Headlines: October 16th, 2006

COUNCILS TAKE AWARDS FOR IMPROVED SERVICE DELIVERY

 

Eight local authorities have won awards in recognition of their outstanding service delivery using the National Land and Property Gazetteer and the National Street Gazetteer. The awards, run by Intelligent Addressing and supported by the Improvement and Development Agency, attracted a record 53 entries.

The special awards ceremony included a workshop to share best practice and to give senior council staff an opportunity to hear how the NLPG and NSG are delivering demonstrable benefits to local and central government. The workshop included a presentation of an independent report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research into the value of efficiency savings offered by the Local Land and Property Gazetteers and how they can help local authorities to meet public sector efficiency targets under the Gershon Review as well as meeting obligations under Transformational Government.

The gazetteer initiatives are designed to improve efficiency through the sharing of accurate address information across local government departments, the emergency services, the health service and national and regional government. Michael Nicholson, Intelligent Addressing’s Managing Director, said, “We had a record number of entries this year for the NLPG awards which is a reflection of the changes and progress that have been made since the last awards were held in 2003. Now under the custodianship of IA, the NSG Exemplar Awards are new this year and recognise the importance of the NSG, with all Highways Authorities now committed to its upkeep.”

The Exemplar Award for the most creative use of the NLPG went to the London Borough of Brent with Dartford Borough Council taking the award for the most improved authority. Sedgefield took the accolade for the best internal use of the system and Huntingdonshire District Council rewarded for best use with partners.

Sandwell took the prize for the most creative use of the Street Gazetteer and Kent County Council won the award for best integration. Awards for exceptional performance in contribution to the NSG went to Halton and North Somerset borough councils.

Steve Brandwood, Programme Manager for the Local Government Information House said that managing an authority’s back-office information infrastructure was a vital part of the continuing drive to improve service delivery. “It is an important part of the efficiency agenda especially where other parts of local government and across the public sector can share the same data,” he added.