Scottish Government

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Development of a "New Media" Citizen/Customer "Self-Service" Communications Channel - the Aberdeen iKiosk Network.

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

Details on the Case Study:

Aberdeen iKiosk Network

iKiosks are a digital Network which utilise touch screens to provide access for Citizen and others to interact and transact. The outdoor iKiosk units are unique in Europe and represent: stunning street furniture design, compliance to DDA together with practical information and innovative functionalities. A previous successful Scottish Executive PTF bid for accessible Public terminals providing transport/travel information developed into a wider scope, of public information covering Council and strategic partner services. None the less working with Traveline Scotland and Transport Scotland a first class journey planner will be available, later a Voice Over IP call ( VOIP) to their call centre.

The iKiosk strategy was aligned with Council's Customer Access Point ( CAP) Programme extending the principle of choice, ease and convenience for citizens and customers to access services when, where and how they wish. This strategy encompasses the "New Media" strategy of the Scottish Executive as laid out in Open Scotland Information Age Framework ( OSIAF) statements and endorsed by Scottish Local Authorities ( SOLAS) signatories from all Scottish Chief Executives. Methodology of content provision from iKiosk Partners were established on eGIF/ OSIAF standards of XML interoperability.

On 14 ^th December 2005 Council approved a prioritised list of locations for the 1 ^st phase of the iKiosks Network. Dependent on location, the Network provides access 24x7x365. Council also awarded the contract to Public Data Web Ltd of Sheffield to design, build and install the Network and provide a Managed Service for 5 years. The iKiosk Civil Works programme of "Everything Below the Ground" commenced on 13 ^thMarch 2006 culminating in "Everything above the Ground", including commissioning and launching of the Network by "Go-Live" date of 27 ^th April. 4 City centre locations: SchoolHill St Nicolas Concourse, Castlegate, Music Hall and 2 indoor locations: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and The Robert Gordon University's new Sports Complex. The Torry Library Neighbourhood location, because of additional Civil Works, will go "live" in early June. A local Primary School Head has taken a pro-active view and wishes pupils to be briefed on iKiosks. The School's pupils will help in suggesting a name for the Ativar (Artificial Intelligent Advisor) functionality on the Kiosk. This will help stimulate community ownership and reduce the risk of anti-social behaviour towards them.

Communication with various internal and external groups was critical. A Co-ordinated approach right up to "Go-Live" day was employed. A flow of information was made available on the Council's IntraNet and Internet sites. Up-date sessions were delivered to Councillors, Community Councils, advisory groups: Disability, Civic Forum and City Centre Traders Association, where features such as "TextTalk, free email and Video Mail attachment, screen resize and language options where highlighted.

Disability, Civic Forum and City Centre Traders Association, where features such as "TextTalk, free email and Video Mail attachment, screen resize and language options where highlighted.

The iKiosk programme and contract with PDW of Sheffield provides Council with an opportunity to accelerate, in this particularly ESD channel, compliance to eGovernment ESD Stages 3 and 4 with on-line forms and full integration to relevant back-end systems. Credit/Debit Card readers are standard allowing payment of Council Tax, Rents, Parking Fines, Educational Courses, and other sundries items such as Special-uplifts and Environmental Pest Control charges. The iKiosk are effectively a "Virtual Front-End Office"

The iKiosk design, as standard, also provides a WiFi opportunity and topography around the City. That would allow citizens, Council and partner employees to access information, interact and transact utilising mobile hand-held devices. Development of the iKiosk Network is a demonstration, of the philosophy of the ESD/Benefit Realisation Programme where not only can citizen exercise the opportunity for "self-satisfaction" through "self-service" but also the efficiency release to Council is realisable in terms of time-management and budget-savings without diluting the quality of the service. Council is looking at a further 18-20 iKiosk locations around the City particularly in the communities.

Contact details: Phil Mills-Bishop, pmbishop@aberdeencity.gov.uk, Tel:01224 522695

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Improving Local Authority Services

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

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Public Access to Planning Applications in Angus Council

The main aim of implementing Public Access in Angus was to provide consultation and tracking information on planning applications to the general public. However, it was also recognised from the outset that whilst Electronic Service Delivery ( ESD) would offer benefits to citizens, business community and visitors, it would also enhance existing internal business processes and ways of working.

In Angus Council it is not always possible to provide access to operational back office systems from all offices used by council officers. The introduction of Public Access alleviated this situation.

No longer at a Planning Officers' surgery is an enquirer having to be told " If only I'd known I could have brought that file with me". All that is required is access to the Internet and the essential forms, documents and plans etc are available.

With regards to consultees gone are the days of photocopying large plans and documents. Access to the relevant documentation can be made by other council departments such as Roads via the council's Intranet whilst the Internet can be used by external parties. Only one external consultee now requires paper copies - all others are happy to use the Internet.

Contact details: Marian Sharp, SharpMT@angus.gov.uk, tel: 01307 461460

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Addressing Requirements On-line

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

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Solution:

Planning and Building Control:

The Planning and Building Control system at Clackmannanshire Council, UNI-form™ has a Gazetteer Management System ( GMS) as its centralised address database. The CAG is maintained and managed within this system.

Electronic Service Delivery

By linking the CAG to the Council's corporate GIS solution, value-added address information is made available to citizens via Clackmannanshire Council's Internet site: http://www.clacksweb.org.uk.

By entering an address into the search engine a citizen can find information about Council services and facilities close to the chosen place of interest.

The website accesses the Forth Valley GIS centralised mapping and information repository, 'GeoStore', via web services. Additional features will be added over time, including the ability to overlay other data ( e.g. planning applications, Tree Preservation Orders etc).

There are also direct links to the National Scottish Assessors portal where a customer can find out valuation information.

Contact details:fvadmin@forthvalleygis.gov.uk, tel: 01786 442976

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Improving Value for Money

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

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Dundee City Council's Online payments exceed £10 million

Dundee City Council's online payment facility has been running for 4 years and has now collected £10.72million in 83,890 payments since 2002.

Figures have been steadily increasing year-on-year and the value collected in 2005 was £5.89million, an increase of 45% over the previous year. There are now over 45,500 payments a year being processed through this facility and payments are automatically posted into the back-end systems.

The Website offers this popular facility for 19 different types of payment such as Council Tax, Council Rent, Council Invoices, Parking Fines and, as well as members of the public using the Website directly, there are is a facility whereby members of the public can telephone and dedicated staff members can process payments through the facility on behalf of people who do not have Internet access.

The most popular type of payment is Council Tax with over 30,300 payments last year totalling just under £4,000,000.

Other more novel types of payment are for Car Parking Season Tickets and Genealogy Research.

Contact details: Jane Crawford, jane.crawford@dundeecity.gov.uk, tel: 01382 438136

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

On-Line Services

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

Details on the Case Study:

"Connect" E-Bookings

In the area of Internet access we wanted to introduce online bookings for our primary services.

In order that we could evaluate the process in the project using real life scenarios we have implemented the system on a phased basis starting with pilots for online booking for registration offices and also for meeting rooms within our Dalmellington Area Office.

This stage has allowed us to ensure that the software conforms to our business process and issues of security and access could be addressed before the project is rolled-out further.

The pilot stage started in the summer of 2005 and we can then use the feedback gained so far to introduce further stages, which will include bookings for recreation & leisure facilities as well as for other targeted services.

During this first stage we have also used the solution to create efficiencies in the area of the Community Planning project, which was not in the original specification and has therefore added an additional benefit to the project. The system now allows us to create further instances of "connect" to meet other business needs, for example, meeting rooms in other Council premises, booking of ICT equipment etc. Further to this another area that has arisen during the pilot stage is that of our outdoor activities services which, amongst other things, organises groups to visit historical buildings, the County Park, etc. Plans are underway to implement the system to enable this service to realise the benefits.

At present internal council staff and community partners (police and health authorities) can benefit from being able to book rooms at our Dalmellington centre through the extranet. This has benefited all areas through a reduction in administration of the meeting rooms.

Council staff are currently using the system to make bookings for registration appointments, and in stage 2 this will be rolled out to citizens to allow them flexibility in booking these appointments online.

Future roll out of "connect" will replace existing manual systems used in the management of resources. In addition we will integrate "connect" with our payments engine so that online bookings and payments can be processed seamlessly and also integrate "connect" with our Customer Account so that authenticated e-bookings can be processed.

Contact details: Graham Stewart, graham.stewart@east-ayrshire.gov.uk 01563 76819

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Improving Local Authority Services

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

The Contact Centre was planned following research that showed that over 75% of East Lothian's citizens regarded the telephone as their preferred method of contacting the Council. The planning also ensured that the underlying technical infrastructure provided a secure and flexible platform for future delivery of further services to all East Lothian Citizens through multiple access channels.

Details on the Case Study:

Prior to the Contact Centre's establishment two separate operations existed.

• A 6-seat Call Centre providing a housing repairs service
• In a separate location, another operation providing a Community Alarm service for citizens in their homes or within housing schemes. Monitoring and recording of public space CCTV and provision of Council emergency out of hours service.

Now

The new facility has brought together these two separate functions with an initial staffing level of 7 assistants with capacity for 24, all using new IP telephony. This new technology required the replacement of the existing call management software and call recording system.

The Community Alarm system was upgraded to allow multiple systems to be accessed from one desktop PC.

In the event of a failure, a new contract with the alarm system supplier provides 24x7x365 cover. East Lothian provides the system supplier with a regular update of the client database allowing the suppliers' contact centre to take over service provision when required. This replaces an informal agreement with the neighbouring Scottish Borders Council.

The new CCTV suite has been designed from the ground up and provides 12 split-screen monitors with an additional 8 monitors dedicated to 'hot-spots' and 2 spot monitors, covering the main towns in East Lothian. The new suite has the capacity to house 50 monitors and 2 spot monitors should other CCTV monitoring be required in future.

At the same time, the system was upgraded to digital recording allowing the images to be viewed from a networked PC and copied to DVD for law enforcement bodies.

Future

As the Contact Centre develops, it will deal with all inbound and outbound telephony, fax and electronic contacts from and to East Lothian Citizens. A new Customer Relationship Management system will provide citizens with one joined-up view of the Council, and the Council with one complete view of each citizen, integrating service delivery across the Council and its partners.

Contact details: Mike Archibald, marchibald@eastlothian.gov.uk, 01620 827132

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

The task of administration of the Council's free school meal and clothing grant scheme was under consideration to be transferred from Community Resources Department to Corporate Customer Services.

The existing process called upon customer to provide benefits information that the Finance department already held, schools to endorse forms with information the Education department already held centrally and required a double keying exercise when payment information was passed to creditors section for cheque issue.

The project had to map the existing process, streamline that process, introduce new technologies and look at how best different council departments could share relevant information and use that information to target services to those who would be entitled to receive them. Where appropriate to make the process more effective and efficient.

Details on the Case Study

Issues with old process

The process system was not joined up. Applicants were being asked to provide documentary evidence of proof of benefit that is either issued by the council (council tax rebate, housing benefit) or is already available via the council's benefit system. Schools are required to confirm pupils attendance by marking application form, this information is already held within seemis system Software was not supportable Software was not compatible with creditors system, meaning that creditors staff had to type applicant details into creditors system, a duplication of work already carried out.

Hard copy of free school meals entitlement lists were posted to schools delaying provision of meals to entitled pupils.

Under the previous method of administration of this service, the distribution of application was not targeted; benefits information that the council already held was not used to verify applications.

Benefits of new procedure

No requirement for 1500 interview letters per year to be produced.

No requirement for 1500 interviews to be undertaken.

No requirement for applicant's details to be double entered into both clothing grant and creditors system.

Council can be proactive in the fight against poverty by targeting application forms to customers receiving other benefits that are eligible for Clothing Grant and Free School Meals, but have not applied.

Assists the council in achieving "Joined up Government" targets

Supportable software

Online form makes grant more accessible

Parents do not have to make an unnecessary journey to show proof of benefit

Schools do not have to endorse application form to show that pupils on form attend their school

Contact Details: Stuart McMinigal, Development Manager, Customer First. Council Buildings 211 Main Street , Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, G78 1SY
Phone: 0141 577 3436 Mobile: 07876 144836 Email: stuart.mcminigal@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Education Services

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

Falkirk Council website was created in 2002 and Education Services has had information posted on it from the start. User statistics for the Education pages were not high - in April 2004 19,964 hits per month were recorded.

Details on the Case Study:

One of the first tasks for redevelopment in 2004/05 was to re-arrange the existing information to make it easier to find and increase the range of topics. Topic choices on the Education homepage increased from 5 to 23 in August 2004 and users no longer had to 'drill down' several layers to find what they wanted.

Then the Education Services Internet working group was set up with representatives from a school and all sections of the service. Help on technical and content issues was provided by Corporate ICT/Marketing.

• downloadable forms for Clothing Grants, the Education Maintenance Allowance and school brochures were added.
• internal links to other Council services for school transport, adult learning and school meals were added.
• external links for School inspection reports, exam dates and other helpful websites were added.

Next the site was promoted so that parents and the public knew what information they could access all day every day.

This was done by -

• articles in Education Service's newsletter to alert all staff.
• articles in newsletters aimed at parents telling them what was 'new' on the site.
• carrying out awareness training for staff so they could direct callers to use the site.
• creating a booklet which listed topics and directed readers to the corresponding website pages.

The statistics were tracked monthly show the effect of these changes - by February 2005 the hits had risen to 61,787 per month and in November 2005 61,151 hits per month were recorded - a 66% increase from the start of the development process.

Future developments are already planned for 2006.

• The website will be transformed with a new design.
• A content management system will make it easier and quicker to post changes to the live site including urgent messages on school closures in bad weather.
• The system will be easier to use meaning that more staff can post information directly to the site.

Contact details: Dianne Cherry, dianne.cherry@falkirk.gov.uk, tel: 01324 506602

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Improve access to services personalised to an individual's needs

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

Myfife is a Fife Council Customer First initiative to improve access to services personalised to an individual's needs. It includes multi-application smartcards, customer/citizens accounts and personalised online services through myfifedirect. Behind the scenes it links with our CRM system and corporate data hub projects to create an infrastructure to share customer information across council services.

Our Customer First strategy was first developed in 2002 following extensive customer consultation. The myfife programme supports and furthers all of the six Customer First themes:

• choice - providing a choice of ways to access council services - now customers can use their smartcard across council locations, via the contact centre or online.
• convenience - services accessible at convenient times - instead of many cards they've now got one that that can be used across a range of services
• quality - improve the quality of customer experience & information given - the high quality of information and personal service provided has resulted in a high take up of myfife services
• remember me - don't make me repeat my details or queries - with a myfife account just tell us once when your circumstances change and there's no need to repeat your details again
• one and done - complete the transaction at first point of contact - with myfife the authentication is built in so customer service staff can concentrate on delivering the service
• value - quality service provided at best value - savings and efficiencies are expected from better management of information across the council

In Spring 2005 the myfife programme was refocused to meet the new Scottish Executive plans for a National Entitlement Card, to be introduced on 1 ^st April 2006 to support the new Scotland wide free bus travel scheme.

To ensure Fifers understood the new scheme and the benefits of it, as well as the other services they could add to their card (leisure, libraries, local discounts etc) and the benefits of setting up a customer account Fife Council decided to take a personalised face to face route to registering customers.

Details on the Case Study:

The myfife programme is changing the way Fife Council interacts with the residents of Fife. At a simple level it's introducing a single customer account number - replacing all of the existing ones they may have already. This should make it much simpler for customer service staff to access or change a customer's details - or for the customer to do it themselves online. It's providing a new token - the myfife smartcard that's a quick way of accessing services whether it's cashless catering, bus travel or leisure activities. It's also starting to join up registration and entitlement processes to make sure people are aware of what they are entitled to and can access it easily. It's a tall order. But so far there's been a very positive reception and buy in from stakeholders - internal and external alike. As a pilot within the national Customer First programme there's clear opportunity for other authorities to learn from our experiences - and many are already asking to share our plans and information.

It is an online registration system delivered through one -on-one appointment. This suits the customers. The personal touch is working. It's about using the information to give people the services they are entitled to - whether its benefits and concessions, support services or alternative formats of information without causing them any embarrassment, stigma or inconvenience.

Our approach is enabling

increased take up of the myfife card & account prior to April 2006
after April to increase the usage and perceived value of the card by offering a range of services through it
ensure customers understood the legal/data sharing implications of the customer account at local and national levels before consenting
improve the quality of information through consistent registration and authentication processes
introduce new processes for changes to a customers circumstance that could be shared across the council
record information once in the customer profile that could be used to pre-qualify the person for a package of joined up services and to enable the council to communicate with the person in their preferred medium.
integrate myfife programme with other local and national initiatives to improve customer service

This project is a good example of how new technology or IT can be an enabler for change but needs to be firmly set within the business needs to meet customer requirements.

Many customers have given feedback on our approach and we also continue to regularly monitor feedback from staff attending these events. We have received letters of thanks from customers who are

…"impressed by the high standard of courtesy and efficiency experienced from staff in attendance (at registration event)"…

Registration events have been completed throughout Fife, which has resulted in 56,500 Customer records being set up, with the details sent electronically to the national card management system for the actual cards to be issued. To ensure Fife residents remember the benefits of the myfife smartcard and also what to do if they lose their card, we arranged for a myfife leaflet to be sent out with the cards.

26 Local Offices are now able to register customers for their myfife smartcard, which is to pick up the remaining eligible over 60's and disabled persons who could not make one of the registration events. In addition a series of home visits to those unable to make it to their Local Office are being undertaken to ensure equal access to this new opportunity.

Experience so far also shows, the vast majority of customers (approx. 95%) are signing up for a Fife Council customer account. They are also adding additional services to the card. Customers have also appreciated the convenience and savings since they don't have to bring along a passport photograph.

Contact details: Neil Wilson, email neil.wilson@fife.gov.uk

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Education and Health Services

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

Glasgow City Council introduced the "FuelZone" concept in a bid to tackle the well-documented health inequalities across the City. An improved healthy menu and "cashless catering" using a points reward system has been introduced in all 29 secondary schools and has transformed the provision of school meals and their uptake across the City.

Details on the Case Study:

FuelZone uses a high street marketing approach to encourage uptake of the service and healthy eating. Cards are used to drive cashless catering speeding up service delivery and fitting in with curriculum planning. Originally the Q card was used for this function however in-order to join up service provision the Council department concerned has entered into partnership with the Glasgow Young Scot project to offer the service via their card, providing young people with the opportunity to obtain other benefits and services previously unavailable through the Q card.

The Fuel Zone points website aims to provide incentives for healthy eating and is based on the Vital Mix. Pupils receive a greater number of reward points for choosing healthy items which can then be traded online for rewards ranging from CD's to iPods.

As well as improving the number of young people eating a balanced diet, as a result of the FuelZone free school meal uptake has risen from 56-67% across the City and a reduction in bullying has occurred as a result of the card-carrying culture.

Contact details: Elma Murray, e-gov@council.glasgow.gov.uk, tel : 0141 287 4081

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Information on Council Services

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

The following case study illustrates how Perth and Kinross Council are using the Corporate Address Gazetteer and spatial technology to improve access to information on Council Services and to streamline the associated data management processes.

Details on the Case Study:

Gazetteer-enabled Information Provision

In line with other local authorities, Perth and Kinross Council ( PKC) has successfully created a BS7666 compliant Corporate Address Gazetteer ( CAG) - one of the key foundations used to modernise service delivery. The CAG is becoming the definitive source of address, property and street information for the Council, and will be integrated with major back-office systems thus enabling information management efficiencies and improving the quality of information available to frontline services and the public.

One of the objectives of the CAG project at PKC has been to identify and implement quick-win uses, so that the Council gets an early return on the investment made in CAG creation, and ensuring that there is a robust business case for sustaining the CAG beyond the creation period.

A significant feature of the CAG which has contributed to meeting this objective, is that property and street locations are recorded alongside addresses. This means that the gazetteer can be used to enable more efficient access to a wide range of location-based information. Some examples include:

• Which recycling centre is nearest my house?
• On what day is my bin emptied?
• What school catchment area is this property located in?
• How far is my house from school?
• Who is my local ward councillor?
• What planning applications have been approved in my area?

The main technical platform for enabling and simplifying location-based information provision of this type is the Council's Corporate Spatial Data Warehouse ( CSDW), of which the CAG is an integral part. This is a powerful enterprise spatial database system, shared by all services which was procured and implemented as part of the Council's Corporate GIS programme. The implementation of the CSDW has demonstrated the value of adopting a joined-up corporate approach to information management. The willingness and enthusiasm of services to work together has helped break down the barriers between the various service and system 'information silos' that existed before.

One of the first applications delivered using the CAG and CSDW is the Kerbside Recycling Date Finder launched on the Council's website at the end of 2005. This provides members of the public online access to address specific recycling collection dates. The application is also used by Environment Services Hotline staff and is proving popular with both the public and staff alike.

The application was developed using a re-usable solution design which can be implemented to provide other location-based information to the public, e.g. school catchments, local wards, nearest council facility, and many others. Work packages will be undertaken in the coming months to deliver this functionality.

Contact details: Ewan Walker, ewalker@pkc.gov.uk, tel: 01738 476627

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

Development of the libraries homepage of Midlothian's website gives people the chance to access a variety of services from public access terminals or home computers

Details on the Case Study:

A variety of online services are available to people visiting the library pages of Midlothian Council's website, www.midlothian.gov.uk/libraries . Users can browse the library catalogue by author, title, ISBN number, keywords and so on. Any search will show the user which library/libraries the title is held in, how many copies there are and if the title is currently available to be borrowed or reserved. Users can then reserve a title electronically, using their library card number and a PIN. There is also an option to check details such as pending fines, books currently on loan etc. From here titles can also be renewed electronically. By logging in from home, or by using a library PC, users can access electronic reference services. These include the Encyclopaedia Britannica, SCRAN, News UK (which provides online access to files of UK national and regional newspapers and several weekly magazines), and Know UK, an online library of encyclopaedias, yearbooks and other standard reference works. Future development of the site will include the facility to book public access computers electronically as well.

Contact details: Kathryn Henry, Kathryn.henry@midlothian.gov.uk, tel: 0131 271 3507

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Improving Local Authority Services

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

Details on the Case Study:

The Council is the throes of developing its new CRM architecture using IBM's Websphere Portal Solution. This will enable customer information to be captured once via the CRM and then passed automatically to key back office systems. Key benefits of this environment are as follows:

• Data is captured once from the customer and automatically populated into the appropriate back-office system to deal with the customer's enquiry, saving time and increasing accuracy by reducing the need for re-keying;
• The single sign-on facility reduces time and effort, by taking the Customer Services Adviser directly to a pre-populated back-office application screen with the customer's data viewable, rather than the Adviser needing to separately log in and navigate through the back office system;
• The ability to extract data from multiple sources provides a more holistic view of the customer to the Customer Services Adviser, thus enabling a better service to be provided; and
• The ability to merge customer data between the CRM and back office systems ensures that consistent customer data is held, thereby minimising errors.

Contact details: Sarah Gadsden, sarah.gadsden@renfrewshire.gov.uk, tel: 0141 840 3331

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Efficient Government

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

Electronic procurement (or "eProcurement") makes use of the capabilities of the Internet to conduct transactions between buying organisations and suppliers.

The scope of eProcurement reaches much further than the IT system which support the order and invoice processing transactions, it also covers such areas as e-Tendering, e-Auctions and Purchase Cards.

Conducting business electronically offers many benefits over paper-based processes including: ease of use; reduced process costs for both buyers and suppliers; increased contract compliance and adherence to business workflows; automated record-keeping; and greatly improved management information.

Details on the Case Study:

Modernising Procurement Project (eProcurement)

The Modernising Procurement Project (eProcurement) was initiated with a grant from the Scottish Executive's Modernising Government Fund. The contract to supply the system was awarded to the successful supplier, Proactis, in April 2004.

The system enables the entire purchasing process for goods, works and services to be carried out electronically. Requisitions can be raised on the system and directed electronically to the buyer to process the purchase order, the system will carry out an automatic budget check to ensure sufficient funds exist before the order is raised. The purchase order is then automatically directed to the appropriate member of staff for authorisation, before despatch to the supplier. Purchase orders can be auto-faxed or emailed to the supplier, or a hard copy produced in the traditional way. When goods are received they are booked in against the outstanding lines on the order, once an item has been booked in it is then possible to pay an invoice for that item. Upon receipt of an invoice, it is passed for electronic scanning into the system, the invoice processor then checks the system to ensure the goods are received and the invoice matches the order. If all the information is correct the invoice is passed for payment on the system, however if there is a mismatch between the invoice and the order or the goods are not received the invoice cannot be passed.

The system has robust authorisation structures and control measures for example they prevent staff from carrying out processes which they are not authorised to do e.g. authorising an order, and prevent invoices from being paid which are inaccurate.

At the end of the financial year 2005/6, the system has 70 users, 1300 suppliers and 1,034 orders had been raised at a total value of £1.5m.

Based on the Scottish Executives figures, the use of an eProcurement system produces a transactional saving of £9.60 on each Purchase to Pay transaction, therefore using this calculation SBC achieved transactional savings of £9,926.

Contact details: Jackie Foster, jfoster@scotborders.gov.uk, tel: 01835 826 598

Modernising Government THEME: Improving Local Authority Services

Environmental Services

Statement from council on Theme selected ( i.e. brief synopsis on how the Case Study below relates to the Theme provided)

Details on the Case Study:

Waste Services

Stirling Council recently initiated an exercise to improve the efficiency of waste collection by redesigning zoning & routing, updating working practices and introducing a new vehicle fleet. Waste Services needed an address-based data set that was robust, flexible and geo-referenced, and fulfilled the following functions:

1. Provide a mailing list so that citizens in the Council area could be informed that their collection date was changing.
2. Provide spatial data to a waste routing tool, to define zones and assign waste collection teams. This tool used spatial analysis to optimise the zones and routes.
3. Act as the connection between the Contact Centre and the waste collection service.
4. Provide a feed to the Council website so that customers can look up waste collection information such as their bin day.

Contact details:fvadmin@forthvalleygis.gov.uk