208 753 2787 email
Emma Strong, Policy and Projects Officer
Tel. 0208 8753 2786
C/o London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham,Town Hall, King Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 9JU
WLA Web site: www.westlondonalliance.org
Read news about West London at: http://www.wlaportal.ukshells.co.uk/mt/