UK councils forge ahead with cost efficiency plans
Councils are turning to technology as the keystone of their
drive to meet efficiency targets according to research carried out
by ntl:Telewest Business, part of the Virgin Media Group.
The study revealed that 45 per cent of councils across England
have embraced the recommendations in the Treasury’s Operational
Efficiency Programme (OEP), which was unveiled in April 2009. While
29 per cent of councils questioned were already following a plan to
help them meet the OEP’s IT budget efficiency goals, a further 16
per cent were in the midst of creating one.
Written by Dr Martin Read, the OEP’s IT section highlights that
£16 billion a year is spent on public sector IT in the UK, with
local government noted as the biggest spender. To achieve target
savings of around £3.2 billion annually, Dr Read’s recommendations
include greater standardisation and simplification of IT systems.
The need for up-front investment in technical infrastructure to
support flexible working initiatives and the increased deployment
of shared services is also stressed.
The ntl:Telewest Business research revealed that many UK local
councils have already taken significant steps to ensure that ICT
helps to drive cost efficiencies and improve public service
delivery. The survey revealed:
- All of the 103 councils that responded had the technology in
place to enable staff to work remotely from sites such as home and
satellite offices
- 85 per cent had deployed an official flexible working
policy
- Of the councils that had a flexible working scheme in place, 43
per cent stated that it had helped them to reduce their property
portfolio
- 10 per cent of councils with a flexible working policy did not
have any information on whether building consolidation had been
achieved
- The majority of councils (82 per cent) were sharing their ICT
network with social services, schools and libraries to achieve
further financial and operational gains
“Mounting public sector costs have become the centre of
attention for councils,” said John Maund public sector specialist
at ntl:Telewest Business. “While ICT alone cannot make all of
the required savings, many local authorities have recognised that
it has a central role to play. Much has already been done to
modernise information systems and the potential of next generation
high speed networks is now being tapped. As our research shows,
flexible working is now commonplace, and shared networks are being
deployed so that council departments, schools and libraries can all
use a single information platform. It is now critical that this
momentum is maintained so that IT continues to help drive
efficiencies and improve the delivery of front-line public
services.”
Almost two thirds (64 per cent) of councils that shared their
network could guarantee that all information was securely
segregated, ensuring that people can only view content relevant to
them. One third of councils had measures in place to minimise
potential security risks.
Note to editors:
Of the 127 city councils, metropolitan councils, county councils
and unitary authorities questioned on the technologies they were
using, 103 responded. This study was carried out in August and
September 2009.
About ntl:Telewest Business
ntl:Telewest Business has the most technically advanced of the
UK’s two national networks. Its vast nation-wide Next Generation
Network provides businesses, public sector organisations and
service providers across the UK with a complete portfolio of
advanced data, internet and voice services. The £13billion network
is flexible, scaleable and is already built out to more than 38,000
street cabinets across the UK.
As part of a commitment to deliver superior customer service,
ntl:Telewest Business sales and support teams are located in close
proximity to its customers in over 40 centres across the UK.
ntl:Telewest Business is trusted to provide critical
communications to high profile customers including: Birmingham City
Council, Yorkshire Water and EasyJet.
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