Declaration underpins city council’s commitment to digital improvement
Winchester City Council has signed up to the Local Digital Declaration in a commitment to make service delivery more efficient and make digital access easier for residents.
The Local Digital Declaration is a nationwide commitment by public sector organisations to make public services fit for the internet age and deliver more customer-centred, cost-effective local services.
The city council has already announced its commitment to improve online services for its customers through its transformation programme TC25, ensuring customers will be able to do their council business at a time which suits them. The programme will also design services to make the best use of technology, ensuring they are as efficient as possible.
As part of the declaration, the council will launch a project designed to improve efficiency in its operations working specifically with teams whose roles mean they are out and about and away from their desks for part, or all of the day. Investing in technology will be enabling and time saving, and means customer requests can reach officers quickly and efficiently. The learning and development from this can then be extended to other services.
Cllr Cutler, Deputy Leader & Cabinet member for Finance and Performance said:
‘We recognise that digital isn’t always right for everyone, but more and more of us find it a convenient and easy way to get things done. We want to ensure that online services help and are not a barrier for people when reaching their council. We also want to ensure that we are working in the most efficient way possible. By improving online services, it will mean people can do their council business at a time which suits them, and freeing up other ways to contact us for those who do not have access to online services. We already hold this commitment, but signing of this declaration underpins this.’
The city council has also recently launched a series of free monthly digital drop-in sessions designed to support people to feel more comfortable accessing online services. The drop-in's digital champions will be on hand during the sessions providing expert one-to-one IT support with a range of tech-related challenges, whether it's setting up a new device, learning to stay safe online, or getting to grips with websites.