WREXHAM COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL
Interim Implementing Electronic Government
Statement
Version: Final
April 8th, 2002
1
1
Contents
Page Number
FOREWORD
1
OVERVIEW
1.
Introduction
Purpose
1
1
2.
Our goal for electronic service delivery
Delivering electronic government
2
3
3.
Summary Action Plan
How outcomes will be judged
4
4
MILESTONES
4.
Customer Access to Service Strategy
6
5.
Development of partnership and joint working
6
6.
Meeting electronic service delivery targets
Meeting electronic service delivery targets - an early analysis
High volume transactions
7
7
7
7.
Integration with national frameworks & standards
8
8.
Flexible working and asset management
Work-life balance
Asset Management
9
9
10
9.
State of readiness
Community access to the internet and technology
ICT Support within the Council
Current eGovernment activities
11
11
11
12
TRANSITION
10.
Leading eGovernment
Leadership and Management
Perceptions of Senior Management
13
13
13
11.
Financing eGovernment
Outline cost/benefits
Outline funding/resourcing strategy
Outline plans for realising savings
14
14
15
15
12.
Business options and tactics
16
13.
Risk assessment
16
14.
Skills needs analysis
16
1
Appendices
A:
Council vision and strategic aims
19
B:
Corporate Planning Process
20
C:
Milestones and targets for Wrexham
21
D:
Electronic service delivery by function and service type
24
E:
Telecommunications Best Value Survey of the Public & Members 28
F:
Partnership arrangements
29
G:
EGovernment Initiatives - current position as at December 2001
32
H:
Structure for eGovernment Implementation in Wrexham CBC
34
I:
Risk log
35
Glossary of terms and acronyms
Useful website links
2
Foreword
Wrexham County Borough Council is committed to the implementation of electronic government.
We have a track record of providing high quality services by working in partnership and delivering
information and services electronically. This IEG Statement builds upon this platform, and explores
how information communications technologies can be used to further develop and enhance our
services so that they are fit for the 21st Century.
We will spend the next 12 months considering the range of options open to us in delivering
electronic local government. At the same time we will be gathering evidence for our approach to
electronic government through a cross-cutting review on customer access to services as part of the
Wales Programme for Improvement. Our services will respond to changing expectations from the
public and will combine the best of traditional service delivery with the more innovative approaches.
This document outlines some of our early thinking on electronic government. We will use it to
consult all the stakeholders involved in developing better Council and other public sector services
locally, so that we can set our priorities for the delivery of eGovernment over the medium and long
term. Electronic government will also be a consideration in the work with our key partners on the
development of a Community Strategy over the next 2 years.
This is a long-term programme for improvement. We can't launch into all these changes overnight
as many of them involve a high degree of investment and, in the case of electronic voting, a
change in legislation to allow them to happen.
The take-up of online services is linked to how comfortable people feel with the technology and
whether they can afford to access services electronically. We want to see local people and
businesses get online and thrive in the electronically connected 21 st Century. To this end, we are
widening access to the internet and providing learning opportunities through our schools and
libraries.
We hope that you will find this Statement easy to read. Some of the terms used are technical, but
we've provided a glossary of terms at the back to help explain some of them.
We look forward to hearing your views on this document and seeing the benefits that this e-agenda
will bring to Wrexham County Borough.
1
2
Wrexham has a goal of becoming one of the leading e-Counties in Wales. In the future,
local people will have better access to information and advice from their public services, be
more engaged in local democracy and find services easy to reach when they need them.
We do not underestimate the amount of effort required to attain this goal, but are
dedicated to a vision that sets Wrexham firmly within the Information Age.
This statement sets out how Wrexham County Borough Council will move towards
electronic government. This does not mean that all services will be automated in the
future. It means a better experience for anyone doing business with the Council, because
the power of information communication technologies (ICTs) will be harnessed to allow the
re-design of services around customers and citizens. This will mean closer working with
partners to deliver services.
Customer-focus also means widening the ways in which our services can be reached. For
example, through the internet, or through an extended hours contact centre, or, for those
that need more help with complex or sensitive issues, appointments with a member of staff
who can advise them and help them to access services.
Purpose
This document sets out Wrexham County Borough Council's aspirations for electronic
government for the next 5 years. The purpose of this document is to:




set out a vision for modern service delivery for all stakeholders within Wrexham
County Borough
summarise the practical steps required to achieve this vision, including the milestones
to achieve government targets
demonstrate partnership working and
demonstrate our commitment to national interoperability frameworks and standards.
This Interim Implementing Electronic Government (IEG) Statement will be submitted to the
National Assembly for Wales at the end of March 2002. It will be used as a basis for
discussion and consultation with all those who are involved in the process of modernising
and improving service delivery for the citizens of Wrexham County Borough. By March
2003, we will have reviewed the Statement and included full costings for proposed
projects. The revised Statement will set the strategic direction for the Council in terms of
eGovernment to 2006 and beyond. In the meantime we will continue to invest in pilot
projects and feasibility reports to test our ideas for electronic service delivery. The 2003
IEG Statement will be reviewed regularly to respond to changes in customer expectations
and developments in technological capabilities.
About Wrexham
Wrexham County Borough covers an area of 50,500 hectares in the
north east corner of Wales, with a population of 125,7501, one-third of
whom live within Wrexham town. Wrexham has an important role in
North Wales as the premier administrative, commercial, shopping and
industrial centre for the area. Characteristics of the Borough include:






A growing population2;
Prosperity with inward investment, jobs growth and low
unemployment3;
An active tourist sector4;
Strong manufacturing base5 and positive business formation in construction,
transport, communications and other business services.
Strong higher academic institutions with North East Wales Institute and Yale College.
Quality leisure and cultural facilities.
1
Mid Year Estimate 2000 (ONS).
By 1.2% between 1991-6.
3
In 1995 the area had a GDP3 per full-time employee of £26,700, 4% above the Wales average.
Since 1991, Wrexham has attracted 94 inward investment projects, creating around 6,200 jobs.
Unemployment rate is consistently below the Welsh average.
4
Supports 1,000 jobs. 1.18 million visitors in 1998, generating £31.3 million.
5
Manufacturing of products such as rubber and plastic goods, food and drink, and chemical products.
2
1
SUMMARY
Introduction
OVERVIEW
1.
2.
Our goal for electronic service delivery
OVERVIEW
SUMMARY
The Council fully endorses the vision outlined for Wales by the National Assembly in
Cymru Arlein - Online for a Better Wales, that views information communications
technology (ICT) as a facilitator of a confident, creative and culturally rich society living
within a sustainable environment.
Electronic, or eGovernment, is one part of a wider modernising agenda that will transform
the way in which the Council communicates and works with its communities (see Appendix
A for the overarching Council vision). Within the framework of the Community Strategy,
and with reference to the Wales Improvement Programme, the implementing electronic
government agenda will deliver better services to people, by increasing the means of
access to information and services and working with partners to jointly deliver services
(see Figure 1).
Figure 1: The future for a modernised public sector
Our goal for electronic local government is for:
"A Council that is citizen and customer centred and uses ICT (information
communications technology) to improve its services and enhance its
role as democratic leader, to make life better for people."
2
Delivering electronic government
 Electronic communication is the major route for providing information
and communicating with all organisations and individuals dealing with
the Council, through channels that suit their circumstances whether at
work, at home or on the move. This increases the access to public
information and services to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week over the
internet, or extended hours provision through a contact centre.
 Support Elected Members in their use of information communications
technologies to enhance and improve their democratic role.
 Access to the internet is made widely available so that no one is
excluded from digital communication.
 There is joint-working between public sector and other services so that
they respond to the needs of the customer rather than those of
organisational and professional structures. Customer enquiries, or
notification of changes, reach those parts of the public sector that need
to know with one contact from the customer.
 Increased democratic involvement at individual and community level,
supported by a higher flow of information and consultation through
electronic media, enabling greater involvement in decision-making that
affects the area.
 Best value services delivered that are efficient, effective and
continually improving, enhanced by the use of information
communications technologies (ICTs).
 A Council that values and invests in its staff in terms of skills,
particularly ICT skills, and the use of ICT to deliver learning.
 The Council is a learning organisation - gaining knowledge from its
experience and using this knowledge to inform future actions.
 An organisation that values information and knowledge and has
decision-making based upon sound evidence.
 A vibrant local community and economy that makes best use of ICT to
further its aims.
3
OVERVIEW
 Customers calling a single number to reach the service that they
require within the Council. Calls are answered promptly to set
standards and the person answering the phone can resolve a majority
of the questions raised within one call.
SUMMARY
In the future, citizens will expect to reach the services that they want at times and in places
that are convenient to them. This will require a long-term change programme, with stepchanges in service delivery along the way. Our success will be characterised by service
transformation, and will include the following ideals:
3.
Summary Action Plan
SUMMARY
Table 1 represents the milestones and target dates for implementing eGovernment for the
next financial year to March 2003. These milestones mark some of the steps contributing
to the delivery of eGovernment in the short term, while allowing time for the development
of the longer term action plan by the end of March 2003.
A list of potential milestones for the longer term is given in Appendix B. There are no target
dates set against these milestones as yet. The purpose of this list is to encourage
discussion of the goals for Wrexham in terms of eGovernment. As a consequence, this list
of actions is highly indicative and selective at this stage. A thorough plan will be produced
after consultation and as a result of some of the reviews proposed in this year's action
plan.
An important consideration for the timing of the milestones is the constraint upon
resources to fund the activity over and above current service provision levels. While some
sources of external funding have been made available, most are ring-fenced to particular
initiatives. EGovernment is a broad push for change, so lack of financial resources may
limit what can be achieved both in the short and longer term.
How outcomes will be judged
The Interim IEG Statement will become part of the service planning mechanism that
operates within the Council. As a cross-cutting corporate initiative, eGovernment actions
will be reflected within Service Management Plans (see Appendix C). These actions will
have targets set for each year, based on the National Assembly for Wales Performance
Indicator 1.5 (see Appendix D), and on local targets developed for Wrexham County
Borough Council. These local targets will develop and evolve over the lifetime of the plan
to reflect local needs.
OVERVIEW
Progress against eGovernment initiatives has been planned and tracked through the ICT
Strategy 2000/2 and Information Systems Management Plans for 2001/2.
For 2002/3, the interim IEG Statement will provide the corporate position on eGovernment
actions. By March 2003, the document will be reviewed and fully costed for the future with
targeted milestones. Performance will then be reviewed against these targets and those
set by the National Assembly for Wales for electronic service delivery.
Outcomes will be judged against planned actions, but will also be assessed from
customer's feedback. Regular reviews of progress and customer's perceptions of changes
in service delivery will inform the success of our electronic government plans. We will also
benchmark our services against other service providers to set our progress in the wider
context.
4
Milestones

Initiate Customer Access to Services Review

Set up Implementing Electronic Government (IEG) Co-ordination
Group

Extend consultation on IEG Statement

Smartcards allocated for concessionary travel for pensioners and
people with disabilities

Awareness raising sessions on electronic government for staff and
elected members

Implement content management system for intranet

Pilot work-life balance solutions

Adoption of revised telephone call-handling policies and procedures

Explore the business case for working with National Land
Information Service
Q2
July -Sept











Q3
Oct - Dec











Q4
Jan - Mar




Feasibility study on Contact Centre options
Agreed priorities for electronic service delivery
Establish a portfolio of electronic service delivery projects
Publish frequently asked questions (FAQs) on Council Services on
the Council website
Upgrade corporate network - higher bandwidth connections to
remote offices
Install NAfW Broadband Lifelong Learning Network (BLLN)
Link Secondary schools to BLLN
Establish funding arrangements for agreed IEG projects
Implement financial systems - upgraded for e-commerce potential
Implement electronic financial transactions - implementation of
swipe cards payment at Cash Office, telephone and web payments
Explore potential for getting Community Councils online
Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) data cleaned to national
BS7666 standard
Implement content management system for web
Establish 1st wave of electronic service delivery (ESD) projects
Revised ICT Strategy
Link all libraries to BLLN, providing free internet access
Customer Access to Service Review - Final report and Action Plan
Implement transactional processes on website e.g. job applications
Arrange workshops to share best practice & encourage innovation
Implementation of kiosk pilot
Report on feasibility study for electronic Building Control application
Replacement of back office mainframe systems
Revised and fully costed Implementing Electronic Government (IEG)
Statement
Technical feasibility study for putting library catalogue online through
website
2nd consultation on IEG Statement with stakeholders
2nd wave Electronic Service Delivery projects
5
OVERVIEW
Timescale
Q1
April-June
SUMMARY
Table 1: Milestones for 2002/3
4.
Customer Access to Service Strategy
Understanding how people prefer to access information and services and the constraints
that some sections of the population experience in reaching the services that they need
will be an important component for developing eGovernment. The Council has over 50
locations (excluding schools) from where services are provided, where the public can
obtain information and advice via a personal visit, but by far the most popular form of
contact with the Council is by telephone:
Table 3: Preferred methods of contact - telephone
MILESTONES
Preferred method of contact
Telephone
Visit an office
e-mail
Letter
Fax
Other
Citizen's Panel
August 2001
77%
22%
7%
7%
2%
5%
Note: Percentages do not add up to 100% because more
than one method of contact could be chosen.
We receive over 1 million incoming telephone calls every year at our central offices. During
the past year the Council has conducted a best value review for telecommunications within
the Council (see Appendix E). The Best Value Review found that while customers find the
service over the telephone to be reasonably prompt, courteous and effective, there are a
large number of published telephone numbers published, which can cause some
confusion for our customers. Building upon this review, we will review the other methods
that people use to access our services, to gain an understanding of why and how people
make these choices now and in the future, with the aim of developing a Customer Access
to Service Strategy.
5.
Development of partnership and joint working
The Council works within many partnerships involving private, voluntary and other public
sectors with the joint aim of delivering better services for people (see Appendix F).
Over the next 2 years, local partners will be drawn together under the banner of the
Community Strategy with the general aim of promoting or improving the economic, social
and environmental well-being of the area. The Community Strategy Steering Group will
comprise representatives from: the Council, NHS Trust, North Wales Health Authority,
local Health Group, North Wales Police, AVOW 6, NEWI7, Yale College and a
representative from either the Chamber of Commerce or Confederation of British Industry
(CBI).
In terms of collaboration across North Wales, the Chief Executives of the six Councils of
Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham have set up a North
Wales eGovernment Steering Group and are:
“committed to working collaboratively to promote eGovernment within North
Wales. This will initially take the form of being open in sharing best practice,
policies and strategy documents with the expectation of identifying common
themes which will lead to joint working. This has been prevalent amongst various
service departments for some time who, through collaboration on particular
projects with similar aims, have achieved savings and increased effectiveness.
Partnerships with other organisations in the public sector will also be
investigated."
This degree of openness and collaboration between the North Wales authorities is a
welcome precursor to closer working, and the possibility of joint eGovernment projects.
6
7
Association of Voluntary Organisations of Wrexham
North East Wales Institute
6
6.
Meeting electronic service delivery targets
Meeting electronic service delivery targets - an early analysis
A corporate eGovernment strategy was developed as part of the ICT Strategy 2000/2. An
early action was to assess the state of readiness for electronic service delivery8 within the
Council. This survey was completed in August 2001, in accordance with the guidance on
the National Assembly for Wales performance indicator (NAW PI) 1.5, and against the
standard list of functions delivered by local government, as drawn up by SOCITM 9. The
summary figures for the whole of the Council are given in Table 2, with the detailed figures
broken down by service area in Appendix D.
Type of function
Providing information
Receive payments
Making payments (benefits and creditors)
Receiving feedback (complaints and consultation)
Regulation (issue licenses)
Making an application
Making a booking
Paying for goods and services
Providing access to community, professional and
business networks
Procurement
Average percentage of functions
available by electronic service delivery.
Key Performance Indicator results
Benchmark
Target for
August 2001
March 2003
30%
40%
13%
15%
48%
60%
20%
30%
Not measured
10%
6%
15%
15%
20%
Not measured
20%
Not measured
10%
Not measured
10%
While the results show that there is still a way to go before being fully electronic, there are
encouraging signs. Almost half of the payments made by the authority are made
electronically. Other services, such as the public making an application electronically, are
slower to develop because of the need for appropriate developments in security and
verification frameworks. These results will provide a useful benchmark from which the
authority can assess its progress. This exercise will be repeated in 2002 and thereafter on
an annual basis to monitor developments against targets set for each function.
High volume transactions
The electronic service delivery assessment was set against the 74 categories of services
identified by SOCITM as being the main services delivered by local government. As part of
the work for the Customer Access to Services Review an assessment will be made of the
high volume transactions, against degree of complexity of the transaction, against ease of
improvement through eGovernment intervention. This will identify "early winner" e-projects
and longer term priorities for action.
8
Electronic service delivery is defined as interactions, delivered electronically, including the use of the
internet (whether accessed through a PC digital TV, telephone or other device), or access by
telephone through a call centre, front office or other means in which the operator has access to
information electronically and can carry out a meaningful transaction on behalf of the caller.
9
Society of Information Technology Management
7
MILESTONES
Table 2: Percentage of functions available by electronic service delivery
7.
Integration with national frameworks &
standards
The Council maintains a watching brief on national developments on eGovernment to
ensure that the Council can integrate or comply with the evolving standards.
MILESTONES
The Council is currently working upon the Local Land and Property Gazetteer so that it
reaches BS7666 compliance, and is compatible with the National Land and Property
Gazetteer (NLPG). This database is being cleaned, that is ensuring that the data is held in
such a way that it is compatible with the national standard. Once it has reached the
standard, it will be continuously updated so that it becomes the reference address
database within the Council, ensuring a unique reference and standardised addressing for
all properties in the Wrexham County Borough.
NLIS (National Land Information Service) is intended to transform the way you buy and
sell property, to improve turnaround times for property transactions. Initial services have
been developed to speed up the property searches necessary as part of the conveyancing
process, with the aim of reducing the length of time between offer acceptance and
exchange of contracts. The Council is exploring the business case for involvement in this
service.
The LASER (Local Authorities' Secure Electoral Register) project aims to provide
electoral registers that are joined up, maintained and managed locally, and can be
accessed on a national level to authorised users. The project is still in its infancy, but steps
have been taken within the authority to monitor developments and to assess the
implications for involvement.
In terms of interoperability, all technology-based projects within the Council will include
an examination of eGIF (electronic government interoperability framework) compliance to
ensure compatibility with agreed national standards.
Links to UK Online are standard on the Council website, particularly with reference to life
events information. The website also adheres to the Bobby standard10 to enable access to
the website by people with visual or hearing disabilities. The site is currently being
reviewed by RNIB for accessibility for people who have difficulties with their sight. The
website carries an ICRA label allowing filtering for content11.
We have been implementing the National Grid for Learning since 1998 and now have
significant networks in most of our schools. We will continue to link our schools to the
national Broadband Lifelong Learning Network.
Construction Line is a government-sponsored database for contractors within the
construction industry and allows the Council to speed up its tendering process by using
pre-checked lists of contractors to create tender lists for projects. Wrexham County
Borough Council subscribes to this service.
The People's Network - the public library ICT programme will be completed by December
2002, which will extend internet access to the public.
As part of the move to develop an individual pupil level information system within Wales,
and following National Assembly for Wales guidance, all maintained schools in Wales
were required to issue Unique Pupil Numbers (UPNs). This is blind number and only
output when required to provide information to the Local Education Authority, National
Assembly for Wales, ACCAC12 or to another school to which a pupil transfers. The aim is
to have a unique reference number that will follow a child throughout their education. It will
help transfer/movement of pupils between schools and local education authorities, and
provide an accurate mechanism for tracking pupil performance.
10
Bobby WorldWide is a tool for Web page authors. It helps them identify changes to their pages so
users with disabilities can more easily use their Web pages. Bobby WorldWide was created by CAST.
Founded in 1984 as the Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST is a not-for-profit organization
whose mission is to expand opportunities for people with disabilities through innovative uses of
computer technology.
11
The Internet Content Rating Association is an international, independent organization that
empowers the public, especially parents, to make informed decisions about electronic media by
means of the open and objective labelling of content. ICRA's dual aims are to: protect children from
potentially harmful material; and, to protect free speech on the internet.
12
Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru
8
Wrexham County Borough Council is also involved in the pilot phase for the Pupil Level
Annual School Census (PLASC) which will replace the statistical return completed by
schools. The aim is for all schools to be using an electronic system (PLASC) by 2004.
Electronic methods for collecting pupil data and PLASC data are being investigated. For
the future, an overall Information Management System (IMS) will be developed
encompassing UPNs and PLASC.
The Council spends a significant proportion of its revenue and capital budgets on
purchasing goods, services and works from external supplies. Best Value is dependent on
the effective procurement of these and future requirements. The Council has an interim
strategy for procurement that will be implemented through a Procurement Code of
Practice. This requires that: "electronic and other means of reducing acquisition and
transaction costs are used where appropriate to achieve Best Value and that the Council
will seek continuous improvement in invoice processing and electronic settlement
procedures."14
8.
Flexible working and asset management
Work-life balance
The Council has a Work-life Balance Group looking at the issue of flexible working for the
Council. Potential benefits for the organisation include:

Employee attendance patterns matched to the public's preferred opening hours

Reduced absenteeism

Maximising of available labour

Employees feeling valued

Loyal, better motivated workforce in a less stressful environment

Can increase productivity

Cements a reputation as an "employer of choice"

Retains valued employees
Benefits for the employees include:

Greater responsibility and sense of "ownership"

Loyalty and commitment

Less need to take sick leave for personal reasons

Better relations between management and customer facing staff

Improved self-esteem, health, concentration and confidence

A reduction in bringing "home" problems to work - and vice versa
Pilot work-life balance solutions are being considered to understand the impact of flexible
working upon the Council, its staff and its customers.
Supporting flexible forms of working may have implications for the ways in which staff
work, including their access to information and records through the use of technology. The
eGovernment agenda therefore, includes, consideration for changes in the workplace
linked to work-life balance.
The Work-Life Balance initiative has implications for asset management. With a flexible
working policy in action, then the ongoing review of property will optimise the use of office
space with the aim of minimising overheads.
13
Customer Unique Process Identifier, Electronic Service Delivery Toolkit, V3, Improvement &
Development Agency 2001
14
Interim Procurement Strategy, WCBC, December 2001.
9
MILESTONES
We will use work developed in CUPID in the ESD Toolkit from I&DeA13, as an aid to
identifying the priority and high volume transactions and scripting responses for
customers, to enable self-service through the website, or to support frontline staff in
responding to enquiries.
Asset Management
An Asset Management Stakeholder Group has been set up within Wrexham County
Borough Council to have an overview on asset management on a corporate basis, with the
aim of "optimising the utilisation of assets in terms of service benefit and financial return".
One of the challenges to service improvements, in terms of asset management is finding
"alternative ways of delivering Services." This will rely strongly upon use of technology to
facilitate remote working or reduce the need for storage space by holding information and
documents electronically.
The functions of the Asset Management Stakeholder Group are to:
MILESTONES








Prepare a council-wide asset management plan
Establish terms of reference including corporate and service objectives for assets
Build an understanding of strategic importance of property
Identify key issues (problems, communication, change)
Justify retention of surplus and under-utilised properties as a basic principle of asset
management
Challenge the need to hold non-operational assets
Consider innovative new working practices
Subject property services to Best Value Review and challenge
New working practices will change the asset portfolio of the Council for the future.
10
9.
State of readiness
Community access to the internet and technology
The possibilities for access to the internet and learning about how to use it are extensive in
the Wrexham area, with the prime aim of getting people comfortable with being online (see
Appendix G - for ICT learning initiatives). For example, those who do not have access to
the internet from home, can have access to the internet in their local library. Public access
to the internet is available at 5 libraries across the County Borough with ISDN15
connectivity and all libraries will be connected by the end of 2002. All library staff are
trained to ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) standard and can give users basic
support.
ICT learning facilities are available at schools and community venues, such as youth clubs
and libraries, to promote use of ICT. All schools in the area have internet access and
pupils are being taught how to use this form of communication.
Basic ICT support is also being extended by the Business Connect IT Centre to the
businesses in the area to encourage businesses into e-commerce.
Kiosks are being piloted to provide information to the public. Bus and rail timetables will be
provided through kiosks to people in Wrexham at the main bus and rail termini during
2002, and Brynteg Lifelong Learning Centre will host a kiosk in the reception area to
inform visitors. Swipecards will be implemented to support concessionary travel for
pensioners, and for lunches for secondary school children, through the TRANSACT
cashless payment system, reducing the need for handling cash.
ICT Support within the Council
Wrexham Council puts great emphasis upon supporting its investment in information and
communications technology (ICT). Issues facing the authority over the past few years have
been those of software compatibility and rationalisation. This involves phasing out of old
technology and provides opportunities for a shift to open systems, allowing greater
interoperability.
The authority supports ICT in 155 locations, including 85 schools. All procurement is
carried out centrally for the Council Services and schools. The Information Systems
Department is engaged as a contractor for schools' technical support and procurement.
During the last 3 years, the IS Department has invested in infrastructure developments in
all schools as part of the NGfL16. The Council is to improve on bandwidth with funding from
the NAfW, which will be addressed by broadband links from the Council's network hub to
outlying libraries and schools. The Council is also continuing to invest in its corporate
network.
Elected Members are increasingly using technology to support their work. Around twothirds have laptops and online access to the internet. The aim is to extend this facility to all
Elected Members.
All the networked office staff in the Council have email and access to the corporate
intranet - Wrexnet - that was launched in 2001, giving them access to facilities such as the
corporate telephone directory, Best Value documents and Committee agendas and
minutes. In a customer satisfaction survey conducted as part of the SOCITM
benchmarking survey in Wales in 2001, Wrexham County Borough Council (CBC) had the
most improved levels of customer satisfaction across the ICT function. The same survey
showed that Wrexham CBC is in the top quartile for performance in Wales and in the top
half within the UK. Wrexham was cited as a source of good practice in seven out of the
eleven key performance indicators.
15
16
Integrated Services Digital Network
National Grid for Learning
11
MILESTONES
Consultation with 300 members of the Citizen's Panel was undertaken in 2000 to provide
representative baseline information on the use of computers, to assist the Authority's
implementation of the eGovernment initiative. A key finding was that just under 50% of the
panel have access to a personal computer, of whom two-thirds have internet access. A
repeat survey is planned this year.
Current eGovernment activities
Different eGovernment initiatives are being implemented and evaluated. Some early
success stories are given below, showing how we're getting online, widening access to the
internet to promote digital inclusion, working with partners to deliver information and
services to the public and to deliver and procure services more effectively. Further
examples of electronic government projects are listed in Appendix G.
Cyber Café in Cefn Mawr
Welsh Capital Challenge Scheme funds
have been invested in a new cyber café.
Economic Development Services have
been working with the Plas Madoc and
Cefn Community to develop the project.
The café is equipped with the internet,
printing, photocopying and faxing services,
while providing snacks meals and drinks.
Customers can get online for £1 an hour.
Cefn Mawr Library has also obtained a
grant from a local trust fund to support
local children and young people with an
advice and guidance service in the use of
ICT. The project is intended to enthuse
children, particularly in the final two years
of primary school, in the benefits of ICT in
support of their studies. The grant will total
£92,500 over 3 years.
Wrexnet
All office-based staff have access to the
corporate intranet, with Council minutes and
agendas, telephone directory, learning and
development resources, published handbooks
and guides, vacancy lists and other resources.
Wrexham International Science and
Technology Festival
Since its inception in 1998, the annual
Festival has grown in scale and popularity,
to become the largest of its type in
England and Wales. The Festival aims to
share the excitement of science with
people of all ages, stimulate debate about
issues that concern us and demonstrate
the impact of science and technology on all
our lives. Its purpose is to promote public
participation in science and technology, to
support science education in schools, and
to encourage innovation and enterprise in
the business community.
Fresh-air.info
The Countryside Service has joined with the
services of 6 neighbouring authorities to
provide a seamless, web-based customer
information service to country parks, walks and
information from Denbighshire to Flintshire. A
local company in Wrexham is developing the
site, to be hosted by WCBC.
Crime and disorder is being tackled in
Wrexham with the introduction of CCTV. The
partnership involves the Council, Police, Fire
Service, Probation Service, Health Service and
voluntary groups. During 2000/1, 1,023
incidents were monitored by CCTV resulting in
1,462 arrests. The success of CCTV in
reducing incidents of crime and the fear of
crime in the areas covered has been marked.
The introduction of CCTV, together with the
development of the Town Centre Police Team,
led to a 52% reduction in crime within the first
year of operation. Surveys of public opinion
show significant support for the use of CCTV
within the town centre with a high percentage
of people indicating they want CCTV within
their own community.
Networking support maintenance was
procured jointly by Denbighshire, Flintshire and
Wrexham Councils from Siemens Network
Services, to maximise best value.
UP
Brynteg Lifelong Learning Centre is a
major construction project involving an
extension to the present Library linking it
with the adjacent Broughton Memorial Hall.
At the heart of building will be a new ICT
suite together with meeting rooms, offices
and a creche facility. The ICT suite will be
accessible to users for independent
learning and for training courses.
A touch screen computer will provide
information about events and activities at
the centre together with other information
about the Council. Construction
commenced at the end of January 2002
and it is planned that the Lifelong Learning
centre will be open from September. The
total cost of the scheme, to be funded from
the Local Regeneration Fund, is £968,268.
Elected Members online
Our Elected Members are getting online.
Around two-thirds have access to laptops
so that they can send and receive email
and access information through our
intranet and website. Currently 34 out of 52
Elected Members have laptops. The
Council provides training to encourage
their use and to provide support for Elected
Members.
WIDENING
12
ACCESS
Construction Line is a government sponsored
database of contractors available for tendering.
The Council reduces effort in tendering by
using this database for the compilation of
tender lists.
JOINING
UP
MILESTONES
DIGITAL
Wrexham.gov.uk , Wrexham County Borough
Council's website, won the Better Connected
award for Wales in 2001. Jointly assessed by
SPiN (Society of Public Information Networks)
and SOCITM (Society of Information
Technology Management), they looked
specifically at local government websites and
their state of development, the range and
usefulness of the on-line information and
facilities provided, and how accessible the
sites are. The website is one of only a handful
of council sites in the country to have gained
the highest possible accessibility rating in the
SOCITM survey. Residents can contact
departments by email or access services at
any time of the day or night. The site attracts
around 600 visits a day. SOCITM/SPiN rated it
a "Content+" site for 2002, and one of the best
in Wales.
INCLUSION
GETTING
ONLINE
10.
Leading eGovernment
Leadership and Management
Wrexham is the first Council in Wales to have appointed a Corporate eGovernment
Manager, dedicated to the delivery of electronic government. This post has a corporate
remit and reports to an eGovernment Steering Group, Chaired by the Chief Executive and
supported by Chief Officers with responsibilities for community strategy, corporate policy,
best value, human resources, information systems, finance and libraries and leisure (see
Appendix H for structure diagram). The composition of this group is critical as it reflects the
links with policy and operational areas within the Council that will be responding to the
change initiated by a move to eGovernment, under the leadership of the Chief Executive.
Senior management champions for the implementation of eGovernment are represented
at Directorate and Chief Officer level, these being the Director of Finance and Information
Systems and the Chief Information Systems Officer.
The Corporate eGovernment Manager and Web Development Manager work together as
part of a corporate eGovernment team, pursuing the goals of eGovernment.
eGovernment Projects will be supported and co-ordinated through the Implementing
eGovernment Projects Co-ordination Group with representatives from Services across the
Council. Projects will be set up to lead on the key priority projects determined through the
audit of service delivery and consultation process. Each of these projects will have a lead
officer and will report to the IEG Projects Co-ordination Group on their progress.
Perceptions of Senior Management
A survey was conducted in January 2002 amongst the senior management of the Council,
to gain their view of the state of readiness of the organisation to face the challenge of
electronic government. The self-assessment for "state of readiness" survey was based on
work done by SOCITM and IDeA in "Local eGovernment now" (April 2001)17.
SOCITM/IDeA identified 4 critical success factors: vision, management, information and
infrastructure as key to implementing electronic government. Each of these factors is split
into a series of key characteristics against which senior managers rated perception of the
Council's state of readiness for this agenda.
Average scores for the key characteristics show a generally positive and balanced view.
The ratings are middle ranking, demonstrating an awareness of the change process that
the Council is facing and a recognition that there is some distance to go before the goals
are achieved. This is a solid base from which the Council can build its approach to
implementing eGovernment, retaining balance across all the key characteristics. A regular
review of management perceptions, including those closer to frontline staff, will help shape
the change management programme to deliver a modernised Council.
An area of particular concern was funding, highlighting the shared perception that the
necessary expenditure to secure electronic government would be difficult to find within
current resources. Ideas such as a Contact Centre require significant pump-priming
investment. This funding competes with other priorities within local government within a
limited budget. The potential for savings may only be realised in the medium term.
17
SOCITM (Society of Information Technology Managers) and I&DeA (Improvement and
Development Agency), "Local eGovernment now - a baseline for measurement." A MAPIT
Publication.
13
TRANSITION
Such is the strategic interest in eGovernment that the Executive Board has appointed a
Board Member with Special Interest for eGovernment. The IEG Statement outlines the
work to be done on the eGovernment initiative by the Council and has been approved by
the Executive Board. All local members will be fully involved in the consultation process
about the IEG Statement. Executive Board and Corporate Issues Scrutiny Committee will
provide the political leadership on the work being proposed.
Figure 2: Perceptions of the state of readiness for eGovernment
State of readiness survey 2002
INFRASTRUCTURE
VISION
LEARNING
CLEAR GOALS
10
SHARED VALUES
SKILLS
COMMITMENT TO CHANGE
SECURITY
CONSULTATION
5
TECHNOLOGY
COLLABORATION
FUNDING
0
TRANSITION
INFORMATION
FAST DECISIONS
STRATEGIC PLAN
SERVICES
OPEN TO EXPERIMENTATION
CONTRACTS
COMMUNICATION
RISKS
ICT GOVERNANCE
PROJECTS
MANAGEMENT
11.
LEADERSHIP
Financing eGovernment
Outline cost/benefits
Communication by email is generally cheaper than by letter, and all of these forms of
communication are cheaper than personal contact. Evidence from industry has shown that
costs of banking transactions across the counter are just over 100 times more costly than
transactions over the internet18. However the impact of providing a service online is
complex. For example, in terms of costs there is the following to consider:




The cost of implementing the online solution, including training of staff, hardware and
software purchase and development, and connection charges.
The additional cost of maintaining traditional channels of access while introducing the
new online channel.
The additional, long term cost of supporting those that cannot access online channels.
Reducing headline costs by working in partnership with other agencies and by joining
up processes to reduce bureaucracy.
In terms of benefits:






Freeing of staff from administrative duties to provide more responsive and personal
services to customers.
Providing greater focus to those that need more help.
Providing new services geared for customers' needs, by working in partnership.
Increasing channels of access beyond the traditional to reach the "hard-to-reach".
Reducing costs for servicing the majority of the customers.
Opening access for customers to new services, e.g. archive records and historical
artefacts held by remote institutions (e.g. the National Library of Wales, the National
Gallery and Museum of Wales).
The analysis of costs and benefits must be seen beyond the financial, and should include
an impact analysis upon our citizens and customers.
As yet the scope of the eGovernment work to be done has yet to be agreed and so the
known costs are those commitments for a series of e-government projects over the next
financial year (see Appendix G), as well as the staff costs for the eGovernment Team and
the investment in the upgrading of Council ICT systems.
18
E.gov - electronic service delivery for the 21st Century, Performance and Innovation Unit, Cabinet
Office, September 2001.
14
Outline funding/resourcing strategy
Additional funds will be required to pump-prime eGovernment work prior to reaching the
stage when we can realise savings.
As these eGovernment projects are agreed, project management structures will be created
with reporting mechanisms to the IEG Co-ordination Group and ultimately to the
eGovernment Steering Group. Staff resources will be committed to these projects as part
of the process of building the business case and implementation.
Other national sources of funding are providing, for example, broadband infrastructure,
connections to schools and libraries and kiosks (see Appendix G). The principal aim of the
eGovernment Steering Group is to develop the synergies between these projects, where
they can provide benefit for citizens and partners alike.
Outline plans for realising savings
The degree of investment required to deliver eGovernment in the short term is substantial
and it may be that the savings to be made are minimal compared to the amount of
investment needed. The business case for eGovernment may militate against realising
savings in the short term, while the need for investment in delivering new forms of service
is high. Any savings realised would need to be reinvested in the process to retain the
momentum on service improvement. Each business case developed will be benchmarked
against alternative service delivery models to ensure that best value is being delivered.
While the Council welcomes recent announcements on funding for eGovernment
initiatives, the longer term revenue implications of these projects need to be taken into
account. In addition the degree of investment required to pump prime the eGovernment
initiative militates against a rapid realisation of savings. The approach being developed
within the Council is one that combines the best value approach to service improvement
with a corporate push for joining up initiatives:
a) take-up of online services including social inclusion implications
We acknowledge that citizens in the County Borough have differential access to
technology, with some not being able to access the new means of communication.
National figures show that 66% of adults in the professional social class access the
internet compared to 20% of unskilled and 26% of partially skilled19. Access to the internet
by households shows that on average only 35% of households have access to the
internet20.
We are taking steps to extend facilities for internet access at our schools, learning centres
and libraries, where staff are trained to help people. In terms of the Council's website, it
has been developed to adhere to accessibility standards as recommended by government
and other bodies such as the RNIB. We are keen also to keep pace with our customers'
changing needs and expectations, and want to respond to these. We will monitor use of
new and traditional channels to access services, to assess the impact of the eGovernment
agenda upon the most vulnerable customers.
b) decommissioning of traditional channels
The idea of eGovernment is to match the optimal channel of access to the appropriate
client group: giving self-service facilities to those clients that are able to access them, while
others will need greater intervention and support.
19
20
Internet Access, National Statistics, 26th September 2000, HMSO.
Internet Access, National Statistics, 26th September 2001, HMSO.
15
TRANSITION
The National Assembly for Wales has awarded an initial sum of £406K to Wrexham
County Borough Council, for the period 2002/4, to promote electronic government
initiatives. A further sum of £110K per annum has been committed by the Council to fund
an eGovernment Team to support the work programme. A Council "invest to save" fund
has been set up to encourage innovation in service delivery and provide the pump-priming
required for small projects that will release savings in the short term, on a loan basis.
Beyond these sources of funding are the myriad of funded initiatives from the NAfW (see
Appendix G). The eGovernment Steering Group will decide how to allocate the NAfW
funding for
e-government to maximise the impact upon eGovernment targets.
The preferred method of contact varies with the nature of the customer and the type of
issue they are trying to resolve. The Council's aim will be to encourage those that have the
ability to get information or services through a "self-serve" option, while focussing skilled
staff on the more sensitive cases.
Digital inclusion is a key issue for the Council while implementing electronic government. It
may be that traditional channels would be augmented in certain situations to ensure that
communities do not find our services difficult to access. A review of customer access to
services will take this issue into account.
c) assets, accommodation and Human Resources implications
TRANSITION
With the increased use of electronic communication and storage of information, there
could be less requirement for office space and the potential for different methods of
providing staff resources. However, these savings will be slow to realise as they rely upon
incremental changes in service delivery patterns and the development of technical and
business support for the new forms of working. There may also be implications for growth
in business if new services prove to be popular. The Council's resources will be allocated
to best suit the requirements of our customers and citizens (see section 8, p10).
12.
Business options and tactics
Consulting and involving you
The Council has adopted a robust and positive approach to consultation. Methods of
consultation include surveys, discussion groups, website forms, exhibitions, special
interest consultation forums. The Council has also established a Citizen's Panel of 500
local taxpayers. Other groups that are consulted are: "users and likely users of services",
and "those with an apparent interest in an issue".
Consultation occurs for specific service areas to support the best value review process,
but also at Council-wide level to set a customer-sensitive direction for future policy and
service delivery.
This IEG Statement will be published on the website for consultation with the public and
other stakeholders, to gather people's views on electronic delivery of services. We will be
sensitive to our customers' needs, taking into account: life circumstances of individuals,
special interests of groups, business and economic drivers, and the integration of public
sector services where it can help local people.
The next financial year will be a transitional year with consultation on the eGovernment
agenda. This will help to inform work on the Community Strategy and Wales Programme
for Improvement.
13.
Risk assessment
The risks associated with a change programme of this magnitude are many, however, they
can be managed to reduce the impact upon the momentum of modernisation. The table in
Appendix I summarises some of the key risks and the proposed actions to mitigate their
impact. This is an initial high-level risk register that will be refined and detailed at project
level and monitored throughout the change programme. The eGovernment Steering Group
will take responsibility for risk management at the highest official level.
14.
Skills needs analysis
Wrexham is one of three authorities in Wales that has achieved an Investors in People
award within all of its departments. The Council has put a strong emphasis on staff
development, introducing team briefing and training and development plans for all staff.
16
A Management Development Programme is offered to managers, which looks at issues of
cross-functional working to encourage joined-up government and action leadership to
encourage a more fluid and flexible response to changes. It will also look in future at
transformational leadership, addressing the skills that Senior Officers will need to respond
to the new environment, looking at management styles, communications and 360 o
feedback.
Training opportunities have been extended to support staff in the new electronic
environment, for example all Library staff have been trained to ECDL standard to support
the public in accessing the internet within public libraries. A further 40 staff went through
the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence accreditation) in January 2002.
Project management skills will be critical to the successful implementation of such a
complex series of projects. The principles of Prince221 will be used to provide the
necessary controlled environment.
Business process analysis and re-engineering skills have been developed over the years
through the Best Value approach, these skills will be required for staff to redesign services
to meet customers' requirements and increase efficiency.
21
PRINCE, which stands for Projects in Controlled Environments, is a project management method
covering the organisation, management and control of projects. PRINCE was first developed by the
Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) now part of the Office of
Government Commerce (OGC) in 1989 as a UK Government standard for IT project management.
Since its introduction, PRINCE has become widely used in both the public and private sectors and is
now the UK's de facto standard for project management. Although PRINCE was originally developed
for the needs of IT projects, the method has also been used on many non-IT projects. The latest
version of the method, PRINCE2, is designed to incorporate the requirements of existing users and to
enhance the method towards a generic, best practice approach for the management of all types of
projects.
17
TRANSITION
Customer services training will become part of the Council's standard approach to its
business. Parts of the Council have already achieved very high standards, with the Library
and Information Service being awarded the Charter Mark in 2000, after having first
obtained it in 1997.
18
Appendix A: Council vision and strategic aims
Wrexham County Borough Council’s vision is of a County Borough that is:





Aspiring to University City Status with Wrexham centre as its civic hub developing a vibrant
commercial and shopping centre attracting visitors from North Wales and its borders;
With revitalised distinct towns and villages and an attractive viable hinterland;
With a modern, robust economy across all sectors, including health, education, commerce,
tourism and manufacturing;
With an improving quality of life for its residents, with an emphasis on:
supporting access to a variety of educational and employment
opportunities
providing care for the more vulnerable in society
providing a decent place to live
conserving the environment
balancing rural and urban needs
promoting leisure and arts
promoting the Welsh language to encourage a bilingual society
developing safer communities.
With institutions of growing stature, for example:
the Council
NEWI emerging as a University22
Yale College continuing to develop its status
Wrexham Maelor Hospital developing further its healthcare expertise,
research and teaching capacity.
To deliver this vision, we have four strategic aims. These are to:




Provide high quality, responsive, cost-effective services through a highly developed workforce.
Work with communities to develop a sense of belonging and shared understanding of their needs,
and to build community ownership of the Council and its services.
Achieve the vision for the County Borough area by working in partnership with Town and
Community Councils, voluntary organisations, industry, Trade Unions and other agencies.
Seek to influence issues in Wales, Britain and Europe, which will have a bearing on the well being
of the people of Wrexham County Borough Council.
The vision and strategic aims provide the long-term view of where the Council wants to be and what it
wants to achieve in the next 5 to 10 years. In addition to these, a series of corporate policy priorities
have been identified for 2001-2, indicating broad priority areas for budget allocation, these are:





Improving the Quality of Education
Improving the Quality of Economy
Improving the Quality of Care, Health and Well Being
Improving the Quality of Life
Improving the Quality of Services
Within Improving the Quality of Services, the cross-cutting actions are:





Modernising Local Government
Best Value
Consultation and partnership working
Performance Management
Electronic Government (eGovernment)
The action of electronic government is:
"The Council will develop and implement its agreed strategy for meeting the Government's
targets for electronic service delivery. It will develop on-line interactive services using the
Council's website, improve the integration of information systems within the organisation and
tailor service delivery in a way that suits individual needs, to enable all its citizens to access
local services electronically."23
22
23
North East Wales Institute
Performance Plan, WCBC, 2001-2002
19
Appendix B: Corporate Planning Process
20
Appendix C: Milestones and targets for Wrexham
Key priorities and actions
Community Strategy and EGovernment partnerships
Community Strategy, Consultation with community and other stakeholders on eGovernment
Best Value/ Wales
Establish new partnerships for eGovernment
Improvement
Investigate joint delivery plans/programmes
Programme and
Investigate information sharing protocols
eGovernment
Council-wide assessment of performance as part of Wales Improvement Programme
Use BVRs to consult and challenge for the eGovernment agenda
Democratic Renewal Using the internet to reach community groups and voluntary groups to promote
community spirit
All Elected members to be online
Community Councils online
Other voluntary groups online -AVOW
Electronic consultation
Electronic voting (LASER)
Access to Services – Channels
Access to services
Strategic Review of Access to Services in the Council
strategy
Standards for call handling
Channels
Website
Kiosks
Smartcards/ swipecards
One Stop Shop/ Contact Centre
Mobile phone/ WAP/ Texting
IDiTV
Target
Consultation exercises on e-government
New partnerships based on e-government targets
Joint delivery plan containing e-government targets
Protocol ratified and actioned by partners
EGovernment issue included as part of assessment
Revised guidelines setting the challenge of e-government within BVR process
Pilots
All Elected Members with email access, and using it to conduct business
Explore Community Councils' use of internet/email to conduct business
Explore Voluntary Groups use of technology to communicate electronically
Consultation exercises over the web
Participating in national initiatives to encourage voter turnout
Report on customer contact containing recommendations for improvement
Guidance and training reissued
Continually enhance as a transactional website
Pilot for bus timetables
Pilots in Schools and OAP transport
Feasibility study
Feasibility study linked to services for youth
Investigate business case for delivery of web content over iDITV
21
Improving efficiency and effectiveness
Organisational
Management development
Development
Project management
Risk management
Innovation workshops
Training programme in place to include eGovernment issues.
Training plans in place looking at
Investigate PRINCE2 as a standard to adopt in project management.
Training plans in place
Workshops to draw operational managers and technical solutions providers
together to encourage creative thinking in service improvement - also involving
partner organisations
Skills assessment - IIP
Elearning
Awareness raising for Elected Members, strategic management, operational staff and
partners
Encouraging Elected Members to get online
Flexible working/ teleworking
Asset and property
review
Information and ICT
Improve call handling
Realising savings
Office staff access to intranet
Work-life balance pilot
Review hand held devices pilot in Housing
Hot-desking/ Home working - teleworking
Property review
Information management
Geographic information management
ICT platform for eGovernment
Establish security and authentication
Communications/ Marketing/ PR
Resolution at first point of contact
Increased knowledge at first call
Look at options for developing FAQs
Encourage move to self-reliance by customers
Identifying savings as part of business case development for eGovernment
Risk assessment
Prioritising eGovernment projects
Realising savings
22
Requirements of EGovernment be considered in Training plans, e.g ECDL training
as standard, business process re-engineering skills, ICT, project management
Pilot set up for self-directed training
Awareness raising sessions and workshops on eGovernment, the capacities of ICT
and potential for joint working
IT training for Elected Members
All Elected members to use email
100% office staff access to intranet
Pilot for work-life balance solution
Review of pilot
Pilot teleworking
Cross Council review of property requirements, linked to flexible working
arrangements
Review Information Strategy
Standardise GIS platforms
Corporate Strategy for Geographic information management
Updated ICT Strategy
Standards/ policy set within ICT strategy
Communications strategy
Encourage self-service and phone calls where appropriate
Develop scripts for frontline staff
Scripted FAQs prepared for use on the web or in a Contact centre
Marketing of online facilities
Business cases containing cost/benefit and potential savings
As part of project management process
Identification of early winners and those with savings potential
Developed mechanism for realising savings from eGovernment projects
Priorities for Electronic Service Delivery - volume, efficiency and statutory
High volume services Assessment of priorities for investment in eGovernment for the high volume services in
and electronic service the Council
delivery
Monitor National Assembly for Wales PI 1.5
e-payments
e-Procurement
Co-ordination with
national projects
Providing information
Collecting revenue/ Receive payments
Providing benefit and grants/ Making payments (benefits and creditors)
Consultation/ Receiving feedback (complaints and consultation)
Regulation (issue licenses)
Applications for Services/ Making an application
Booking venues, resources and courses/ Making a booking
Paying for goods and services
Providing access to community, professional and business networks
Procurement
Modernising Financial applications to support e-payments
Audit of procurement practices
Partnership arrangements
Technological enhancements
Implementation
e-procurement (see above)
Voting - LASER (see Democratic Renewal)
Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages
NLPG/NLIS
UK Online
National Grid for Learning (NGfL)
eGIF compliance
Successful implementation of this project
Manage IEG process Set up IEG Co-ordination group with terms of reference
Produce Revised IEG
Produce Plan for Review of IEG
Identify and set up task and finish groups for eGovernment projects
Monitor take-up of online services
Develop funding mechanism for IEG within WCBC
Priority services to be identified
eGovernment - % of interactions with the public, by type, which are capable of
electronic service delivery and which are being delivered using internet protocols or
other paperless methods:
Set Council targets up to 2006
Set Council targets up to 2006
Set Council targets up to 2006
Set Council targets up to 2006
Set Council targets up to 2006
Set Council targets up to 2006
Set Council targets up to 2006
Set Council targets up to 2006
Set Council targets up to 2006
Set Council targets up to 2006
Financial systems capable of electronic transactions
Review of procurement in the Council
Explore partnership arrangements to secure better value for money in procurement
Implement e-procurement pilots
Council-wide roll-out of e-procurement
Comply with national standard
Comply with national standard
Comply with national standard
Land and Property Gazetteer to BS7666 standard
System in place for updating addressing to BS7666 standards for all Council
systems
Link to UK Online through website and life episodes
Provide internet access to all schools, colleges and libraries
Application of eGIF standards to new systems
IEG Co-ordination Group with terms of reference
Published IEG Statement
Plan produced as part of IEG Statement
Task and Finish Groups set up with terms of reference and plan of action
Survey of online access
Agreed funding mechanism
23
Appendix D: Electronic service delivery by function and service type
LIST OF SERVICES
FUNCTIONS
Enter percentage of service available via electronic service delivery or enter Not applicable (N/A)
Department
Providing
information
Public Making
application
Public Making
booking
Authority
Receiving
payment
Receiving
feedback
Authority
Making
payment
Adoption & Fostering
Social Services
25%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
25%
Animal Health/ Issues
Public Protection
5%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Archives/Historical/Museums Services
Leis, Lib, Culture
40%
1%
0%
0%
n/a
0%
Arts & Entertainment
Leis, Lib, Culture
60%
0%
0%
0%
n/a
0%
Building Control
Planning
40%
0%
n/a
0%
n/a
70%
Buildings Services/Energy conservation
Property Services
20%
5%
n/a
n/a
n/a
25%
Business Rates
Finance
10%
25%
n/a
80%
100%
50%
Car Parks
Transport & Engineering
20%
n/a
n/a
0%
n/a
0%
Cemeteries & Crematoria
Community Services
0%
0%
n/a
0%
n/a
0%
Child Protection
Social Services
1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Cleansing Services
Community Services
25%
n/a
0%
0%
n/a
25%
Community Issues
Policy & Corporate
50%
0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
40%
Conservation
Leis, Lib, Culture
15%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
5%
Council Tax
Finance
25%
25%
n/a
80%
75%
50%
Council Tax Benefits
Finance
25%
0%
n/a
n/a
75%
50%
Countryside Service
Leis, Lib, Culture
50%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
10%
Crime & Disorder
Policy & Corporate
25%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
25%
Disabilities
Social Services
10%
0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
5%
Drainage & Sewerage
Transport & Engineering
0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Economic Development
Economic Development
44%
10%
n/a
n/a
n/a
5%
Education
Education
50%
30%
n/a
n/a
n/a
1%
Education - Adult/Lifelong
Education
10%
0%
n/a
n/a
5%
Education - Further/6th Form
Education
10%
0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
5%
Education - General
Education
30%
5%
n/a
n/a
n/a
30%
Education - Pre school
Education
10%
1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
10%
24
LIST OF SERVICES
FUNCTIONS
Enter percentage of service available via electronic service delivery or enter Not applicable (N/A)
Department
Providing
information
Public Making
application
Public Making
booking
Authority
Receiving
payment
Receiving
feedback
Authority
Making
payment
Education - Primary
Education
40%
10%
n/a
n/a
n/a
10%
Education - Secondary
Education
40%
10%
n/a
n/a
n/a
10%
Education - Special Needs
Education
40%
10%
n/a
n/a
1%
Electoral Registration
Legal & Admin
50%
0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
50%
Emergency Planning
Policy & Corporate
20%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
50%
Environmental Health
Public Protection
25%
0%
0%
n/a
n/a
25%
Europe (affairs, funding, issues)
Economic Development
20%
10%
n/a
n/a
n/a
1%
Footways & Pavements
Transport & Engineering
0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Fraud Hotline
Finance
50%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
100%
General Council Matters
Legal & Admin
63%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
30%
Grants (general)
Policy & Corporate
25%
5%
n/a
n/a
0%
10%
Grounds Maintenance
Community Services
25%
n/a
n/a
0%
n/a
0%
Health
Public Protection
10%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Highways Maintenance
Transport & Engineering
40%
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
50%
Home Care Service
Social Services
5%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Housing
Housing
60%
0%
0%
60%
n/a
60%
Housing Benefits
Housing
70%
0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
70%
Housing Repairs
Housing
5%
n/a
0%
n/a
n/a
5%
Human Resources
Personnel
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Industrial Services
Economic Development
80%
10%
0%
0%
0%
10%
Jobs
Personnel
40%
0%
0%
n/a
n/a
50%
Land Charges
Legal & Admin
40%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Landscape & Horticulture
Community Services
25%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Legal & Administration
Legal & Admin
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Leisure Services
Leis, Lib, Culture
50%
2%
60%
n/a
n/a
0%
Libraries
Leis, Lib, Culture
60%
0%
10%
0%
n/a
25%
Licensing
Public Protection
25%
0%
n/a
0%
n/a
0%
Markets & Town Centres
Economic Development
15%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
25
LIST OF SERVICES
FUNCTIONS
Enter percentage of service available via electronic service delivery or enter Not applicable (N/A)
Department
Providing
information
Public Making
application
Public Making
booking
Authority
Receiving
payment
Receiving
feedback
Authority
Making
payment
Members Information
Legal & Admin
80%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
80%
Mobility
Social Services
10%
0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Parks, Playgrounds & Open Spaces
Leisure, Library, Culture
30%
n/a
0%
n/a
n/a
0%
Pest Control
Public Protection
30%
n/a
80%
0%
n/a
0%
Planning
Planning
60%
0%
n/a
0%
n/a
80%
Press and Public Relations
Policy & Corporate
60%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
40%
Public Right of Way
Transport & Engineering
20%
0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
25%
Public Transport
Transport & Engineering
50%
50%
n/a
n/a
80%
5%
Recycling & LA 21
Public Protection
50%
0%
n/a
n/a
0%
30%
Refuse & Waste Collection & Disposal
Community Services
60%
n/a
60%
0%
n/a
25%
Registrar of Births, Marriage and Deaths
Legal & Admin
0%
0%
0%
0%
n/a
0%
Safety
Public Protection
5%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Snow Clearance and Gritting
Transport & Engineering
2%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Social Services
Social Services
10%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
5%
Street Lighting
Transport & Engineering
2%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Student Grants
Strategic Services (education)
50%
5%
n/a
n/a
100%
40%
Tourist Information
Economic Development
32%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20%
Trading Standards
Public Protection
25%
0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
0%
Traffic Management
Transport & Engineering
5%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
2%
Welsh
Policy & Corporate
60%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
40%
Youth Service
Education
5%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1%
72
38
14
17
9
71
30%
6%
15%
13%
48%
20%
Maximum no. services available by ESD
Total
Average percentage of functions available by ESD (KPI results)
26
Appendix E: Telecommunications Best Value Survey of the Public and Members
The extracts below are from the full results of a survey conducted with the public. The methodology involved operators phoning back people who had previously agreed to take
part in the survey in order to complete a questionnaire. Departmental switchboards or reception facilities involved in the survey included the main corporate switchboard, Social
Services, Education and Leisure and the Emergency Control Centre Out of Hours service. A cut-down version of the questionnaire was posted on the web site and included in
the CONNECT magazine but the response was poor. Total achieved sample from the public: 190. A Citizen’s Panel survey was also undertaken and some initial results are
shown below as a point of comparison.
Preferred method to contact Council
offices:
By Telephone
68.3%
Visit the office
By e-mail
By letter
By Fax
Other*
25.8%
2.3%
2.3%
1.4%
0.0%
Comparative
result Citizen’s
Panel
Telecoms
2001
80%
Comparative
result Citizen’s
Panel
Performance
Plan 1999
76%
Message:- Telephone is the preferred means of contact for accessing Council services
How many times have you phoned the Council in the last 12 months
<5
53.3%
Last time you called, what happened, were you
6-10
19.8%
>10
26.9%
Comparative
result Citizen’s
Panel Telecoms
2001
81.6%
90%
11.2%
1.5%
4.9%
1.0%
Answered promptly
Answered eventually
Answer machine
Found line was busy
Got no answer
27
Received a Bilingual greeting
Able to conduct business in
Language of choice
Did you contact the service you required
directly, i.e. not 292000?
No
58.4%
Yes
No
97.8%
2.2%
Yes
83.4%
No
16.6%
Yes
88.9%
No
11.1%
1
2 or more
76.3%
23.7%
Failed
0.0%
Yes
41.0%
No
59.0%
If you contacted Council by main No. 292000 did
you get through to correct service?
How many attempts were made to
transfer you? (i.e. of 11.1% above)
Yes
41.6%
Could the operator help with the enquiry without
having to connect to other service?
When contacting the Council by telephone, would you prefer
Operator Service to direct you to service you require
Dial direct to service you require from choice of published
numbers
Single contact number at which an officer can deal with all your
enquiries
Message: Lack of compliance with Welsh greeting standards – also confirmed by Mystery Shopper results
Message: high percentage claim phone direct to service area rather than switchboard
Message: Some issues on transfer effectiveness – Mystery shopper also confirmed issues on transfers
within departments on calls direct to published service numbers
Comparative
result
Citizen’s
Panel
Telecoms
2001
31.5%
40%
52.8%
40%
15.7%
20%
28
Message: Seeming preference for direct dial to service area, though the Citizen’s Panel which
is statistically a more accurate survey, indicates an equal preference for switchboard and
direct dial, and an increased percentage for single point of contact.
Appendix F: Partnership arrangements
Details of a range of "partnership" arrangements (private and voluntary sector) and joint working arrangements with other local authorities
1
Partnership Arrangements with Private Sector
Partners/Partnership
Independent sector care agencies
Variety with individual developers
Bus operators
Local architectural practices
Babtie Group
Dee Valley Group/North Wales Gas
2
Purpose
Residential/nursing care and home care
Shared delivery of individual projects such as: retail developments, hotel, land reclamation schemes, bus station, leisure schemes
and schools.
Provision of services, quality of vehicles, timetable information, bust stops & shelters etc
Provision of building control plan vetting services (this also involves other LAs)
Provision of highways laboratory services
Collection of water and gas charges via LA Cash Office and Housing Estate Offices
Partnership Arrangements with Voluntary Sector (some joint with Health)
Partners/Partnership
ADVANCE
Association of Voluntary Organisations Wrexham (AVOW)
Caia Park Early Years Forum
Caia Park Play Resource Centre
CAIS
CALL
Carers Project
Cartrefle Play Group
Childrens Rights Service
Dolen
Disability Forum
Early Years Forum
Early Years & Childcare partnership
Family Friends
Homestart
Longfields
Marvel
MYM
National Childminding Association
PPA
Rainbow
RELATE
Stepping Stones
Systems Advocacy
Purpose
Advocacy – Mental Illness Service Users
Local Voluntary Council
Early Years Support Service
Play Resource Centre
Counselling – Drugs/alcohol users
Telephone Helpline – Mental Illness Users
Support to carers
Special Needs Playgroup
Children’s Rights & Advocacy
Mental Illness Daycare Service
Physical Disability & Sensory Impairment consultation
Early Years Services support
Family Support – 5 to 11s
Family Support – 0 to 5s
Therapy – sexually abused children
Reparation scheme – Young Offenders
Welsh medium – pre-school playgroups
Support for Childminders
English pre-school playgroups
Multi-purpose day centre – older people
Counselling – relationship breakdown
Counselling – Adults who suffered childhood sexual abuse
Advocacy – people with learning disability
29
Partners/Partnership
Purpose
The Venture
Crossroads
Play Association
Womens Aid
Wrenewal
Wrexham CAB
Wrexham Homework Clubs
Wrexham Association of Summer Playschemes
Wrexham County Forum
Young Carers Project
Care and Repair
Body Positive
Children & Youth Partnership
Sure Start
Compass Partnership
Schools Counselling project -Special Education and NSPCC
Children & Young People in Need
Respite Care – Disabled Adults
Children in Need – Play Development
Support for victims of domestic violence
Recycling furniture – children in need & vulnerable people
Advocacy – genera.
School-based homework clubs
Summer playschemes – children in need
Consultation – Learning Disability Services
Support for young carers
Support re adaptations/grants for housing improvement
Support for AIDS/HIV sufferers
Assembly funded programme
Assembly funded programme – development of 0-3s
Youth Service, Social Services, Housing + Barnardos – support for young people
Counselling service
Basic Skills Programme/ Partnership
Partnership with not-for-profit company
Partnership with not-for-profit company
Local sporting organisations & regional sports associations
WCBC, Yale College of FE & Wrexham Association for the
Arts
Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership (WCBC, North Wales
Police, Health Authority, Police Authority, Probation)
Area Flood Partnership (WCBC, Emergency Services,
Environmental Agency, relevant Community Councils)
North Wales Strategic Emergency Planning Group (Police,
LAs, Military, Emergency Services)
Groundwork Wrexham
Community Regeneration – wide variety of voluntary sector
involvement in community initiatives
Multi-agency approach to improve literacy and numeracy
Regional Tennis Centre
Rhos Stiwt – Welsh Cultural Centre
Sports development
To create a theatre trust to undertake its management and operation - Town Centre Theatre
To reduce local levels of crime & disorder
To work together following floods to be better prepared for the future and provide effective means of communication between
agencies and the community
To co-ordinate pan-North Wales emergency planning
LA provides officer support and advice, funding and representation on the Board
EU Urban II, Communities First, Local Regeneration Fund, Area Community Strategies, EU Objective III, EG Leader Plus, EU
Objective 5b
Additional category - Private/Voluntary sector partnerships
Partners/Partnership
Community Legal Service Partnership
Purpose
LA -Voluntary Sector - Private Sector - Legal Services Commission – to co-ordinate development of local strategy for identifying
need for funding of and provision of legal advice and assistance
30
3
Joint Working Arrangements with other Local Authorities and public sector
Participants
Wrexham/Flintshire/Denbighshire
Wrexham/Flintshire/Denbighshire/Conwy
Wrexham/Flintshire/Denbighshire
Wrexham/Flintshire/Denbighshire
Wrexham/Flintshire/Denbighshire
Wrexham/Flintshire/Denbighshire/Conwy
Wrexham/Flintshire/Denbighshire/Conwy
Wrexham/Flintshire/Denbighshire/Conwy
All North Wales Authorities
All North Wales Authorities
Wrexham/Flintshire/Denbighshire/Conwy
WCBC, Yale College and NEWI
Wrexham/Flintshire/Denbighsire/Conwy
Service
North East Wales Registration and Inspection Service
Receivership
Design & Print – joint provision of design and print facilities by Las
Borderlands – joint tourism promotion and marketing
Inward investment – joint marketing
Schools Library Service
Outdoor Education
Curriculum Advice and Support Services
North Wales Economic Forum – development of regional economic development strategies /representation of economic interest
of North Wales
North Wales eGovernment Group - to co-operate on eGovernment initiatives
Emergency Planning
Opening resources and services to all residents, students and workers in the County Borough e.g. through joint membership and
ICT facilitated access to the catalogues of all 3 libraries - GALW
Schools Library Service
31
Appendix G: EGovernment Initiatives - current position as at December 2001
Initiative
Title
eGovernment
Purpose of initiative
Project Costs
eGovernment Projects
£406K
over 2 Yrs
Welsh Crime &
Disorder Extranet
Warehousing of relevant data from
partner agencies to assist crime
analysis and reduction
£500,000
(Wales)
Business Connect
IT Centre
To provide basic ICT support to
business
£85,000
% External Funding
100%
External Funding
Source
Credit Approvals
Status (e.g. bidding
stage/funding allocated
Details of Allocation Awaited
Home Office
North Wales Pilot
Protocol in place by April
2002
Business Connect
Funding Allocated:
In Place
41%
Business Connect
£35,000
Business Connect
16%
UK Online for
Business
£13,500
UK Online for Business
Implementation timetable
2002/03 & 2003/04
Internal Funding
National Grid for
Learning
Provide Internet connection, ICT
training, equipment and software.
£318,000
60%
NAfW via GEST
Funding Allocated
On-going
NOF ICT Training for
Teachers and School
Librarians
Fund access to external training
service (LSP)
£483,683
100%
NOF
Funding Allocated
Training to be completed
by half-term Spring 2003
ICT for Learning
a)
Provide computer suites
software, etc. for all secondary
schools;
£435,000
100%
NOF via NAfW
Funding Allocated
Complete by March 2002
b)
ICT for SEN pupils
Funding Allocated £175,000
(10% top-sliced for
implementation)
Direct Funding by NAfW
To be completed by March
2002
(See below for 3rd element)
£19,000
ICT for Learning
To improve facilities for schools and
learners at community venues
£157,500
100%
NAfW
Broadband Lifelong
Learning Network
a)
Provide Broadband link to Local
Authority;
£8.5m
(Wales)
100%
NAfW
b)
Provide broadband links to
schools;
£10m over 3yrs
(Wales)
Not yet known
Details Awaited
c)
To provide multi-media
equipment to all schools;
£437,500
100%
Funding Allocated
32
March 2002
March 2002
Initiative
Title
Purpose of initiative
d)
To provide support and training.
PLASC – UPNS
To develop a common pupil dataset
in Wales
People’s Network
To provide free public internet access
from all libraries
Project Costs
£4m
(Wales)
Capital £198,287
% External Funding
External Funding
Source
100%
Status (e.g. bidding
stage/funding allocated
Implementation timetable
Details Awaited
£1000 per school for
admin 2001/ 2002.
Additional funding
2002 due – approx
£1,200 per school
NAfW
Funding Allocated – ring fenced
for PLASC
Dec 2001 – Secondary
Jan 2002 – Primary
Almost 100%
New Opportunities
Fund (NOF) –
Community Access to
Lifelong Learning
Funding Allocated £259,653
To be completed by
December 2002
(Revenue
£64,818 pa)
ICT Training of Library
Staff
To train Library staff in the use of ICT
£25,475
100%
New Opportunities
Fund (NOF) –
Community Access to
Lifelong Learning
Funding Allocated
3 year phased programme
commenced 2001/2002
Children First Assessment
Framework for
Children
Improve Childcare record keeping
£120,000
90%
NAfW
Funding Allocated
April 2002
Smartcards for
Concessionary Travel
Smartcards to help in the
understanding & resource allocation
of concessionary travel for
pensioners and people with
disabilities
£800,000
(North Wales)
100%
NAfW
Bidding Stage
April 2002
Passenger Information
Network
Information Kiosks
Real time public transport information
£4 m
(North Wales)
£40,000
100%
NAfW
Bidding Stage
April 2002
100%
NAfW
Funding Allocated
£15,000
April 2002
Provide bus and rail times at termini
33
Appendix H: Structure for eGovernment Implementation in Wrexham CBC
eGovernment Steering Group
(EGSG)
Objectives:
To define and galvanise WCBC’s eGovernment
response
To establish strategies for delivery
To maintain corporate commitment
To monitor IEG implementation
Deliverables:
IEG Statement
Overall eGovernment strategy & priorities
Identification of services for priority action
Resources identification
Membership:
Chief Executive
Director of Finance & Information Services
Chief Information Systems Officer
Chief Corporate Development Officer
Chief Leisure, Libraries & Culture Officer
Chief Personnel Officer
Corporate eGovernment Manager
IEG Projects Co-ordination
Team
Objectives:
To develop project implementation plans
based on priorities from EGSG
To establish project teams
To develop project specifications
To co-ordinate activities across
eGovernment projects
Deliverables:
Project Plans
Progress on actions defined within IEG
Statement
Membership:
Corporate eGovernment Manager
Service representation
Corporate policy representation
IS representation
Web Development Manager
Web Development Group
Objectives:
To develop Web/Intranet
information & service delivery
To co-ordinate Web activities
across e-govt projects
Deliverables:
Devolved content management
Transactional web portal
Intranet as key business tool
Membership:
Web Development Manager
Service representation
Individual Project Implementation Teams
Task and Finish
Project 1
Project 2
Project 3
34
Project 4
Appendix I: Risk log
Type of risk
Planned action to eliminate or lessen the risk
Risk assessment
Probability
No
Action
Action
M/H
M
Impact
No
Action
H
Action
Resistance to change from the public
Change can be uncomfortable for people, and they may
find the new ways of working unappealing and difficult to
understand. This could lead to them not taking up the new
channels, consequently savings will not be realised.
Continuing to consult with the public and stakeholders to understand their
points of view - prior to and after implementation.
Marketing campaign to promote the "new service".
Resistance to change from staff
Electronic service delivery may be treated as an add-on to
the current way of working, rather than changing the
underlying business processes to realise savings.
As part of best value/improvement process, challenge current ways of
working and re-engineer them to best suit the customer's requirements.
Staff training to cope with changes in working practices.
Training in business process redesign and working alongside consultants.
M/H
L
H
L
Resistance to change from political and official
leadership
Commitment from all Elected Members and senior
management is critical to the success of electronic
government.
Awareness raising sessions for Elected Members and senior managers
Policy leadership through eGovernment Steering Group, Chaired by Chief
Executive.
M/L
L
H
L
Unequal access to technology or channels
Social inclusion is critical to the public sector. Not all people
are able to access technology easily.
Opening up of channels of access that can be reached by those who might
otherwise be excluded e.g. outreach workers using handheld information
appliances. Making savings on self-serve services and refocusing investment
towards those prone to exclusion.
H
M/L
H
M/L
Failure of IT systems
All information systems are mission critical, so that any
break in performance will have a major impact upon the
day to day running of the Council.
ICT Services maintains the integrity, security reliability of the systems and
networks for the Council. Customer communications are managed through a
helpdesk and the IS Liaison Group - a group with cross-Council
representation - for planning future work programmes.
M
L
H
L
Significant problems with ICT integration
This could result in delay in implementation of systems.
Ensure professional ICT representation at outset of project
H
M
H
H
Lack of co-ordination or programme management
Successful delivery of the integrated projects under
eGovernment depends upon good programme
management. The inter-related nature of these projects
makes it critical that they are phased appropriately.
Staff training in project and programme management.
Mentoring of inexperienced managers by Senior Management from within
and outwith the Council.
Buying in consultancy if required, for major projects.
M/H
M/L
H
L
35
L
Type of risk
Planned action to eliminate or lessen the risk
Risk assessment
Probability
No
Action
Action
M/H
M/L
Impact
No
Action
H
Action
Lack of commitment to joined-up and partnership
working
A lack of partnership working leads to a disjointed and
unfocussed service for the customer. Partners may have
different priorities to ours.
Already have many partnerships in place within the Council.
The Community Strategy will draw together the partnerships on a corporate
basis.
Improvement programme and eGovernment will challenge traditional ways of
working.
Consultation/workshops with partners when developing IEG agenda.
Lack of funding
Investment in the eGovernment agenda will be heavy,
especially for opening new channels such as a One Stop
Shop or Contact centre.
Seek challenge funding if available.
Work in partnership to share resources and costs.
Develop a self-service model to reduce costs and reinvest savings realised.
H
M
H
M
Inability to realise savings from services or difficulties
in redirecting resources
There will need to be a realisation of savings to reinvest in
further innovation as funds will be limited.
Best Value Review process and business case approach to projects should
identify savings to be made and set up systems for monitoring actual savings.
H
M
H
H
Legal constraints
Legal constraints on the sharing of information between
Council Services and with other organisation limits the level
of "joining-up" that can be achieved.
Learning from best practice models.
Seeking guidance on what's possible from DTLR, NAfW.
M
L
H
L
Entry to the Euro
Financial systems need to accommodate the Euro.
Timescales are uncertain.
Some of the Council’s information systems and printers capable of
accommodating different currency.
H
M/L
Security and fraud
The security of Council systems in terms of attack,
accidental release of personal information or fraudulent
claims for payments from the Council.
IT security policies for the systems.
Data Protection and Freedom of Information awareness amongst staff.
Fraud controls, separation of duties, appropriate controls and fraud detection.
Information Strategy being developed.
H
M
36
H
M/L
L
H
M/H
Glossary of terms and acronyms
24x7
Back office
Best Value
BPR
Contact Centre
CCTV
Channel
eGovernment
EGIF
Electronic service
delivery (ESD)
GDP
GIS
HR
ICT
IDeA
IDTV
IEG
Inclusion
Interoperability
ISDN
Performance Indicator
(PI) – PI 1.5
PRINCE2
NAfW
NGfL
NLIS
NLPG
NOF
One Stop Shop
Social inclusion
SOCITM
UPRN
WCBC
Services available 24 hours a day 7 days a week
The information systems that are held in the “back office “ and support the business functions of
the organisation
Government initiative to challenge, compare, compete and consult on services to improve them
for the customer
Business Process Re-engineering – a way to analyse how people are currently working so that it
can be re-arranged into a more effective/efficient way of working
A central unit with a main phone number(s) that handles calls from customers and can handle
basic enquiries or transactions by telephone predominantly, and other forms of communications
e.g. email, fax, letters.
Closed Circuit Television
Phrase used to describe methods of accessing the Council e.g. website, telephone
Electronic government
Electronic Government Interoperability Framework. Standards that make data sharing easier.
Delivery through internet protocols and other ICT methods. Includes delivery by telephone if the
transaction is electronically enabled i.e. the officer receiving the call can access electronic
information and/or update records on-line there and then.
Gross Domestic Product
Geographic Information System – electronic mapping
Human Resources
Information Communications Technology
Improvement and Development Agency
Interactive Digital Television
Implementing Electronic Government
Inclusion - see social inclusion
Term used to describe how information and technology standards have to be addressed to allow
data-sharing
Integrated Services Digital Network
National Assembly for Wales Performance Indicator to assess progress on electronic government
for local government. English equivalent is BV 157.
Project In Controlled Environments – 2nd version
National Assembly for Wales
National Grid for Learning
National Land Information Service – linked to NLPG
National Land and Property Gazetteer – standard for giving each property a unique identification
to BS7666 standard
New Opportunities Fund
Where you can deal with more than one type of service within one building with a “shop front”
Policy whereby no one is excluded from society for any reason
Society of Information Technology Managers
Unique Property Reference Number
Wrexham County Borough Council
Useful website links
Organisation
Cabinet Office
Cymru Arlein
Directorate-General for the Information Society, Europe
Govtalk
Improvement and Development Agency
National Assembly for Wales
Office of e-Envoy
Society of Information Technology Management
Syniad
UK Online
Welsh Local Government Association
Wrexham County Borough Council
Link
www.cabinet-office.gov.uk
www.cymruarlein.wales.gov.uk
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/information_society/index_en.htm
www.govtalk.gov.uk
www.idea.gov.uk
www.wales.gov.uk
www.e-envoy.gov.uk
www.socitm.gov.uk
www.syniad.gov.uk
www.ukonline.gov.uk
www.wlga.gov.uk
www.wrexham.gov.uk
37