A SHARED ICT service across three councils in Devon, expected to be up and running by November, has just received a £970,000 boost from the government.

Local Government Minister, Kris Hopkins, announced today (September 12) that the shared service, to be run by East Devon District Council, Exeter City Council and Teignbridge District Council, has secured the funding to support their commitment to re-engineering their business practices to improve services and reduce costs.

The three councils are setting up a stand-alone limited company called Strata Service Solutions Limited. Strata will be wholly owned and controlled equally by the three councils and resourced from existing ICT staff to ensure vital experience and expertise is retained. It will also include the building of a single new data centre in Exeter to supply ICT services to all partners.

East Devon District Council leader and lead member for the project, Councillor Paul Diviani, said: “On behalf of our strong and growing partnership with Exeter and Teignbridge, we are obviously all delighted that the Department for Communities and Local Government is so supportive of our collaboration in line with government policy.

"My fellow leaders and our officers have worked hard together to bring about this sea change in joint working in the South West and they are to be congratulated on the selfless and highly professional way they have approached the entire business. Thank you one and all.”

The similarity of purpose, business systems and service delivery model of all three councils created the ideal opportunities for sharing an ICT service. The business case clearly demonstrated how the shared service will create resilience, savings and opportunities to invest in ICT to improve customer service across all three councils.

Councillor Diviani added: “This extra resource will allow us to make savings of around £8.3 million over the next five years. We had forecast £6 million of savings over the 10 year life of the business case – so this investment has secured significantly more savings.”

Councillor Pete Edwards, leader of Exeter City Council, said: “It’s great news that the government has recognised the benefits of a collaborative service by committing these significant and extremely welcome funds to this project.”

Councillor Mike Walters, Teignbridge District Council's executive spokesperson for corporate services, said: "We are delighted with this grant. Councils across Devon already work together increasing efficiency, cutting costs and improving the customer experience in a number of areas.

"We, like Exeter and East Devon, are keen to ensure we are giving our residents the best possible deal by enabling staff to do the most efficient and cost effective job while ensuring Teignbridge remains a high performing authority with value for money services."

Kris Hopkins said: “By joining forces with other organisations they are not only cutting costs but also making sure their residents get the very best service.

“This is further proof that local government can deliver significant savings at the same time as making sure that public satisfaction with services improves.”

The announcement today was part of a £2.78 million investment in the South West.

The grant is part of 33 winning bids across the country to the government’s £9 million Transformation Challenge Award. These have been awarded to councils who have demonstrated how they intend to improve services for residents and reduce costs.