A new agreement has been reached by OGCbuying.solutions, an agency of the Office of Government Commerce, and BT which looks set to save millions of pounds in telephone call costs for a range of public sector bodies, right down to local schools. The two have signed a new Premier Value tier contract, under which OGCbuying is committed to a minimum annual spend of 10 million pounds and all nominated bodies will be able to benefit from favourable call package prices.

Read more on NEW DEAL ON CALL COSTS COULD SAVE MILLIONS FOR PUBLIC SECTOR…

A report today from the New Local Government Network is calling for greater incentives for councils to introduce long-term economic development projects. The NLGN is concerned that traditional sources of Whitehall funding cannot keep pace if investment in projects is to match public expectation.

Read more on CALL FOR NEW STRATEGY TO BOOST LONG-TERM INVESTMENT BY COUNCILS…

This report from the Department for Health presents the findings of a national survey of Electronic Social Care Records to find out how councils are developing their electronic systems and the barriers that are limiting progress.The report reveals that while 94% of councils have implemented ESCR, limited use is being made of the systems. Overall 16% of respondents have fewer than 10 users. The document management element of the systems is being used even less with only 13% of respondents having implemented scanning of external documents. Only 4% of authorities are holding audio and video recordings electronically, but 45% plan to do so.

Read more on DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRONIC SOCIAL CARE RECORDS…