Member Article

Brighton & Hove City Council to invest £6m in digital services over next three years

Brighton & Hove City Council is aiming to facilitate the city’s future as a digitally savvy hotspot by investing £6m over next three years.

Members of the council’s Policy and Resources Committee have agreed an invest to save programme, which will start next April, building on early work already underway. The programme includes investment of up to £1m a year in the city’s digital industries and partners.

The ‘Customer First in a Digital Age’ programme aims to make the council’s digital services available across multiple devices and platforms and equip staff with the right technology to do their jobs in the 21st century. Through good use of digital design and technology, the council aims to modernise how its services are delivered, improving customer satisfaction while reducing staffing costs and increasing staff productivity.

Highlights of the programme include:

• Setting up a single online and mobile account for residents and businesses to use council services more easily
• Community Innovation Platform – a platform for residents and communities to come together, support each other and contribute ideas online
• Mobile technology for staff – a new platform for efficient, productive mobile working by staff in the field
• City Data – bringing together data to help plan services for the future and combat fraud.

Councillor Warren Morgan, chair of the Policy and Resources committee said: “We have listened to what residents and customers want and know that there is a huge demand to be able to do more online with the council. We also know that our staff could work more efficiently if they had the right equipment. This will help us get the basics right for residents and modernise our relationships with communities.

“This programme is key to the transformation of the council and will help us achieve some of the savings we need to make in years to come. It’s about investing in residents, communities and local digital companies to take advantage of the wealth of experience in our city.”