Sci-fi services

Once upon a time, a resident wanting to access a council service had to contact different departments, give his or her details to a number of people and wait – often a long time – for a query to be resolved. Now, though, councils are setting an example to other sectors in changing how they do business with local people. IT and telecoms technology is at the forefront of this.

The government has given local authorities until December 2005 to have all their services available electronically. On the face of it, this may appear a massive task but many are already making great headway in using technology to respond to customer needs, streamline internal processes and encourage local participation in council business.

This is where the Improvement and Development Agency can help. It's a knowledge-sharing best-practice organisation and it has commissioned the Society of IT Management to find case studies of good practice in e-government. The result was 26 case studies from a diverse range of councils that show how, irrespective of size, they are using technology to improve the delivery of services, encourage citizens to get involved in decision-making, increase the efficiency of internal processes and enable and support local and strategic partnerships.

John Thornton, IDeA's director of e-government, says: "This shows, for example, how smaller authorities can use business process re-engineering to drive the improvement of services, how different types of partnership are being used to join up services, making them more accessible to the public and how online services are helping to engage more citizens in processes such as planning applications. Clearly, councils have moved from 'aspiration' to 'implementation' as far as e-government is concerned."

The research, published last Thursday, found that there are four key challenges that local authorities and other stakeholders must work on to move forward with e-government:

• customer care
  
• consultation to encourage greater participation
  
• information to create a more robust framework for service delivery
  
• make sure results are of value to the public.

The case studies also show e-government is no longer the province of one section of a council and that contributions from many partners are essential to deliver the services.

Cheshire takes benefits on the road
Having benefits processed on the doorstep might seem a dream for tenants but, at Halton Borough Council in Cheshire, it has become a reality. The Benefits Express bus travels around the borough, especially to areas with a high benefits take-up, three or four days a week. The service, which was launched in January, is equipped with mobile communications technology. Using a wireless system, staff can match client information against what they are entitled to; they can also verify the claimant's identity. The bus has brought council advisers to more than 10,000 households, some of which had no idea they were entitled to benefits.

Reporting abandoned cars in Surrey
Graffiti and abandoned cars are a particular problem for Mole Valley District Council in Surrey – in part because of its closeness to the M25, a hotspot for joyriders. To combat this, residents are encouraged to report cases to the council online at www.molevalley.gov.uk. It then works closely with the police and county council to deal with them.

Cambridgeshire's planning process
If someone is thinking of building in the catchment area of Cambridgeshire's Huntingdonshire District Council, they need go no further than their nearest internet connection for property information. There, they will find all the planning details on the council's website, www.huntsdc.gov.uk. Called Planning Public Access, it is an online planning information service that allows people to submit planning applications online, view plans, search properties and even submit comments. Launched in March, it attracts 2500 users a month. It uses the local land and property gazetteer as its key data-linking mechanism and search channel: this is the national address list that provides unambiguous identification of land and property. Its unique referencing means data and systems can be joined up and it underpins the modernisation of local government services – see www.idea.gov.uk/lgih for more information.

Sharing data in Suffolk and Sussex
Information-sharing has taken on a new life at Ipswich Borough Council through the introduction in January of a corporate geographic information system. It allows staff to tap into a reservoir of data previously held in separate areas. The system will shortly be rolled out to the public and will form the basis of a connection between the county council, police, primary care trust and local NHS trust, as well as voluntary and community bodies.

East Sussex County Council also has a geographic information system. There, the county, districts and boroughs have formed a partnerships with the police, fire and rescue services and they share a GIS and infrastructure with linked telephone systems, self-service internet kiosks and a one-stop shop giving access to all the partners' services. The Crime and Disorder Data Information Exchange is a development of the partnership that allows information to be shared securely across the agencies involved.

Community involvement in Wales
Torfaen County Borough Council has introduced an online community portal to encourage residents to engage with the council in a way they've never done before. The council employs a team of outreach workers to help local groups and businesses set up private and public pages. It is installing 30 public-access kiosks in key locations and has an e-training bus with a wireless internet connection. The project is a key element of the council's social inclusion agenda. Local people played a pivotal part in getting the project started in February, and close to 100 organisations have already signed up.

Access to services in Lincolnshire
In Lincolnshire, more than 60 groups are involved in NorthLincsNet – an e-community project that is being carried forward by North Lincolnshire Council through the local strategic partnership. It focuses on the region's communities, cutting across service areas and maintaining strong links with adult education and outreach workers. The site www.northlincsnet.com is the main access point for information and services. Maintained for and by the community as a joint resource, NorthLincsNet is now the lead for the national e-democracy project, helping other local authorities in community engagement and consultation.