NEW! OPENRevenues Discussion Board Launching Soon!

In response to requests from recent User Groups we will shortly be launching the new OPENRevenues Discussion Board. This new facility is designed to allow system users across all our customer sites and our product team to communicate with each other in real-time.

All system users will shortly receive an invitation email linking them to the site and instructions on how to activate their membership.

We hope this channel will add another way in which the OPENRevenues Community can interact with each other, and gives everyone direct access to our product team. If you use our OPENRevenues product look out for your invitation email and we look forward to reading your posts soon!

Real-time reporting of the DWP HoBoD performance statistics

In response to the need for monitoring the DWP derivation rules for the SHBE extract, and financial information on payments and overpayments. We have introdued two new modules to their product suite.

The HBoD module enables users to view performance for the current month prior to submission plus the two previous months and matches how DWP apply their derivation rules to determine your performance. This facilitates daily monitoring of benefit performance together with a full analysis before the data issubmitted on the SHBE extract.

The HB Finance module provides detailed information on both payments and overpayments. Allowing monitoring on paid on time from both date determined and date all information received together with outstanding, new, recovered and written off overpayments. In addition within the overpayments area you can now also see details of transactions that affect the outstanding debt such as returned cheques, offsets etc. There is also a drill down on subsidy data and a year on year aged debt analysis.

This software is just part of a suite of products that will help improve efficiency and drive cost savings for LA work processes for further details or to request additional information please ask your Account Manager for details via 01635 550088 or email openrevenues@civica.co.uk

John Denham moved to Cummunities Secretary

John Denham has been appointed communities and local government secretary in Gordon Brown’s reshuffle

Mr Denham previously Innovation, Universities and Skills secretary, described himself as honoured to move to the role.

“Having started out as a local councillor, I know how important it is to have strong local government running outstanding public services. Families and businesses which are struggling in these difficult times are looking to this department for practical help, and I am determined to deliver what they need."

Yvette Cooper Replaces James Purnell

Yvette Cooper has moved from her role as Chief Secretary to the Treasury to head up the DWP position vacated by James Purnell last night.

Ms Cooper previously held the job of Minister of State for Housing and Planning until January 2008. She is MP for Pontefract and Castleford.

James Purnell Resigns from DWP

James Purnell has stepped down from his cabinet role as Work and Pensions Secretary.

Mr Purnell is the third cabinet member to announce in the past few days they are standing down from cabinet.

Leeds CC hits 100% Green IT Target

Leeds City Council, announced last week that it has satisfied an audit process confirming it is recycling 100% of its redundant IT equipment.

Leeds is not the only public sector organisation trying to greenify its computing. May saw the Ministry of Defence promising completely carbon neutral ICT by 2020, the Foreign Office is looking at video conferencing and collaboration systems and the Department for Work and Pensions making carbon reduction part of its IT contracting strategy.

The UK has rightly set itself hugely demanding targets for cutting its carbon emissions. Computing has huge potential to help in ways that are relatively painless, such as using virtualisation to cut servers, and even beneficial for staff, through remote working and less need for business travel.

Full Story from GC Weekly

Find out more about how IBS OPENSystems can help improve your efficiency ratings

OPENRevenues User - Stockport MBC Receives Prestigous Award

Congratulations to Stockport MBC on receiving a "Highly Commended" honour for its Flexible and Remote Working Programme at the recent prestigious GC Awards. The awards are organised by the Guardian Newspaper to reward excellence in public sector IT (previously GC Awards for innovation)

Stockport MBC have been an OPENRevenues customer for nearly ten years and were nominated in two categories:

Delivering efficiency: Projects that can show clear efficiency gains for their organisations. One of the top priorities for government bodies is to produce sustainable efficiencies in their operations.

Green IT: Projects whose benefits include a significant contribution to the environmental agenda. It was in this category Stockport won the "Highly Commended" Award.

The GC Awards were established 13 years ago to highlight the excellent work done by public servants across the UK, and to disseminate the projects' contributions to best practice - they are the original and most prestigious awards for using technology to raise the game in public services.

Congratulations to all involved at Stockport MBC!

Hazel Blears Resignation

Hazel Blears has resigned from her Cabinet position as Communities and Local Government secretary.

Ms Blears has been under fire over her expenses claims despite repaying £13,000 and was tipped for the axe in the forthcoming reshuffle expected after European and English local elections. The Salford MP had denied doing anything wrong.

In a resignation statement, Ms Blears said: “Today I have told the prime minister that I am resigning from the Government.

“My politics has always been rooted in the belief that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things, given the right support and encouragement.

“The role of a progressive Government should be to pass power to the people. I’ve never sought high office for the sake of it, or for what I can gain, but for what I can achieve for the people I represent and serve...I am glad to be going home to the people who matter the most to me: the people of Salford.

The prime minister’s spokesman said: “Gordon Brown respects and understands Hazel Blear’s decision to quit the cabinet and believes that she made an outstanding contribution to public life.”

Ms Blears is the third leading cabinet figure to resign in the last 48 hours. Replacements as head of the CLG include: Margaret Beckett, John Healey and Yvette Cooper.

Tom Watson to Resign as Digital Minister

Tom Watson the minister for digital engagement has decided to stand down as part of Gordon Brown's planned reshuffle after being caught up in arguments over Red Rag, a planned Labour party blog, despite not having seen the controversial emails discussing how it might work

Mr Watson was appointed as Cabinet Office minister for digital engagement and civil service issues in January 2008. He has had a more natural affinity with public sector IT issues than some of his predecessors, having been an enthusiastic advocate of government making use of web 2.0 technology, and one of the first MPs to begin a blog. He also gave active support to the campaign for wider re-use of public sector information.