Norse
Trading since 1988, Norse provides property, environmental, highways, FM, and care services primarily to the public sector. Wholly owned by Norfolk County Council, we operate on a commercial basis; our combination of business expertise and public service ethos offers a radical alternative to traditional outsourcing.
Our business model is founded on partnership working: we have over twenty joint ventures with local authorities. Each year we return many millions of pounds to the public purse, re-investing to ensure long-term success, creating jobs and protecting public services.
"Our mission at Norse Group is improving people’s lives – those of our employees, customers, suppliers, and the local community wherever we operate. I am enormously proud of the work we do, working in partnership with our clients and achieving unrivalled social value. With one foot in the public sector, and one in the private, we are uniquely positioned to deliver ethical commercialism.” Justin Galliford, CEO, Norse Group
Sponsored Sessions
My Speaker Sessions
Thursday 11 September 2025
The difficulties of commissioning merged services following LGR
LGR will lead to the creation of large new unitary councils, formed by the merger of districts and smaller unitaries. To achieve economies of scale and maximise efficiency, it will make sense to combine services such as waste collection into a single operation. However, this brings its own challenges. In merging two, three or even four councils into one, the new authority may be faced with different service delivery models, collection frequencies and wide disparities in employee terms and conditions; and the likelihood of varying end dates of contracts. Combining the services into a single entity is going to be enormously complex, and will require a high degree of flexibility to encompass the changes. Procurement is likely to be extremely difficult. What are the alternatives?
