A panel of local government experts have come together to discuss the key challenges identified in the ground breaking research, Local Digital Today. Published last week, DCLG and UKAuthority's report surveyed senior local authority and supplier decision-makers to investigate how councils are adapting to new technology.
Topics under scrutiny included the potential of 'digital' services to help local government meet the challenges of cost cuts and the rise in demand for public services due to factors such as the ageing population. The panel also discussed why legacy IT systems and tackling culture change - the top two barriers according to the research - may present a larger hurdle than the technology itself.
On the panel were:
- Jos Creese, CIO Hampshire County Council and Chair of Local CIO Council
- Peter Coates, Assistant Head of Transformation Sunderland City Council, Chair of the Local Government Contact Council
- Susan Attard, Deputy Town Clerk, City of London
- Geoff Connell, CIO of the London Boroughs of Newham and Havering, Chair of the Socitm London Region.
The full debate is available to view, for free, here:
