Native authorities lagging in the abet of in digitisation of citizen records

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On the subject of a third of councils can no longer repeat how vital citizen info they retailer is in digital format, seek reveals

Angelica Mari

Angelica Mari

Published: 20 Nov 2020 9: 45

As the UK executive moves in direction of the creation of a national approach to fabricate better utilize of information across the public sector, recent learn means that local authorities are lagging in the abet of when it comes to digitisation of citizen info.

The info became as soon as got from a freedom of information (FoI) inquire of of, issued by to 428 local authorities across the UK, with 263 (extra than 60%) of them responding, in July and August 2020. In response to the seek, 31% of councils are unable to substantiate exactly how vital of the knowledge they retailer and organize for local electorate is digitalised.

Some 40% of local authorities which get hang of responded to the FoI inquire of of, issued by challenge info administration instrument company OpenText, get hang of digitalised between 76% and 99% of the knowledge they retailer and organize for local electorate, whereas only 11% get hang of fully digitalised all of their citizen records.

The seek has additionally found that, since 2019 or earlier, quite a lot of the responding councils the UK (80%) were the usage of a stammer material services and products answer to retailer and organize citizen info, and such systems will also be accessed by local authority staff when working remotely.

Protest material services and products systems to share citizen info with exterior third parties are in utilize at 49% of responding councils, in accordance to the seek. Conversely, two in five (40%) get hang of no plans to place into effect such systems to share citizen info with executive agencies and partners equivalent to social care suppliers and non-public healthcare businesses.

Projects pertaining to to info were on the core of the work conducted by the London Keep of job of Technology and Innovation (LOTI). The organisation became as soon as launched in 2019 boroughs across the capital pledging to collaborate on dashing up technology-led advances underpinning the shipping of local carrier provision.

In its first annual portray, LOTI administration noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has confirmed the organisation’s “targets and systems of working are extra important than ever”, in whisper when it comes to info.

“Tackling obstacles to the usage of information is a must-get hang of – without simply info, we can’t seek what’s going on and who needs abet,” LOTI’s programme supervisor, Onyeka Onyekwelu, acknowledged in the portray’s foreword.

LOTI has worked with diversified councils to abet them sophisticate their info initiatives, and has led initiatives equivalent to City Tools, a platform aimed at serving to local authorities increase price from the technologies they utilize, to boot as initiatives fervent by the usage of information to pork up services and products.

Earlier in November, John Whittingdale, minister of notify for media and data on the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), acknowledged at an industry tournament that the long-awaited UK national info draw is kind of done and may per chance gas post-Brexit and post-pandemic economic squawk for the UK.

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