Tuesday 28th May, 2013

The neighbouring councils of London Borough of Sutton and the Royal Borough of Kingston have announced a joint venture which they say will save around £4m over the next four years. The two councils intend to share information and communication technology systems and plan to work together to establish more cost effective ICT investment. The councils also state that new jobs will be generated by the arrangement.

Deputy leader of Sutton LBC, Cllr Colin Hall, said: ‘We are extremely pleased to link up with Kingston for this vital service. In the current financial environment it's essential for local authorities to think differently on how they adapt to dramatically reduced budgets.’

RB Kingston's lead member for ICT, Cllr Simon James, said: ‘We're transforming the way we work to get the most out of every penny of public money while delivering what matters most to people. It's essential that we achieve the very best for our residents, and having the right ICT in place to support flexible and efficient ways of working and help make more services available online will benefit the council and residents.’

Other voices remain sceptical, and in the wake of some high profile public sector ICT project failures, would like to see how the £4m savings will be made. The challenge will be to implement a solution which has the necessary buy-in of all stakeholders.