London Boroughs pull Together to serve Better e-Government

London Connects meets the Association of Local Government today to discuss plans for helping boroughs join up and improve upon e-services.

London Connects is a London-wide agency bringing together local, regional, and central government to support the delivery of the e-government agenda across the capital. Partners also include cross-London service providers such as the Health agencies, Transport for London, the London Libraries Development Agency, and the London Voluntary Services Council.

The London Connects Borough Programme 2004/05, to be discussed when the two bodies meet, includes recommendations which could produce benefits such as:
• improving care to vulnerable people by enabling care workers in the field to access online relevant client data whether held in hospital, primary care trusts or borough databases;
• making it easier for people who need specialist help and resources to find public and voluntary providers across borough boundaries;
• sharing of information about youth offenders between agencies;
• identifying and supporting groups of people in danger of being excluded by new technologies and delivering access to services in ways that suit those with disadvantages;
• making it easier for local businesses to engage with councils through the use of technology;
• making it easier for citizens to access councils, councillors and important meetings through technology;
• reducing the cost to each borough of meeting e-government targets by a factor of up to 33 where all boroughs participate for both one-off and recurring annual cost. Surely the most sustainable model for long term delivery of e-government in London;
• releasing resources to front line services through the integration and automation of back office functions and joint procurement of ICT.

The 33 London boroughs, which lost their joint planning groups when the Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, have been selective in how they have replaced former collaborative functions. The Mayor of London more recently brought transport back under one roof. E-service provision could see renewed integration, with the incentive of better online services and managing technology costs.

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