The York Council has said it will spend £10 million over the next 5 years on IT equipment. Their intention is to force residents to use electronic communications to communicate with the Council.
Cliff Richard – rewired for sound
They promise (or threaten) that each local resident will have their own web page account.
The move comes following our revelation that the number contacting the Council by telephone or through a personal visit has spiralled since their move to the “West Offices”.
They have dubbed the scheme as service “rewiring” – a piece of jargon guaranteed to pass over the heads of most residents.
A report, nodded through by the Labour leadership on Tuesday, fails to make any kind of business case for the huge expenditure.
The report is riddled with management jargon and hyperbole plus much conjecture about what residents want.
Attached to the report is the 6 monthly review of service quality.
This revealed that many targets are already being missed by the Council with recycling rates reducing and the numbers using the bus service in sharp decline since Labour meddled with the services when they took office.
Confidence in the Councils ability to deal with reports and complaints has already been damaged.
The “app” launched to allow smart phone reporting of issues has flopped, some reports made using proprietary web tools were lost by the Council while frustrated residents – seeking information through Freedom of Information requests -frequently do not attract answers within legal target times.
But the main concern will be the implications for residents if the Council and its officials hide behind an electronic defensive barricade.
The plan will mean more outsourcing and local jobs will be lost as techno bureaucrats take over.
Public services will become DIY as residents are forced to fill in the gaps left by a retreating public sector.
………..and the march of more CCTV surveillance will continue in the background!
