Research Report: Government Must Safeguard Investment in Public Service IT

Research from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, shows that its members believe government should accelerate investment in public service IT, and not cut it, according to 62% of respondents.

63% believe that IT and the internet are improving the delivery of public services. A similar number (60%) indicated that still more could be done for this to translate in to improved efficiencies for both local and national government.

The report also claims 59% of members felt the public fail to recognise the improvements in public services the IT industry has delivered, despite the fact that over half of respondents (55%) believe that IT and the internet are improving citizens’ rights and freedoms. The Institute’s Savvy Citizens campaign, aims to help the public recognise the value of information, and IT, plus how they access, use and manage it in their daily lives.

Elizabeth Sparrow, President, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said: “It’s clear from this research that our members feel strongly that the value of IT and the internet in the lives of citizens, and how they access and use public services, should not be overlooked."

Links
Full Report
Savvy Citizens Campaign

OPENRevenues Customers Recognised at LGC Awards

Civica OPENRevenues customers were amongst the "winners" and "highly commendeds" at the LGC Awards 2010. Congratulations to all the teams involved but especially to:

North West Leicestershire DC - highly commended "Finance Team of the Year"
Waverley BC - highly commended "Standards & Ethics"
Hull City Council - winner "Most improved Council of the Year"
Sunderland City Council - winner "Innovation"

For a full list of winners, photos from the evening and details on how to enter for next year please click here

Budget 2010: One Stop Shop

As the initial round of debate begins to settle on the last budget before the General Election, we've put together some of the most relevent data and related releases to impact on our sector. Please click the links below for further details:

General Facts, Stats & Comment
Budget 2010: the key points
Budget 2010 in graphics
Budget 2010 - public sector and public spending highlights
Action being taken in your area - an interactive map
IRRV Comment: Changes to the Small Business Rate Relief

Government Departments
DWP Delivers Efficiency and Smarter Government Savings
CLG contribution to operational efficiency and smarter government savings
Govt departments line up for ICT cutbacks -but IT "key to overall objective"

Council Finances
Councils must deliver £2.1bn fresh savings
Ring-fencing removed on £1.3bn of council cash
Young Persons Guarantee extension to create 35,000 placements
Budget ring fencing fails to deliver for public services - Chief Executive of LGiU

Civica Services awarded Buying Solutions’ framework agreement

Civica Services, the specialist licensing and consulting division of Civica, has announced that it has been appointed as an approved supplier for Buying Solutions, the national procurement partner for public services.

Civica Strengthens Position as Key Software Supplier
Civica Services now provide commercial off-the-shelf software solutions from major vendors such as Microsoft, Adobe and Symantec, as well as Software Asset Management (SAM) consultancy services to aid public sector organisations in assessing software needs and ensuring the most cost effective solution is provided. The agreement is valid for three and a half years and continues to strengthen Civica Services’ position as a key software supplier to all public sector bodies.

Continued Delivery of "more for less"
“The ethos of Buying Solutions is to maximise value for money for public sector organisations. The award of this agreement means that we are able to offer public sector organisations a comprehensive selection of software, quickly and easily, without needing to negotiate the formal tender process.

With the continued pressure on public sector organisations to achieve more with less, our SAM software consulting service will also ensure that customers receive appropriate software offerings, exactly meeting requirements in a cost effective way.” Steve Reynolds, Managing Director, Civica Services

Buying Solutions - Improving Value for Money
Buying Solutions is the national procurement partner for UK public services and is an Executive Agency of the Office of Government Commerce in the Treasury. As an organisation it works closely with customers across the public sector, to provide a professional procurement service, delivering improved value for money in their commercial activities.

Links to Further Information

Full Article
Civica Services
Buying Solutions