Industry News

Introduction:

Here, we'll share the latest updates from local government to keep you updated with what's going on across the sector.

G-cloud 13 goes live:

After much anticipation, the G-Cloud 13 procurement framework is now live. If you’d like to check out our listings, you can do so here: Search - Digital Marketplace.

DLUHC Planning Software Improvement Fund applications are live:

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have launched its Planning Software Improvement Fund, where 25 councils across England will have the opportunity to apply for a share of £5 million to improve their digital planning services for planning applications.

The deadline to apply is Friday, 23rd December & DLUHC is running Q&A sessions up until the deadline, which you can register for here: https://bit.ly/3VEBTYo.

Alternatively, if you'd like to find out more about the fund, you can read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3VUx7FQ.

40% of council leisure centres hang in the balance:

Without immediate intervention, approximately 40% of council areas are at risk of losing their leisure centres over the next five months due to rising costs & budget shortfalls. 

Evidence from ukactive’s Member Survey 2022/2023 survey shows that facility operators may suffer from a 200% bill increase this year compared to 2019, growing to 240% in 2023.

However, with new self-service technologies,

If you'd like to find out more, you can read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3Y5JWyO.

Councils slash services to meet budget cuts:

Unison found that out of 391 councils, almost 90% face a budget gap in 2023/2024 — with the overall budget gap expected to be in the region of £3.2 billion. Due to this shortfall, local authorities may find themselves having to cut critical services like leisure centres, waste collections, nurseries, and more.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. GOV.UK estimate that by digitising more transactions, the government could save more than £1.8 billion annually. What’s more, with innovations around self-service, automation & data, there’s a huge opportunity to reduce the cost to serve & improve service efficiency.

If you'd like to find out more, you can read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3P9lXL3.

£200,000 innovation fund for adult social care:

The London Office for Technology and Innovation (LOTI) is taking applications from its 24 member boroughs to support two new projects that encourage new approaches to adult social care.

The projects must involve at least two boroughs & address one or more of the following themes:

• better care at home
• better residential and care homes or
• better community support models.

They must also demonstrate how increased use of technology and data can benefit people in London using adult social care services.

A share of up to £100,000 each is available & the fund is open for proposal submissions until 9 January 2023. If you'd like to find out more, you can read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3FbDD47.

Publication: end-to-end digital transformation in the public sector:

Tom Wright, head of digital and engagement at NDL Software, reveals key considerations for successful end-to-end digital transformation across the UK public sector in an article published by UKAuthority.

If you'd like to find out more, you can read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3ULUFfi.