What are the effects of public sector digital transformation on local councils?

The explosion of technology transformation has hit the entire world. From central to local governments, the need to accept this change is quite evident. The UK government is one of the pioneers for leading the digital initiatives. UK GovTech recognised the potential of digitisation since long. It has taken several digital approaches to simplify administration and meet citizen expectations. With the tremendous opportunities offered by technology, it is all beneficial for the government authorities to embrace the smart effortless working culture.

The entire management of public services is undergoing a major change. And the digital accessibility is playing a prominent role. To be specific, cloud-based software and mobile applications are paving the way to automate the processes and deliver services in a more efficient manner. The effect of devolution, new mayors, fiscal conflicts, and rising expectations of the new-age keen citizens are the factors encouraging the replacement of legacy systems with the flexible cloud solutions.

What does the statistics trend speak?

By 2020, the local government will retain 100% of locally-raised business rate growth. This is a huge opportunity. But, if their business rate yield decreases, they will have to bear the consequences of revenue loss. On the other side, with reference to the latest news, council chiefs are indicating a funding gap of £5.8bn that may affect the local authorities by the year 2020 if there are no new sources of revenue.

Considering the current scenario, it is mandatory for the councils to be a part of the public sector digital transformation. There is a grim need to cut down the costs. The local authorities are already trying to stretch the things and reduce their expenses. A successful outcome is possible with the help of technology which will not only help to save their budgets but also assist in new revenue opportunities and improve worker productivity. Then only, the councils can realise the business rate growth benefits.

How can local government authorities innovate in the digital economy?

The answer is simple, loud and clear- Automation. To achieve greater service delivery with channel shift- include the cloud platform. The cloud-based software applications dedicated to public sector digital transformation are a mandate. These solutions ease the burden of back-office administration and the mobile workforce. It also connects the citizens, encouraging their engagement and thereby meeting their demands.

By this we mean, moving council’s all transactional services online. This will include parking permits, paying taxes, requesting services like bin collection, social housing, healthcare, public amenities booking, asset and case management, reporting incidents like graffiti, fly tipping, abandoned vehicles, anti-social behaviour, potholes, street light issues, etc. The entire digital ecosystem comprises of self-service applications and web portal for the citizens to be able to communicate with the councils. The centralised system will streamline the requests received from other channels like integrated telephony, emails and social media.

Next, these requests are processed automatically with smart scheduling and intuitive web forms. The tasks are assigned to the concerned teams. Instead of manual processing, checking and updating, the intelligent systems empower your executives to simplify and centralise administration.

The Mobile Worker app is the key to manage the field work of fulfilling the service requests. It enables real-time monitoring and synchronisation. It eliminates the unnecessary paperwork and tedious manual entries of task updates. Also, it saves the time wasted in unplanned random travel. The workforce management apps mark a revolution in the way work is completed and reported back to the office at the same instant. With more advanced features like auto-routing, safety check-ins, signature capture, billing and invoicing, stock visibility and offline access, these apps ensure the greatest productivity.

Recommended Local Government Structure

The public sector digital transformation aims to streamline the council processes. Here are few of the many benefits of adopting automated service management platform–

What does the future look like?

UK GovTech market could be worth £20billion by 2025. According to the estimates, an average unitary council could save up to 13% of its total budget. The probable savings could be as high as 40% for more ambitious councils planning to undergo a major digital transformation including all its services by 2025.

The future is bright with the right solution. ‘Digital By Default’ will empower the local councils in the long run. The administration will be leaner and simpler by digitising the services. This also means the staff will be able to spend their time in a productive manner. It will create more opportunities and strategic tasks. The citizens will be aware of the processes and request status, search the information base and pay for the services online by themselves.

We had a chance to speak to many council members in our last public sector digital transformation event. They were more than willing to plan their next strategic move with digital at its heart. To begin with, go for a proven solution like My Council Services. It has been trusted by local government authorities since years. With no extra upfront capital investment and configurable options, the My Council Services will help you to begin your digital journey in no time. Also, it offers seamless integration with your existing systems to suit your council. For more information, schedule a demo with our technical team.