Concerns raised over council ICT investment

A lack of investment in ICT is undermining local authority service delivery, according to three quarters of senior decision makers.

A poll, carried out by supplier Eduserv, found respondents believed that a lack of resources and focus is undermining the ability of local government to deliver online services.

And one in four said that their organisation has no strategic plan for bringing services online.

Andrew Hawkins, local government director at Eduserv said: “Councils appear to be playing catch-up in delivering services that meet the expectations of digital users.

“Whilst it is disappointing that so many council’s feel their current services are being undermined by a lack of investment in IT, it’s encouraging that they recognise this and want to use IT to improve future service delivery.”

The survey also found that only 48% of respondents believed that the focus of ICT should be on cutting costs.

Hawkins said: “While in many cases moving services online or to the cloud can have financial benefits for the organisation its important this isn’t the key driver – the main priority should be on improving services for residents.

“Most councils seem to recognise this and now is the time for council leaders to deploy greater resources for an effective strategy to deliver the changes needed.”

The research found overwhelming support for the use of IT to improve and deliver council services (79%).

More than three quarters (77%) of those responsible for delivering services said that a shortfall in investment is making it hard to do their job effectively.

Colin Marrs

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