The new scheme has been put together under the auspices of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and is designed to help councils make everyday services such as council tax and local support easier to access.
According to the DSIT, under the new scheme GDS Local will support councils’ efforts to migrate residents towards a single account to use both the GOV.UK One Login and the GOV.UK app to access both national and local services.
It is also focusing on improving the efficiency of council technology procurement by targeting “Costly “ball and chain” contracts which see councils locked into long-term agreements with single suppliers”.
Finally, GDS Local is also charged with the task of “Supporting councils to share anonymised data on issues like homelessness trends or service demand through the Government Digital and Data Hub.
GDSL Local is also set to collaborate with the Ministry for Housing, Community and Local Government (MHCLG) and the LGA to work on improving and streamlining local government technology.
One of those responsible for delivering GDS Local, Cllr Liam Robinson, Cabinet Member for Innovation at Liverpool City Region, said it marked “An important step forward in transforming public services through collaboration and innovation”.
Robinson pointed to the first-of-its-kind Community Charter on Data and AI, developed by residents, whicj sets out how technology can be used responsibly to improve lives. “Through the AI for Good initiative and Civic Data Cooperative, we’re harnessing data and AI to tackle real-world challenges - from improving healthcare to tackling misinformation.”
Meanwhile Minister for Digital Government, Ian Murray, said, “For too long, local councils have been left out of the digital transformation happening across central government, despite delivering the services that matter most to, and are closest to, people’s lives.
“That changes today. GDS Local will help end the postcode lottery for digital services, giving every community access to modern, joined up and reliable online services. This is about making government work seamlessly for people wherever they live and delivering the world-class local digital experience they rightly expect.”
