Local authorities believe reliability in partners is a number one priority

A survey by Capita Software Services has revealed that local authorities believe reliability in service delivery is a number one priority when working with a partner. Second to this is the ability to deliver services cost effectively.

Around 80% of those questioned from the local government sector still believe that the shared services approach can help an authority gain economies of scale. However, as outlined in Capita’s shared services white paper, published last year, shared services in local government were seen as more of a vision rather than a reality.

Ian Gates, director of Capita Software Services, commented: “The survey’s respondents clearly support the view that shared services can produce economies of scale and help harness the best technology to deliver improved customer service. The issue still remains how to bridge the gap between supporting the move to shared services and actually delivering them. External partners with expert flexible resources can often act as a co-ordinator of such projects removing the burden of change while authorities concentrate on their day to day activities.”

Additionally, the respondents revealed some interesting observations on who they consider outside of public service as a champion of business transformation. Many of the champions were popular figures in the public eye from a wide spread of sectors from restaurateurs to entrepreneurs. This included the following:

• Sir Alan Sugar (entrepreneur/businessman/TV personality)
• Sir Richard Branson (chairman of Virgin Group)
• Sir Gerry Robinson (businessman/TV personality)
• Gordon Ramsey (celebrity chef/restaurateur/TV personality)