Guildford Borough Council IEG 4.5 Statement(196 KB).

This document is in PDF. To view this document you will need to download the Acrobat Reader.

Local context statement
Our ambition is to be recognised as a leader of the community and an excellent Authority by you, as well as by external assessors. The framework for this is set out in the following strategic statement.

• Our Vision
• Our Mission
• Key strategic priorities

We believe that improvement from e-government initiatives and the innovative use of new technology are contributors towards achieving the above objectives. We aim to provide improved services to all in the Borough in the manner which is most convenient to them. We have adopted a number of Key Delivery Targets  including:

1. Use ICT to increase Public Access to Council Services
   • Enable 100% Online Payments
   • Enable 100% Online Applications
   • Enable 100% Online Booking
2. Maintain campaign to reduce paperwork

Achievements

• We have continued to update all our legacy systems and technical infrastructure as a foundation for initiatives in customer access and knowledge management. A Customer Access Strategy Group is reviewing the access channels used by residents to contact us and will develop and implement a ‘take up’ strategy for our services and our partners.
• We aim to improve our reception through a Shopping Mall. New technology will ensure that customers requirements are met in one location in the most efficient and effective way.
• We also implemented a new website based on Microsoft Content Management System. Initially this has concentrated on information, though transactional elements are being developed and the Council is one of the first to make available anonline benefits claim form.
• Payments can be made online for a number of services, which will increase in 2005.
• Our Geographical Information System (GIS) continues to develop through a web based system and there were over 46,500 visitors to the system in the six months to 30 September 2004. GIS is now available to all Members and supports online planning applications.
• We are progressing towards 100% electronic government and are ahead of target. We achieved 80% for BVPI 157 by November 2004. Of more significance is the fact that 90% of all the transactions are now achieved through electronic means.

Aims
A central aim is to take information and service into the community through initiatives such as:

• Information about sport, art, play and special activities and events through Txt2U
• Information kiosks to provide information on Council services. Just five judiciously located kiosks will provide over 60% of the population access to a kiosk within a distance of one mile. A kiosk has been installed in the offices for use by Housing tenants and an internal kiosk to provide non-desk based staff will access to email, the Council Intranet and the Internet.
• Further implementation of electronic payments across the services of the Council including car parking fines.
• Development of comprehensive Freephone services which seek to provide free information twenty four hours a day.
• Comprehensive mobile computing support for Council staff to increase efficiency and reduce travel time and costs. A pilot study is underway.
• Ongoing work with fellow members of Surrey e-partnership to promote e-government facilities throughout the public organisations in Surrey to provide a seamless and consistent service at a time and place convenient to the public. Development in 2005 will concentrate on health and public safety issues.
• Our website is in its second development phase and is a key building block in the move towards 100% Electronic Government. Key areas in 2005 are accessibility, electronic payments and e-forms.
• An Information Management project will ensure that customer information will be managed in such a way as to make customer interface effective whilst meeting the requirements of the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts.

The following is a summary of how e-government is supporting current and future improvement under the headings of six of the shared priorities for local government identified by ODPM.

Improving the quality of life of children, young people, families at risk and older people:

• The Council has created an ‘Anti-Poverty Group’ to assist deprived residents.
• Provision of information via mobile phones has proved very popular with young people, especially for the Spectrum Leisure Centre websitewhich will be supported by an interactive website for ticket bookings
• Provision to elderly residents in sheltered housing of an alarm system
• Automatic links to the Primary Care Trust to ensure medication requirements are validated
• Provision of replaced ICT equipment to Voluntary Organisations such as ‘Help the Aged’, Citizens Advice Bureau and also to Parish Councils
• Liaison with the local Youth Council to enhance the Council’s website
• Links to other public organisations through an extranet and the Surrey E-Partnership
• Plans to assist with a register of welfare organisations forming the base of a community service website

Promoting healthier communities by targeting key local services, such as health and housing:

• Implementation of a choice based letting facility for self-selection of available properties and promotion of affordable housing via a web based system.
• Plan to provide ICT support for single assessment of older people based on mobile computing.
• Involvement in FAME project to ensure single assessment of the client base
• Development of Telecare technology to help individuals to live at home and make improvements in bed blocking

Creating safer and stronger communities:

• Initiative with the Police to create ‘warden areas’ using mobile technology to share information and record incidents (pilot study in progress)
• Implementation of a comprehensive network of CCTV cameras in the town centre and Council offices.
• Provision of a mobile computing support for Council parking wardens.

Transforming our local environment:

• System for automatic air quality monitoring
• Plan to place GIS maps on small ICT devices to assist street based activities, e.g. a mapping layer for contaminated land to assist developers.
• Contact Management System for environment issues coordinated with with Surrey County Councilthrough Surrey Online

Meeting transport needs more effectively:

• Assistance to flexible working by providing staff with access to Council systems via the Internet.
• On-line displays on bus shelter displays showing parking capacity
• System indicating when Park and Ride buses will arrive.
• Operating a Car Share scheme is operated by the Council, which will eventually be extended to the private sector.

Promoting the economic vitality of localities:

• Business forums to promote economic vitality.
• Participation in initiatives for electronic business integration.
• Promotion for the use of broadband particularly for SMEs
• Procurement policy to promote use of local businesses.

Partnerships
Surrey e-Partnership was developed to fulfil the 2010 vision to offer, citizens and businesses of Surrey, seamless access to services and information without prior knowledge as to which organisation provides that service or information. Multi-organisational information and services should be available from any single point of contact. Working across local authority borders and public sector inter-organisation boundaries, Surrey public sector work together to share processes and systems that enable the efficient and effective delivery of services and information.
Some products have been delivered to partners and the citizen already, particularly but not exclusively with the aid of ODPM funds. Ongoing work is funded directly from members of the Surrey e-Partnership including Guildford Borough Council and is targeted at fully exploiting the efficiency savings that partnership working engenders.

It has been identified that this area:

• has the potential of being met by making enhancements to existing Surrey e-Partnership products/services.
• has the potential to be delivered in partnership with other Surrey local Authorities by Surrey e-Partnership.
• is too big and complex to be addressed in partnership.

However Surrey e-Partnership has identified that there is an opportunity to jointly share experience and best practice in this area and look for opportunities to share procurement along with monitor National project outputs.