Northgate-is - News Item 900

service@north-herts radically improves services and delivers efficiencies

Citizens living in the towns and rural areas served by North Hertfordshire District Council, including Baldock, Hitchin, Royston and Letchworth, have benefited from a public value partnership in which the Council has delivered major service improvements, whilst realising cashable savings of £866,000 per annum, and these are expected to increase further. 

In an innovative public-private partnership with Northgate Information Solutions service@north-herts was established to help deliver the council’s change management programme, radically improve service access and to provide public value by delivering more efficient services to the citizens of North Hertfordshire.

In a major programme lasting over three years, six key improvement projects were carried out under the governance of a project board which included representation from all political parties as well as the Chief Executive. Citizen access enhancements included the introduction of a new website, a new Customer Service Centre (CSC), and an e-Payments service.

The number of services provided by the CSC is now fourteen and includes council tax, housing, planning, waste, sports and play bookings, parking, environmental health, bus pass enquiries and elections. The number of interactions with the CSC increased from October 2006 – October 2008 by 43 per cent, as citizens increasingly realise the advantage of using the Council’s CSC service.

Citizens have been able to use the web as an additional channel to access council services. Continuing website development has involved greater interaction and self-service. There are now 27 e-forms on the website, and plans to develop a further ten with built in seamless payment facilities. Website usage has nearly doubled over the year to September 2008, as has the number of e-payments made by citizens.  A new e-billing option has provided citizens with the opportunity to view their Council Tax and Business Rate Bills on-line, reducing printing and postage costs to the Council.
A new corporate document management system has also been introduced. This has created additional savings through a reduction in paper and the space required to store it, and enables the council to develop more sustainable methods of working for employees, including moving forward with home and mobile working services. The Revenues and Benefits Service implemented document management in 1997 and this has now been extended firstly to the Planning & Building Control Service, followed by Housing & Environmental Health. The council plans to roll this out through all remaining services. A corporate post and scanning room has been created which addresses citizen concerns over information security. Sensitive documents can be received, scanned, and returned in the post, without leaving the secure area.

Making the most of the capabilities and capacity of Council employees was integral to the development of the strategy, as was the delivery of business improvement through a review of processes. As a result of the joint partnership, the Council’s IT department has been rated within the top third of District Councils for their customer support, technical skills and knowledge.

John Campbell, Chief Executive at North Hertfordshire District Council said today: “Today, in a world of scarce resources, councils have to make a strategic examination of their services and to use technology to enhance service delivery through improving citizen access. This was a major programme which came in under budget, delivered significant improvements to citizen services, and delivered realisable savings. It’s a success that we are rightly proud of, and it’s a sign of how partnership can be used to change the way we do things and improve the way we work for our local communities.”

Joe Bradley, Managing Director of Citizen Services at Northgate Public Services said today: “In these hard economic times, the role of local councils has never been more important. They need to deliver more in the context of growing need and constrained resources. North Hertfordshire District Council recognised that to reach out to the citizen, including the most vulnerable, there must be a root and branch review of the way that processes are organised and how technology can  be used intelligently to  improve services. It is this that provided them with the route map to success.”
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For more information
Fellows’ Associates
Kathy Sutton    020 7395 1516  +44(0)7966 890401
Konstantinos Makrygiannis  020 7395 1518 +44(0)7949 421356

Notes to editors
1. North Hertfordshire District Council has a population of 116,908 and covers an area of 145 square miles. There are three historic town Baldock, Hitchin and Royston - and Letchworth, the world’s first Garden City. North Hertfordshire consists of over 30 rural parishes with their main villages and hamlets. 

2. service@North-Herts was a partnership between the Council and Anite Public Sector which commenced in mid 2005. Anite Public Sector was acquired by Northgate in October 2008. The programme was run on PRINCE2 principles.

3. Northgate Public Services is an innovative provider of transformation and improvement services to the public sector. It is committed to high quality public services that place individuals and their communities at their heart. Its knowledge and understanding of people’s needs are core to its business, as too, is its depth and breadth across public services.

4. Northgate’s task is to enhance public value through the intelligent use of people and technology; to understand why and what change is necessary; to provide new thinking leading to improved performance; and to link company rewards with positive outcomes for the communities for whom it works. It supports transformation through sustainable performance partnerships.

5. In the UK, Northgate works with ninety five per cent of local authorities, every police force, and a large number of health organisations, housing associations, utilities and transport companies. Founded in 1969, the company has nearly 8,000 employees.  Northgate provides North Hertfordshire District Council with its Revenue & Benefits solution.