This briefing from the Society of IT Management describes how councils can achieve a website that satisfies the criteria ‘useful, usable, and used’ and why this matters more than ever in the digital age.It describes the role of the website in council transformation, provides details of the best council sites in 2006 and sets out the benefits of joining up council services via websites and portals.

Read more on LOCAL GOVERNMENT TRANSFORMATION AND THE COUNCIL WEBSITE…

A new report says central government, local councils and other providers are facing a “make or break” moment over the delivery of services to neighbourhoods. The study, ‘Neighbourhood Management – at the Turning Point?’, has found evidence of more joined-up, accessible and responsive services in areas with Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders.The NMPs were set up by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2001, with the aim of giving people in the areas an opportunity to improve local services. The independent report, produced by SQW, says the 35 pathfinders are a valuable tool in regenerating deprived areas and it backs the idea of rolling out the pathfinder model more widely. It warns, though, that the NMP approach is in danger of being a missed opportunity if its value is not recognised.

Read more on NEIGHBOURHOOD PATHFINDERS ‘LEADING TO JOINED UP SERVICES’…

Proposals to merge police forces are based on misleading and misguided analysis, according to research published today by the independent think thank Policy Exchange. The study says big forces would be no more efficient or effective than smaller ones, even in dealing with serious cross-border crime, and it suggests the mergers may be an attempt to bring in regional government by the back door.”Size Isn’t Everything: Restructuring Policing in England and Wales”, has been written by Barry Loveday, Reader in Criminal Justice Administration at Portsmouth University. It recommends that instead of merging forces the Government should allow them to federate voluntarily where necessary. It suggests, too, that the remit of national policing agencies should be extended and that more power and responsibility should be given to Basic Command Units. Finally it recommends the modernisation of policing working structures and practices.

Read more on POLICE MERGERS ‘BASED ON FLAWED ANALYSIS’…