Council to invest in major upgrade in IT

The move is part of the Council's Better Deal for Residents programme, which aims to save £50m over three years.

The authority's aging IT system is no longer fit for purpose. It cannot keep up with modern technology and is holding back vital plans to save money and improve services. The proposed upgrade will allow more remote and mobile working opportunities for staff, reducing the amount of office space required by the council and making customer services more efficient.

Cabinet members agreed in principle to transfer the authority's IT services to Capita, subject to consultation with staff and unions. The exact way in which this would be provided is still being decided. This would also be subject to signing a satisfactory 10-year contract with Capita, with a five year break clause.

As the Council's transformation partner, Capita has already worked with the council on a range of IT projects over the last five years. It is believed that it will be able to provide a more robust, cost-effective service, far sooner than delivering the project in-house. However, no final decision has been taken.

The benefits the council could see as a result of the transfer include:

The continued roll out of flexible and mobile working plans for staff, allowing them to work wherever necessary at home, other council offices or where ever they need to be to do their job best

More modern, mainstream systems which will be cheaper to run in the long-term and easier for staff to use, will be introduced

Operating systems which are needed to provide services to residents will be faster, more reliable and up to date.

Cllr Bill Stephenson, Leader of Harrow Council, said:

"This vital Investment in technology will mean that we can press ahead with delivering better, more efficient services to residents.

"At this stage, we have an agreement in principle only and will now begin discussions with unions and staff to make sure we put the right support in place for any changes. Our current staff have delivered an excellent service in recent years given that our IT systems are in a deplorable state after years of underinvestment.

"By working with Capita, we believe we can give Harrow's residents an upgraded, reliable and cost effective service that will allow us to make savings across the council. We need to invest to save.

"In the short term, it will allow more flexible and mobile working for staff, a more reliable and secure system that will help us to serve residents and it will open up new self-service options to enable residents to process payments online.

"In the longer term, investing in IT will mean we can cut down on the amount of office space used by the council, which could save more than £1m when we move to a new, smaller Civic Centre."