Llanidloes Without in the north of the county of Powys   Credit: William Franklin/CC BY-ND 2.0

Powys County Council has been awarded Welsh Government backing of almost £1m to roll out a wide-ranging digital strategy over the coming years.

The Digital Powys plan contains a range of measures dedicated to the adoption of new technologies and services to improve the council’s operations, the experience of citizens, and the local economy.

The local authority has received a little more than £980,000 in Welsh Government investment to support the first phase of the strategy’s rollout, which will take place over the next two years.

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The digital proposals form part of a wider transformation programme being implemented by the council between now and 2025.

Ness Young, Powys’s corporate director of resources and transformation, said: “We have to keep pace with technology and allow residents to access council services faster and more efficiently, and the funding will help us meet that challenge. Technology provides real opportunities to improve service delivery and we want to make sure all residents can share in that experience.”

She added: "Transformation of services within local government demands high-quality data and analytics and our work will lead that process. We intend using predictive analysis to better understand customer needs, provide information to support decision making and support other councils to introduce business analytics. We will pilot new technologies, evaluate them for colleagues in other authorities and share our experiences with others. The way local government works is changing rapidly, and we intend being at the forefront of that transformation.”